BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st March, 2021) The Thai police have used a wide range of riot control equipment against anti-government protesters in Bangkok, including tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets, according to the videos broadcast on Sunday by The Reporters streaming platform.
The footage shows protesters chanting anti-government slogans and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as well as reforms to the monarchy and a new, democratic constitution. They also called on King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) to give up the direct command of the King's Guard units that he assumed in 2016.
Several thousand protesters gathered near the Victory Monument, which is situated in the Thai capital's center, and headed to Chan-o-cha's residence, located in the territory of the base of the King's Guard's First Infantry Regiment.
Upon arrival at the base, the mob divided into two groups, one of which stayed near Veterans General Hospital located next to the base, while the other moved further to the prime minister's residence.
The police tried to block the movement of both groups by using water cannons and tear gas but failed to make the protesters leave the territory nearby the military base.
At 7 p.m. [12:00 GMT], the leaders of the opposition called on the protesters to go home, and the majority of the demonstrators left the scene. Nevertheless, several hundred protesters continued the rally.
At around 08.30 p.m., the police launched a coordinated offensive and started to fire rubber bullets at the remaining protesters. The opposition leaders repeatedly called on the demonstrators to go home at 09.25 p.m., saying that the rally was over.
According to Thai broadcaster PBS, the Bangkok emergency services reported that 19 protesters were hospitalized following the rally.
The demonstrations in Thailand began back in February when the constitutional court banned the Future Forward opposition party, which was popular among students. COVID-19 and the lockdown in early April hampered the protest movement, but it also affected the economic situation in the country and deepened public resentment with the authorities. The protesters demanded political reforms, namely the revision of the monarch's immunity from prosecution, and called on the prime minister, who had been the chief of the Thai army before the 2014 coup, to step down.
