Thailand police shut public transport as protests continue
BANGKOK: Thai police set up roadblocks and closed 77 Bangkok train stations on Saturday as pro-democracy protesters continued gathering in multiple locations around the Thai capital, defying an emergency decree banning gatherings for the fourth consecutive day.
The protesters used social media to arrange assemblies before police had time to block them. Authorities threatened legal action against Twitter and Facebook accounts that announced the protests, however fresh calls to action were posted on Saturday despite the state of emergency.
The determined, youth-led protest movement is calling for Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha to step down, the nation’s monarchy to undergo reform and the constitution to be amended to make it more democratic.
Thai ‘Hunger Games’
In an attempt to stay ahead of authorities, protest organizers advised followers to gather at stations outside the city center, where access was easier.
Hundreds gathered on Saturday in Bangkok’s northern Lat Phrao district with helmets and gas masks, raising a three-finger salute adopted from the “Hunger Games” films as a symbol by the movement.
Nearly a thousand protesters rallied in the western Wongwian Yai district chanting: “Long live the people, down with dictatorship!”
On Friday, after riot police dispersed largely peaceful protesters with high-pressure water cannon, the prime minister extended an emergency decree — which bans public gatherings of more than five people — until November 13.
The law gives authorities the power to restrict access to areas deemed off-limits.