Pro-democracy activists in Thailand launched their fifth straight days of protests on Sunday, scheduling demonstrations not just in the capital but also at several other locations around the country.
The demonstrators received a new warning from police that they are violating the law. On Saturday, however, few people were arrested as peaceful rallies were held at several points around Bangkok, the capital, with several thousand people taking part.
The protest movement — which is calling for the prime minister’s resignation, a more democratic constitution and a reformed monarchy — began in March at universities around the country. After a lull due to the coronavirus crisis, it was revived in late July, building up strength, particularly in Bangkok.
On Sunday, rallies were called in at least a dozen provinces, including Chiang Mai, a popular tourist destination in northern Thailand.
The authorities in Bangkok tried in vain to keep people from gathering by selectively shutting down stations on Bangkok’s elevated and underground mass transit lines. On Saturday, after protest organizers urged followers to meet at the city’s Skytrain stations, they ordered all stations to be closed, to little avail.
The current cycle of confrontations began before dawn Thursday, when police broke up an overnight rally outside Government House, which hosts the offices of Prime Minister Prayuth Chaon-ocha.
It led Prayuth to declare a state of emergency, banning gatherings of more than five people and allowing the government extra powers to keep the peace.
Protesters ignored the emergency decree and gathered Thursday night in large numbers at a major intersection in Bangkok’s central shopping district. Overcoming half-hearted resistance by thin lines of police.
A Friday night rally at a nearby intersection was crushed by a large forced of riot police backed by a truck-mounted water cannon.
The use of force was condemned by rights organizations.
Police made no efforts to break up Saturday’s gatherings, which ended peacefully at 8 p.M., as scheduled by organizers.