Thailand's Government Implemented Emergency Decree - Ban Gatherings Of Five Or More

Thai riot police cleared thousands of protesters from outside the prime minister's office early on Thursday as the emergency decree also banned the publication of sensitive news in the face of the escalating protests.

Thailand's government has implemented an emergency decree to quell anti-government protests in Bangkok, which includes a ban on gatherings of five or more people.

In a televised announcement read out by police, a statement said 'many groups of people have invited, incited and carried out unlawful public gatherings in Bangkok', adding that urgent measures were needed to 'maintain peace and order'.

A series of demonstrations over three months have brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets of Bangkok to demand the departure of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and a new constitution.

They have also broken a longstanding taboo by calling for reforms to the powerful monarchy of King Maha Vajiralongkorn - and in an act cited by the government as one reason for its emergency measures they obstructed a royal motorcade during a rare visit to the country being made by the Thai royals.

Shortly after the emergency decree took affect at 4 am (2100 GMT), riot police advanced behind shields on protesters who had camped outside Government House. Many of the thousands who had protested there late on Wednesday had already left.

Some protesters tried to resist with makeshift barricades of garbage cans, but they were swiftly pushed back. By dawn, hundreds of police occupied the nearby streets and city workers began cleaning up.

At least three of the protest leaders were arrested, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said. Police made no immediate comment.

The government said it acted in the face of increasing disorder and after the obstruction of the motorcade.

'It is extremely necessary to introduce an urgent measure to end this situation effectively and promptly to maintain peace and order,' state television announced.

The emergency decree bans big gatherings of five or more people and allows authorities to stop people from entering any area they designate.

It also prohibits 'publication of news, other media, and electronic information that contains messages that could create fear or intentionally distort information, creating misunderstanding that will affect national security or peace and order.'

 

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said that three protest leaders had been arrested. It named them as Parit Chirawat, rights lawyer Arnon Nampa and Panupong Jadnok. It said Arnon had been arrested on charges related to a speech he gave in the northern city of Chiang Mai. It said it did not know the grounds for the other arrests.

 

On Wednesday, anti-government protesters confronted the Thai king and queen with a three-fingered Hunger Games salute as they toured Bangkok to mark the fourth anniversary of his father's death on Thursday.

Queen Suditha, riding in a white limousine alongside King Vajiralongkorn, looked distinctly nervous as the royal couple were confronted by thousands of protesters demanding reforms, as police struggled to hold them back.

Many of the demonstrators could be seen raising three fingers. The gesture is borrowed from the Hunger Games books, where it is used by oppressed citizens as a symbol of defiance against an authoritarian ruling class.

The symbol was adopted by Thai schoolchildren who picked it up from the film adaptation of the books, released in Thailand in 2014. Use of the salute has since been banned by the military.

Despite the ban, the gesture has become widely-used among Thai protesters who have been on the streets of Bangkok for weeks demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha - a military junta leader - as well as reforms to the country's constitution and royal family.

King Vajiralongkorn - who spends most of his time living in Germany among a harem of women - and Queen Suditha have found themselves caught up in the protests in one of their rare visits to the country they rule.

Wednesday's march was timed to coincide with the anniversary of a 1973 popular uprising that led to the ousting of a military dictatorship.

Protesters gathered at Democracy Square in Bangkok in the early hours, despite a heavy police presence, and then marched towards Government House, chanting: 'Prime Minister, get out!'

Before leaving Democracy Monument, several small clashes broke out between protesters and their opponents, who traded punches and threw plastic bottles as police tried to keep them apart.

There was speculation that the counter-protesters were organized by the authorities, with videos on social media showing municipal trucks carrying groups to the site.

The protesters negotiated or pushed their way without much resistance past several police roadblocks before reaching their target, the streets outside Government House, after almost four hours.

Marchers could also be seen trying to overturn several buses that had been parked in the road to block their way, amid a tense standoff with police.

Protest leaders announced plans to stay there for at least three days. Deputy police spokesman Col. Kissana Phathanacharoen estimated the crowd at 8,000.

Tensions have been simmering for months after a series of pro-democracy rallies which have prompted a backlash from the kingdom's royalist elite.

The demonstrators tore up plants which had been laid in a failed attempt to keep crowds away from the statue, which has become a focal point of unrests in recent months. 

Royalists assembled only a few dozen yards away, and the two factions faced off across the street before coming to blows hours before the king's arrival. 

'Down with dictatorship. Long live democracy,' the marchers chanted as they moved off from Democracy Monument towards the city's Government House, the prime minister's office.

Bangkok police commander Phukphong Phongpetra was surrounded by demonstrators who hurled water and yelled insults when he tried to disperse the crowds earlier.

On Tuesday, the protesters clashed with police and pelted them with blue paint as officers battled to clear the area ahead of a royal motorcade.     

Tuesday was a public holiday to mark four years since the death of the king's widely respected father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for seven decades.

The current king, who is thought to have spent much of the pandemic in an Alpine hotel in Germany, made a rare visit to Thailand for the occasion. 

The protest leaders say they will make way for the king's motorcade, and police say they are confident they can control the crowds with nearly 15,000 officers.

'We are out here to fight, with respect to all the people as well as the monarchy,' protest leader Anon Nampa told the crowds. 'We're out here to call for a reform to the institution to better the country.'

Royalist leader Buddha Issara said the protesters could demand democracy, but must not call for reforms of the monarchy, as some have done.

The Democracy Monument arrests raise serious concerns that the government will impose even harsher repression of people's fundamental freedoms in Thailand,' said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

 

'Thailand's international friends should call on the government to stop arresting peaceful protesters, listen to their views, and allow them to freely and safely express their visions for the future.'

 

Wednesday's demonstration is intended to commemorate the 47th anniversary of the October 14, 1973 student uprising against a hated military dictatorship during which 77 people were killed.

 

The latest protests have become the greatest challenge in years to a ruling establishment dominated by the army and the palace. 

 

While the royal palace has not responded directly to the protesters' demands, the establishment is thought to have mobilised the ultra-royalist groups to challenge the pro-democracy protesters.

Today, Bangkok city trucks offloaded hundreds of royalist supporters, many holding flags and pictures of the king.

The royalist gathering today was much larger than at previous rallies where they were dwarfed by the tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators. 

'They must not touch on the institution,' he told reporters. 'We will not accept any booing or raising three or four fingers during the motorcade as well.'

Protesters made a rare direct challenge to the king on Tuesday, chanting at his passing convoy after 21 activists were arrested during scuffles with police. Police said detainees would be charged with public order offences on Wednesday.