Thai police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Saturday (August 7) ​​at several hundred pro-democracy protesters gathered in Bangkok to demand political reform and better management of the coronavirus epidemic.

"Murderous government", "resignation", could we read on the posters, while nearly 22,000 cases of Covid-19 and 212 deaths were recorded on Saturday, a record.

Protesters criticize the slowness of the vaccination campaign: less than 4.5 million of the 70 million Thais have received two injections.

They are asking authorities to use messenger RNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna, rather than China's Sinovac, which is said to be less effective against the Delta variant.

"We must continue to fight despite the epidemic," Nat, 27, told AFP.

The pro-democracy movement is calling for the resignation of the head of government, Prayut Chan-O-Cha, resulting from a coup d'état in 2014 and legitimized by controversial elections five years later, as well as an in-depth reform of the monarchy.

A less active pro-democracy movement 

At the top of their demands, the abolition of the dreaded article on lese majesté which punishes up to 15 years in prison for defamation, criticism and insults against the king and his family.

More than 110 people have been indicted on the basis of this text in recent months.

At the height of the pro-democracy movement last year, tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets of the Thai capital.

The protest has weakened in recent months due to the legal response from the authorities and the pandemic, but sporadic demonstrations are still organized.

With AFP

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