Timeline of the 2020 Thai protests (October 2020)
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On 2 October, the Bad Student high school protest group organized protests at Bangkok high schools in Bangkok to protest against the abuse and mistreatment of school students, then assembled at the Ministry of Education to again call for the resignation of the Education Minister.[1]
After no major events for nearly a month, on 13 October, the day before a planned demonstration date, a small group of protesters gathered at Ratchadamnoen Avenue near Democracy Monument, to protest the passing of the king's motorcade.[2] Vajiralongkorn, who rarely returns to Thailand,[3] was visiting to honor the fourth anniversary of his father's death.[4] Twenty-one protesters were detained,[5] and while the royal motorcade passed, others raised the three-finger Hunger Games salute, a notable incident of open dissent to the Thai monarchy. A hashtag insulting the king trended on Twitter.[6][7]
The motorcade incident
The planned protest rally on 14 October began at Democracy Monument, with the objective of moving to Government House to demand the resignation of Prayut.[8] Both the United States Embassy and the United Nations in Bangkok warned their staff of an elevated risk, the latter due to the arrest of the 21 protesters the previous day.[5] Authorities ordered "counter-protesters" to be trucked in using municipal vehicles,[9] some of whom subsequently joined the protests.[10] Right-wing groups, including the Thai Pakdee (Loyal Thais) and the Rubbish Collection Organization, launched counter-protests.[11][12] Later in the day, tens of thousands of protesters,[13] some under the umbrella of "Khana Ratsadorn 2563" (a reference to the historical People's Party), in a largely peaceful rally, marked by some violent assaults on the protesters by pro-royalists,[14] marched to Government House and set up camps around it.[15] The protest coincided with a planned royal progression around the city, which the protesters stated they would not impede and did not.[14] Typically, roads on the royal motorcade's route are closed in advance by police.[16] In this instance, however, the motorcade made no formal announcement, and the previously announced route was via another avenue.[17] Protesters flashed the three-finger salute while chanting "Our taxes"—a reference to the monarchy's spending[4]—and "Nation, Religion, People".[16] Meanwhile, Prayut ordered legal actions against the protesters for allegedly blocking the motorcade,[17] which included Queen Suthida and the heir-apparent Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti.[3] According to Reuters, the demonstrators got close to the car but were "always behind police and none appeared to be trying to reach it".[16] Anon accused the authorities of intentionally arranging the motorcade through the rally site. He gave an estimate of 200,000 participants before midnight.[18]
Severe state of emergency
On 15 October, the authorities declared a "severe" state of emergency in Bangkok from 04:00 local time and banned gatherings of five or more people.[19][20] The protesters were cleared using riot police.[19] In the process, police detained 20 demonstrators, among them three protest leaders, and imposed a ban on sensitive media stories.[21] The government indicated it would set up a state-of-emergency command center. During the day, troops were dispatched to guard Government House and Parliament,[22] raising alarm from an opposition member of parliament (MP) of resembling pre-2014 coup days.[23] Opposition parties demanded the revoking of the Emergency Decree and an extraordinary session of Parliament.[24] Two activists were arrested on the charge of attempting an “act of violence against the queen’s liberty”, an arcane law which incurs a possible life sentence, but eyewitnesses confirmed that they only shouted at the motorcade.[3][25] Three senior policemen were transferred and investigated for the motorcade incident.[26] A smaller planned occupation of at least 13,500 participants went ahead at 4pm at the Ratchaprasong intersection,[27][28] where bloodshed occurred during the crackdown in 2010.[27][29] Twenty more protesters were arrested,[30] but the movement vowed to continue protesting with flash protest tactics.[31] A legal aid group reported at least 51 people were arrested between 13 and 15 October.[32]
Crackdown at Patumwan Intersection
On 16 October, the Thai cabinet confirmed a month-long state of emergency, reserving the right to impose a curfew and martial law.[33] Prayut's remark of the protesters "don’t be careless, because people can die today, or tomorrow [...] Do not trifle with the powerful Grim Reaper," paraphrasing Buddha's teaching, was viewed by protesters as threatening the use of deadly force and as the actions of "a tyrant".[34] Around 2,000 unarmed protesters, mostly teenagers, gathered at Pathum Wan Intersection, and two hours later were dispersed by the police. High-pressure water cannons with chemical-filled water and tear gas were used.[35][36] The leader of the opposition Move Forward Party unsuccessfully asked police to evacuate the injured. The Commander of the Metropolitan Police reported at least 100 people were arrested.[37] Protesters vowed to continue.[28] Within hours of the crackdown, students from many universities nationwide held flash protests in response.[38][39][40] Some right-wing personalities used an AFP video clip which showed a police officer in full riot gear being hit with pincers to question whether the protesters were unarmed.[41][42] The blue colour dye in the water—speculated to be methylene blue, Azure A, or Thionine[43]—was used to mark participants for potential arrest later.[44] Protesters complained that the water contained a skin and eye irritant.[44] The police could not confirm the exact type of chemicals deployed and were criticized for not appearing more curious about the chemicals they had purchased.[45] The police said the chemicals were not dangerous and that they were following "international standards" for crowd control;[44][46] however, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights guidance states water cannon should be used only against violent protests.[47]
