A longstanding taboo of monarchy was broken by the protesters in August with their rallies criticizing King Maha Vajralongkorn.
Thai dwellers are demanding change! They have been calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Pratyuth Chan-ocha’s and seeking reforms in the monarchy in Thailand and Bangkok.
But, why is this happening all of a sudden?
Anti-government protests have been started last year itself after the courts banned the most vocal party of Thailand which opposed the government of former junta leader Pratyuth Chan-Ocha.
However, the protests took a halt after the coronavirus spread and have been resumed once again in July after the number of cases came down.
The demand is still intact to oust the Prime Minister to form a new constitution that would end the harassment of the activists.
Some of the protesters even formed a list of 10 demands to reform the monarchy in Thailand.
Protesters say that they do not wish to end the monarchy but demand certain reforms to it.
On the other hand, Pratyuth called the protests horrifying and said that going against the monarchy is not good for all.
Meanwhile, the Royal Palace has made no comments on the ongoing protests and remained silent over the reforms in monarchy despite repeated requests.
What are the reforms that the protestors want?
While not every protester is demanding a change in the monarchy, the situation seems to be reversed over the weekend with the demand growing huge among them.
The protesters want to end the constitutional powers which were increased after the King’s late revered father abducted the throne.
Meanwhile, Pro-democracy activists say that Thailand is backing the constitutional monarchy that is established when the royal rule ended in 1932.
They argue that this monarchy has undermined the democracy and the rights of the people.
Protesters are also seeking the scrapping of lese mejeste laws against insulting the king. They want that the King should give up the control he took over a palace with a fortune of more than tens of billions of dollars and some units of the army too.
They divulged their anger that the King spends most of his time in Europe after endorsing Pratyuth’s premiership after the elections and engineered his power onto him.
The protesters are also challenging the lifestyle and spending of the King.
They even went to an extent of cementing a plaque on the Royal Field with written words that Thailand belongs to the people and not to the monarch.
The Thai monarchy is protected by Section 112 of the country’s penal code which says that whoever insults or defames the king shall be liable for a jail term of 15 years.
The government of Thailand has recently said that it would not target the opponents but the Police should uphold the law of the land.
