Bangkok braces for protests

Security tightened ahead of no-confidence vote against Prayut govt

AUTHORITIES increased security around parliament ahead of demonstrations coinciding with a no-confidence vote against the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Several water cannon trucks were spotted near parliament, raising the prospect of renewed clashes between protesters and police.

The police says all protests in Bangkok are illegal, citing the ban on public gatherings since a second wave of coronavirus infections began in December.

“We will not allow the demonstrators to enter the area in front of parliament,” Police Major General Piya Tavichai, deputy commissioner of Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau, said.

The youth-led protests emerged last year to demand the resignation of one-time coup leader Prayut and an end to what they call military dominance of government.

Thousands of police officers were on standby ahead of the parliamentary vote scheduled for the weekend, which Prayut and his Cabinet are expected to survive.

A pro-democracy group, “Mob Fest”, posted on its Facebook page on Thursday that it would hold a “censure debate by the people” in front of parliament on the fourth day of the debate against the Prayut government by opposition parties.

The official censure debate began on Feb 16 and was to end yesterday, while the vote on the no confidence motion will take place today.

“Our debate will address eight key topics that reflect problems under Prayut’s administration,” said the group.

Protest leaders planned to stage another protest in Bangkok today.

Piya said the police had deployed 900 officers around parliament and put 11,850 officers on standby.

“We will not use all (the forces) but we have the force to be called upon when necessary,” Piya said.

AN aide to Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha filed a criminal complaint accusing an Opposition lawmaker of insulting the king, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Thailand has seen a sharp increase in use of the “lese majeste” law since youth-led street protests last year broke a taboo by demanding reform of the powerful monarchy.

Suporn Attawong, an assistant to the Prime Minister’s Office, reported Amarat Chokepamitkul from the Move Forward Party to the cybercrime police on suspicion of breaking the law with her Facebook posts.

Section 112 of Thailand’s penal code makes insulting the king, queen, heir or regent a crime.

“We see Amarat posting offensive things and we have found evidence that this lawmaker is involved with 112 other offenders by providing funding and joining demonstrations,” Suporn told reporters.

“We also found many posts related to the monarchy or mocking the king,” Suporn said, without specifying which posts.

Amarat told reporters she was not worried about the complaint.

“I am doing my duty as a member of the Opposition, and I want the prime minister to answer the accusations inside parliament rather than resorting to this tactic,” she said.

Amarat had on Tuesday accused Prayut of abusing his power during a four-day censure debate, proposed by the Opposition, against the prime minister and nine members of the Cabinet.

All are likely to survive the no-confidence votes, which are scheduled for this weekend.

Since November, at least 59 people have been charged with lese majeste, according to records compiled by the campaign group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

This month, four activists were remanded in prison pending trial after being accused of actions that damaged the monarchy and “hurt the feelings of loyal Thai subjects”.