Thai PM vows to carry on despite calls to quit

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has rejected calls for his resignation despite months-long anti-government protests in the country, with demonstrators demanding his departure and reform of the monarchy.

“I will not run away from problems. I will not leave my duty by resigning at a time when the country has problems,” the prime minister said at a parliament session on Tuesday.

Opposition members of the parliament told Prayuth, who came to power in a coup six years ago, to stop hiding behind proclamations of loyalty to the monarchy and step down.

A protest leader also dismissed the parliament session as “useless.”

Prayuth said he had agreed to set up committees to study the problems, but referring to the protesters, he said, “I don’t know whom I should talk to as there are no leaders. They are all leaders.”

This is while government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri had previously said the prime minister was concerned about the spreading protests, adding that the government “wants to talk to find a way out together,” without specifying to whom it hoped to talk.

Thailand has seen near-daily demonstrations since mid-July. Protesters are calling for the resignation of the government of Prayuth, a rewriting of the constitution that helped the former coup leader hold on to power in elections last year, and a halt to the harassment of dissidents.

The demonstrations have also become more openly critical of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s monarchy, breaking a longstanding taboo and demanding curbs to his powers despite potential jail terms of up 15 years for anyone insulting the king.

The royal palace has made no comment on the protests, but King Maha Vajiralongkorn has said that Thailand needs people who love the country and the monarchy.

Prayuth previously said that his government would allow protests but would not accept demands for reform of the monarchical system in the country. His government ordered a ban on all political gatherings of five or more people in mid-October in a bid to quell over three months of street protests.

But demonstrations have persisted despite the arrest of dozens of protesters and their leaders and the use of force to crack down on rallies.  

Police crackdown prompts more protests in Thailand

Tens of thousands of people once again take to the streets of Thailand’s Bangkok and other cities in the country, a day after police used brutal tactics to crack down on protesters in the capital.

Also on Tuesday, more than 1,000 yellow-shirted royalists took part in a rally in the country’s capital, Bangkok.

“We want to show support and encouragement to his majesty,” said one of the demonstrators, 57-year-old Thatchapan Boriphet. “I am neutral politically but I cannot stand it when there is a violation of the monarchy.”

The prime minister’s office shared an image of the demonstration on Twitter.

Scores of Thai royalists and anti-government protesters have confronted each other during the past weeks.

Last Wednesday, the yellow-shirted royalists advanced on student protesters at Ramkhamhaeng University, and the two sides shouted slurs at each other. Some threw water bottles and other objects before the students pulled back and police stepped in to separate the sides.

Thailand’s protests have raised concern about potential trouble in a country that experienced a decade of street violence between the supporters and opponents of the establishment before the coup d’etat in 2014.

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