Protesters turn to 'car mobs'

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From Bangkok Post

Protesters shift aim to coalition parties

A person flashes a three-fingered salute on the skywalk at Ratchadamri intersection in Bangkok in support of the "car mob" urging coalition parties to pull out of the coalition on Saturday. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

A "car mob" has shifted its target to pressure coalition parties after several anti-government groups before it failed to urge the prime minister to resign.

The anti-Prayut demonstrators, led by activist Sombat Boonngam-anong, on Saturday staged another car mob, called “Sombat Tour”, in Bangkok after one was held last Saturday.

The caravan visited the headquarters of Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties in the afternoon. They urged the pair to pull out of the Prayut Chan-o-cha coalition government, reasoning their departures would undermine the government’s vote base in the House and trigger a chain reaction.

 

 

They hope it would lead to the resignation of Gen Prayut, the dissolution of the House or at least a no-confidence debate that would pave the way for the nomination of a new prime minister.

The protesters also visited Palang Pracharath (PPRP), the main party set up to support Gen Prayut, but did not leave a letter there like they had done at the offices of the Democrats and Bhumjaithai.

Instead, they poured flour, a well-known symbol of shady activities involving Thamanat Prompow, the new secretary-general of the party.

“We don’t have a letter for them and what we did here symbolises the party’s controversial image both at home and abroad,” they announced.

Flour has over the past few years become the symbol of Deputy Agriculture Minister Thamanat Prompow, who had been convicted of drug-related charges in Australia in the 1990s. He had told Parliament during a censure debate on him last year that the substance that led to his imprisonment was not heroin. “It’s flour,” he had said.  

The demonstrators later went to the Ratchaprasong intersection where Mr Sombat gave a short speech.

“Gen Prayut claimed the country had been in crisis so he had no choice but to stage a coup. He then promised he would not stay long. But seven years have passed and we wonder whether he has a clock in his house. Now it’s clear the one who instigated an unprecedented crisis is Gen Prayut himself,” he said.

The prime minister had said on Friday that he would donate his salary for three months following criticism about his handling of the deteriorating Covid-19 situation where he has single command.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2146627/protesters-shifts-aim-to-coalition-parties

 

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From Channel News Asia

Protesters denounce Thai PM for COVID-19 pandemic handling

Pro-democracy protesters gather at Democracy Monument before marching to Government House to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in Bangkok on Jul 18, 2021. (Photo: Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

BANGKOK: Thai police deployed water cannon against protestors in Bangkok on Sunday (Jul 18) as demonstrators defied COVID-19 restrictions to call for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha's resignation and mark the one-year anniversary of a pro-democracy movement.

The kingdom is currently facing its worst-ever COVID-19 wave, registering record numbers of cases daily as hospitals buckle under pressure.

Exacerbating the toll has been the government's slow procurement of vaccines for the public, which has drawn criticism from all sides as Thailand's economy is kneecapped by increasingly severe restrictions on businesses.

Defying rules prohibiting gatherings of more than five people, protesters piled mock body bags with red paint near the intersection of the capital's Democracy Monument ahead of their march on Government House.

They were led by a frontline group wearing gas masks and hard hats and were joined by motorbike drivers who hoisted the body bags on their vehicles.

"We will die from COVID if we stay home, that is why we have to come out," shouted a protest organiser, who listed three demands.