The Police in Thailand have used rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon to attempt to disperse protesters in Bangkok as demonstrators defied COVID-19 restrictions to call for Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s resignation yesterday.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the protests came on Sunday as the kingdom is currently facing its worst wave of COVID-19 infections, registering daily case records as hospitals buckle under pressure.
Exacerbating the toll has been the government’s slow procurement of vaccines, which has drawn criticism as Thailand’s economy reels from increasingly severe restrictions on businesses.
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Defying rules banning gatherings of more than five people, protesters piled mock body bags flecked with red paint near the intersection of the capital’s Democracy Monument.
‘We will die from COVID if we stay home, that is why we have to come out,‘ shouted a protest organiser, who listed three demands.
‘Prayuth Chan-ocha must resign without any condition; the second is a budget cut to the monarchy and army to be used against COVID, and the third is to bring in mRNA vaccine.’
A giant banner with a picture of Prayuth – the mastermind of a 2014 coup – was unfurled on the road, with protesters then stomping on his face.
As they marched on Government House, they were led by a group wearing gas masks and hard hats and were joined by motorbike drivers who hoisted the mock body bags.
But authorities deployed water cannon early and blocked the main road, forcing protesters to retreat.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
