Protesters call on king to give up royal fortune
BANGKOK - Thousands of Thai protesters called on King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Wednesday to cede control of a royal fortune valued in the tens of billions of dollars, as the latest in months of anti-government demonstrations focused squarely on the monarchy.
The protesters have broken a longstanding taboo by criticising the king, and police summoned many of the best-known protest leaders on Tuesday on charges of insulting the monarchy, which can mean up to 15 years in prison.
Protesters demonstrated outside the headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand’s biggest bank, in which the king’s 23 per cent stake worth over $2.3 billion makes him the largest shareholder. “The people demand back national assets from the king,” read one protest banner. Police put the number of protesters at more than 8000.
Demonstrations have been largely peaceful, but several bangs were heard as Wednesday’s protest dispersed and medics said one man had been shot. A police officer said there appeared to have been a clash between rival groups of vocational students.
Wednesday’s protest was moved to the SCB headquarters after police built siege barricades of shipping containers and razor wire around the Crown Property Bureau, which manages the royal assets and where the rally had originally been planned.
Parit Chiwarak, among the protest leaders facing royal insult charges, said: “Millions of families are struggling so how can we give our taxpayers’ money to just one family to spend luxuriously?”
The total value of the royal holdings is not made public, but has been estimated at more than $30 billion.
The protesters seek to make the king more accountable under the constitution as well as the reversal of changes which gave him personal control of some army units and the royal fortune. The palace has made no comment since the protests began, but when the king was asked about the protesters recently he said they were loved “all the same”.