Nida Poll shows half don’t agree with aggressive protests
While the pro-democracy movement had gained support, the recent escalating protests with clashes with violence and destruction may have done more harm than good, as a new poll shows that just over half the respondents disagree with the protest on August 7 and believe the Free Youth group have backers. The National Institute of Development Administration conducted the poll by phone interviews of 1,318 people.
The Nida Poll talked to people between August 9 and August 11 of all educational and occupational backgrounds over the age of 18, asking their opinions about the pro-democracy protest on August 7 specifically. It didn’t ask about any of the protests that happened after the 7th, like the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration on August 10, or the Thalu Fah protests on August 11 and 13.
51.74% of the poll respondents believe there were unspoken people backing the protesters in the background, just over half. 36% believe that the group does not have any shadow backers and 12% had no comment. A similar percentage of people disagree with the protest, mostly turned off by the violence and chaos that the demonstrations descended into.
52% of people in the poll said they were against the way the protest went, with 35% strongly disagreeing with what happened and nearly 17% moderately disagreeing. They believe that the throngs of people gone awry could lead to Covid-19 outbreaks and only worsen Thailand’s situation. Respondents also felt the chaotic protests cause unneeded unrest in the country and is counterproductive to dealing with the problems facing Thailand.
The poll found many who still supported the protests though, with 26% of people saying they highly agree with the protesters. They believe the more aggressive and combative actions of the recent protest shows the intensity of the growing dissatisfaction with the government’s current performance and the demand for more democracy and more protected rights.
Another 19% of people in the poll somewhat agree with the protests, saying they don’t support the violence and chaos, but they believe the tenacity of protesters should be a wake-up call for the government about their demands for justice and the betterment of life in Thailand.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
