Installation of a "People's plaque" to say that the country does not belong to the king, calls for in-depth reforms of the monarchy: thousands of demonstrators gathered near the former royal palace in Bangkok, Sunday, September 20, challenged royalty, a totally taboo subject just a month ago.
The demonstration began on Saturday and brought together tens of thousands of people in the evening.
It continues on Sunday, in accordance with the wishes of the organizers.
It is the largest rally since the 2014 coup that brought current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who has since been legitimized by controversial elections, to power.
Many protesters stayed overnight in Bangkok.
Leaders have said that today they will declare “the country belongs to the people, not the monarchy 'in front of the Grand Palace.
# 19 กันยา ทวง อํา นา จ คืน รา ษ ฏ ร #WhatsHappeningInThailand pic.twitter.com/5psHUzMLbZ
- Matthew Tostevin (@TostevinM) September 19, 2020
At the heart of the demands: a more democratic Constitution, the dissolution of Parliament and the resignation of the head of government.
Some of the protesters go even further and dare to openly confront the monarchy for a few weeks.
The tone got even tougher this weekend.
On Sunday, activists cemented a plaque in Sanam Luang, a royal square near the Grand Palace in the center of the capital, in front of several thousand opponents still present.
Reuters: Thai protesters installed a plaque in the field next to the Grand Palace in Bangkok early on Sunday inscribed with the message that Thailand belongs to the people and not to the monarch.
Picture @Athit_P # 19 กันยา ทวง อํา นา จ คืน รา ษ ฏ ร #whatshappeninginthailand pic.twitter.com/iltzDQ5jpN
- Matthew Tostevin (@TostevinM) September 20, 2020
"There, the people expressed their will: that this country belongs to the people and is not the property of the monarch", it is written.
"The nation does not belong to anyone, but to all of us," added Parit Chiwarak, said "Penguin", one of the figures of the movement.
"Down with feudalism".
The gesture is very symbolic: a plaque, installed for years in central Bangkok to celebrate the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, was removed under mysterious conditions in 2017, shortly after Maha Vajiralongkorn's accession to the throne.
"The people have already woken up"
It is "an immediate challenge" to royalty, noted Paul Chambers, political scientist at the Thai University of Naresuan.
"The hardening of the protest could lead to state violence against the demonstrators."
Opponents then went to the influential Privy Council, which assists the sovereign in his functions.
One of the organizers handed a letter containing their grievances to the head of the royal police, AFP journalists noted.
"It's a first victory (...), the people have already woken up," said Napassorn Saengduean, a 20-year-old student.
Asked, the Royal Palace was not available for comment.
Openly confronting the monarchy is unprecedented in Thailand, where, despite successive overthrow of regimes (12 coups d'état since 1932), royalty, defended by the elites and the army, has until now remained untouchable.
"Our goal is not to destroy the monarchy, but to modernize it"
The protesters' demands are daring: they demand the king's non-interference in political affairs, the repeal of the very severe law on the offense of lese majesty and the return of the property of the Crown to the bosom of the State , claims deemed unacceptable by the government.
"Our goal is not to destroy the monarchy, but to modernize it," said Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, said Rung, another head of the opposition movement.
>> To read: Who is Rama X, the sulphurous new king of Thailand?
The Thai sovereign, well beyond his status as constitutional monarch, has considerable influence which he exercises most often in the shadows.
Especially since Maha Vajiralongkorn, ascended to the throne in 2016 upon the death of his father, the venerated King Bhumibol, strengthened the powers of an already all-powerful monarchy by taking direct control of the royal fortune.
Another rally is scheduled for Thursday in front of Parliament where MPs will debate possible constitutional changes.
The organizers are calling for a general strike on October 14.
"This demonstration was only a stage. A possible process of democratization will take years", warns Sophie Boisseau du Rocher, specialist in Thailand at the French Institute of international relations.
With AFP
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR