Protesters rallied in Bangkok on Saturday for what organizers hope will be the biggest demonstration in years to demand the removal of former junta leader and now military-backed Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a new constitution and elections.
Some Thai protest leaders have also demanded reforms to curb the power of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s monarchy and have vowed to keep up those calls in spite of official pressure to stop.
“Today the people will demand back their power,” Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer who has emerged as a leading figure in the protest movement, said on Twitter. “The government is cheating and we want to get rid of them,” said Patricia Phakkhaphinya, 35, who had come from Surat Thani, in southern Thailand.Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, one of the protest leaders, told Reuters, he believed as many as 100,000 people could show up. Police said they expected up to 50,000 to join the protest.
The military, which proclaims itself the defender of the country’s core institutions, in particular the monarchy, has stepped in to overthrow civilian governments numerous times, most recently in 2014, citing the need to maintain stability.
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