updated: Jan 08 2021, 15:52 ist
Tensions are rising around Thailand s pro-democracy protests, with six people shot last week and police using tear gas and water cannon on the streets of Bangkok.
As the Thai capital braces for the next major rally on Wednesday, AFP takes a look at the forces in play and what might come next in a country with a long history of political unrest.
After four months of rallies, sometimes involving tens of thousands of demonstrators, the mood is getting tougher, with protest leaders warning they are not prepared to compromise.
More than 50 people were injured during a protest near parliament last week, six of them with gunshot wounds, according to medical officials, though it is not clear who was responsible for the shooting. Police are investigating but have not made any arrests.
Young Thais defiant over lese majeste clampdown
As use of the draconian royal defamation law increases, young protesters pledge to keep fighting for democracy James Lovelock, Bangkok Updated: January 07, 2021 10:50 AM GMT
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A Thai pro-democracy protester stands on the street in central Bangkok on Dec. 31 as mass political gatherings were banned after an increase in Covid-19 cases. (Photo: AFP)
Thai authorities have ignored pleas by rights groups to stop their heavy-handed legal campaign against young pro-democracy activists through use of the draconian lese majeste law.
Instead, they have just charged another three young Thais with royal defamation, a crime punishable with up to 15 years in prison per charge under Article 112 of the Criminal Code.
1st LD Writethru: Thailand reports 315 new COVID-19 cases southeastasiapost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from southeastasiapost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
English By VOA News Share on Facebook Print this page BANGKOK - Thai authorities January 1 made their 38th arrest of a pro-democracy activist in recent weeks under the country’s tough lèse majesté law as authorities crack down on the country’s unprecedented protest movement.
That law, Section 112 of the Thai criminal code, forbids defamation of the king and provides for three to 15 years’ imprisonment for violations.
The law had been dormant since King Maha Vajiralongkorn succeeded his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016. The Thai government, though, is now using it to try to stamp out continuing protests calling for the government to resign, a new constitution and reform of the monarchy.
In old Bangkok, a goddess resists a wave of gentrification By Jorge Silva
The Wider Image: In old Bangkok, a goddess resists a wave of gentrification
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Inside the shrine of Chao Mae Thap Thim in Bangkok, a figurine of the sea goddess Mazu sits in the centre of a gold-framed altar of deities in a room festooned with lanterns and Chinese scriptures.
Outside, a tall, newly erected metal fence stands between the goddess and a vast construction site, where a dozen trucks and excavators are waiting to move in and demolish the historic shrine once at the heart of the Thai capital’s Chinese migrant community.