BANGKOK: A top leader of Thailand’s pro-democracy protests insisted Tuesday that the student-led movement will not back down from its most controversial demand, that the country’s monarchy undergo reforms.
Lawyer Arnon Nampha also told a crowd outside Bangkok Remand Prison that the movement would hold a large demonstration in front of Parliament if a draft constitutional amendment the protesters are seeking is not approved in its next session, scheduled for mid-November.
“When Parliament opens, and if they do not pass the draft amendment of the constitution, we will close Parliament with our own hands,” he said.
The movement wants Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to step down, the constitution to be amended to make it more democratic, and the monarchy reformed to make its activities more transparent and accountable. The protesters have been holding almost daily rallies around the country, some attracting upwards of 10,000 people.
Arnon spoke to more than 100 supporters who gathered outside the prison after he and three other protest leaders were freed from custody when a court refused to extend their detention, which had been requested by police.
Police have filed dozens of charges against them in connection with several protests, ranging from illegal use of a loudspeaker in public to sedition. As a result, most have been in and out of jail several times.
Arnon said the protest movement will insist on its three demands, and even if it compromises on the prime minister’s resignation and amending the constitution, it will stick to the third concerning the monarchy.
The protesters believe the monarchy wields too much power, but to royalists it is an untouchable institution that is the heart and soul of the nation. Public criticism of it is unprecedented, and a lese majeste law makes defaming the monarch and his immediate family punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Counter-demonstrations that have sprung up in reaction to the pro-democracy movement declare they are defending the monarchy. In recent rare appearances, King Maha Vajiralongkorn and other royal family members have reinforced royalist passions with walking tours that take them face-to-face with adoring members of the public.
The government has urged “unity” as a way of easing the political crisis, but there are fears that polarization could foster violence.
“For the next step, it is necessary for us to step forward very carefully because their backs are against the wall,” said Arnon, in reference to Thailand’s conservative ruling establishment. “They prepare to use violence against us.”
The protest movement has generally followed the tenets of nonviolent civil disobedience, a point underlined by Arnon.
“Violence is not the answer,” he told reporters. “Our opponents will also learn that. We will protest based on peace, sincerity and humanity.”
Thai protest leader says movement will not back down on demand
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Thai protest leader says movement will not back down on demand
- ‘When Parliament opens, and if they do not pass the draft amendment of the constitution, we will close Parliament with our own hands’
26 Doctors without Borders workers remain unaccounted for in South Sudan a month after attacks
- A hospital in the town of Lankien was bombed by government forces, MSF said
- “We have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity”
NAIROBI: More than two dozen Doctors Without Borders workers remain unaccounted for a month after attacks in South Sudan, the medical charity said.
Two facilities belonging to the group, known by French acronym MSF, were attacked on Feb. 3 in Jonglei State, northeast of the capital, Juba, where violence has displaced an estimated 280,000 people since December.
A hospital in the town of Lankien was bombed by government forces, MSF said, while another medical facility in the town of Pieri was raided by “unknown assailants.” Both were located in opposition-held areas.
Staff working at the two facilities fled alongside much of the local population into deeply rural areas where armed clashes and aerial bombardments were ongoing.
MSF said in a statement on Monday that “26 of 291 of our colleagues working in Lankien and Pieri remain unaccounted for.
“We have lost contact with them amid ongoing insecurity,” it said.
The lack of communication with its staff could be linked to the limited network connectivity in much of the state. Staff members who had been contacted described “destruction, violence and extreme hardships.”
Fighting escalated sharply in December, when opposition forces captured a string of government outposts in north central Jonglei. In January, the government responded with a counteroffensive that recaptured most of the area it had lost.
Displaced people in Akobo, an opposition-held town near the Ethiopian border, described horrific violence by government fighters. Many described not being able to find food or water as they walked for days to reach safety.
The attacks on MSF facilities in Lankien and Pieri are part of an uptick in violence on humanitarian staff, supplies and infrastructure, aid groups say. MSF facilities have been attacked 10 times in the last 12 months.
“This violence has taken an unbearable toll not only on health care services, but on the very people who kept them running,” said Yashovardhan, MSF head of mission in South Sudan, who only uses one name.
“Medical workers must never be targets,” he said. “We are deeply concerned about what has happened to our colleagues and the communities we serve.”
