PM empowers embassy to evacuate Thais from Iran

Protesters and human rights lawyers are officially suing the Thai PM, a deputy PM and other members of the government and police for 3.5 million baht in damages. The lawsuits cover the declaration of a state of emergency that was imposed for a week during October following a major protest where a royal motorcade drove into the path of a protest near the Democracy Monument in Bangkok.

Police claim that protesters “blocked” the path of the royal motorcade, but video of the incident shows the protesters were gesturing at the yellowRolls Royce and yelling at the occupants as it passed by, without obstruction. Her Majesty the Queen and the King’s youngest son were in the vehicle at the time.

There are seven complainants, each demanding 500,000 baht in compensation.

The State of Emergency was announced for Bangkok on October 15, at 4am in the morning following the protest.

Representatives of the Human Rights Lawyers Association filed the lawsuit with the Civil Court yesterday. It lawsuit also targeted the Prime Minister’s Office, national police officials and the Royal Thai Police Office.

Nuengruethai Kijakansuparoek, of the lawyers’ association, claims the declaration violated rights to freedom of politics, transport and expression of opinion. The Association also warns that there are more lawsuits on the way.

“The closure of electric train service was ordered, some demonstrators were arrested and some people were affected by tear gas, and people were unable to voice their political opinions.”

yesterday some 5,000 gathered at the Lad Phrao intersection in an “anti coup picnic” to enjoy food, including Isaan dishes, with protest leaders speaking and musicians keeping the crowd entertained. Protest organisers said it was “a rehearsal protest against coups”.

Protesters handed the “flock” of yellow inflatable ducks over the heads, of the crowd “to represent the military passing over the people” to by-pass democratic rule and be the defacto government of Thailand. An inflatable Santa also made his way into the festivities for no apparent reason (well, Christmas is approaching).

Yesterdays rally was just 2 days after another gathering outside the Siam Commercial Bank HQ, where HM the King is the largest single shareholder in Thailand’s oldest bank, founded in 1907.

Today’s rally will start at the Imperial World Samrong shopping centre, south of central Bangkok, and march to Bang Na intersection. Then tomorrow protesters plan to hold another rally in front of the . Imperial World Samrong shopping centre.

Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says he has no intention of resorting to martial law to put an end to the current political unrest, adding that existing laws provide enough scope for dealing with those who take matters into their own hand. The Bangkok Post reports that he was responding to reporters following a US-ASEAN Business Council meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“In a democratic world, I cannot get everyone to agree with me. All I can do is to find a way to move forward together to avoid problems in the future.”

The then General Prayut, head of the Thai army, made similar assurances in the latter stages of the Yingluck Shinawatra government before he led the NCPO in a bloodless military coup in May 2014.

Meanwhile, the Ratsadon (People’s Party) group says it’s planning to hold protests over the course of 5 days, without camping overnight. The group has confirmed its intentions in a Line group shared with the media, adding that locations and times will be confirmed on social media.

Responding to a question about the 5-day plan, the PM appeared to take the announcement in his stride.

“Just let them announce it. The law is there to punish anyone who breaks it.”

The announcement comes after a rally at the headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank yesterday, which was initially supposed to take place at the Crown Property Bureau. The group changed the location the night before, claiming it did so to avoid royalist groups deliberately sent to provoke them. An explosive device was thrown and gunshots fired injuring 2 protesters. Full report about the incident HERE.

Thousands of pro-democracy activists gathered at the SCB building, which was closed for the day, in the Chatuchak district of the capital. Protest leaders stood on the back of a truck, addressing activists through loudspeakers as they slammed the government. Prominent activist, Parit Chiwarak, aka, “Penguin”, was wearing a yellow duck suit as he held a sign that read, “Citizens Area”.

The use of yellow ducks has become a prominent feature of the anti-government protests. Large rubber ducks were initially deployed to deal with the worst of the water cannons, with protesters using the birds to shield themselves from chemical-laced water and tear gas. But with large yellow ducks also used in Hong Kong’s protests this year, they have become an international symbol of the pro-democracy movement. Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur costumes have also been employed to make political statements about the age and culture of MPs in the ruling Palang Pracharat coalition.

Meanwhile, Penguin is condemning the decision to press charges of lèse majesté against pro-democracy activists, calling it an attempt to leave protest groups without leaders. He says he’s confident the move will backfire, as it will encourage more people to come and attend future protests. At least 12 protesters have been summonsed to face charges, with police saying they plan to summons between 3 – 5 others, who will also be charged.

One of the protesters charged under Section 112 is Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul, who was nominated by the BBC as one of their 100 most inspirational women in the world 2020. Read that story HERE.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

Thailand’s Suan Dusit Poll has revealed that most Thais hope that the President-elect Joe Biden will be a good leader of his country. The opinion survey, by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, was conducted online on November 13 through November 18, in which 1,038 people responded with their opinions throughout the country.

A majority of Thais, almost 90%, responded that they were interested in the US Presidential election outcomes and were following the news regularly. About 58% responded as moderately following the elections and almost 32% highly interested in the elections. Only about 10% of respondents said that they were not interested in the elections.

Of those who responded as being interested in the election, their reasons were largely due to the fact that they felt the elections have a large impact on the world economy, with almost 74% of poll’s respondents agreeing with that reasoning. About 61% of respondents said the reasons they were interested was because the US is a world superpower, while about 49% said they were merely interested in who would be the winner.

The elections come at a time when Thailand is grappling with an unstable political situation, as protesters against the government are pushing for constitutional amendments. Almost 61% of respondents pointed to this intersection of politics, citing the democratic election of a country’s leader by the people could be applied to their own country’s politics and society. About 57% of the people said they were highly aware of the issues surrounding the right to vote with around 53% citing the democratic electoral system in America was of interest.

However, only 48% said they felt Thailand’s economy would be better after the US election, with 47% believing it would stay the same. A mere 4.5% said they thought the Thai economy would be worse after the election.

Regardless of their reasoning for being interested in the elections, about 65% of respondents wanted whoever was elected as the next US President to be a good leader both at home and on the international stage. 62% wanted the new leader to forge friendships and good relations with other countries and almost 58% wanted him to refrain from taking advantage of and suppressing other countries.

SOURCE:Bangkok Post