Popular uprising against Thailand's God-like monarchy
A small but increasingly vocal group is calling for reform
of the monarchy - a radical idea in Thailand, where the powerful royal
institution is regarded with deity-like reverence. The country has some
of the strictest lese majeste laws in the world and defaming the king,
queen, heir-apparent or regent can mean a 15-year jail sentence. It was an act unthinkable in Thailand mere months ago - 10,000 anti-government protesters packing Bangkok's Democracy Monument on Sunday, with some calling for reform of the country's monarchy.
The protest was the biggest anti-government rally since the military seized power
six years ago, and came after a month of almost daily demonstrations started by
students across the country that have since attracted a large cross-section of
society. Anger among disaffected youth has been bubbling since before
the March 2019 elections, which gave General-turned-Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha another
four years in office.
But on Sunday, young and old were seen calling for
democratic reforms, changes to the military-written constitution, and for the
dissolution of parliament. "I am so thrilled to see a lot people turned out to
join the protest today," said Arnon Nampa, one of the protest
leaders. "The movement has gone beyond just the youth group -- as you see
there are more older people, and some of them even attended the protest with
their family."...