BANGKOK: Hundreds of Thai gay activists raised rainbow flags in Bangkok during a pro-democracy rally in the capital, the latest in a series of youth-led protests calling for the government to resign, it was reported. The activists on Saturday danced and sang in the city centre, where police were deployed, the BBC reported. There were no reports of any violence. In recent days Thai pro-democracy activists have been defying a government ban on public gatherings amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to protest against General Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power in a coup in 2014, and was later named as Prime Minister by the military-appointed Parliament.
Besides Bangkok, anti-government protesters, who called for a House dissolution, an end to intimidation of the people and the rewriting of the constitution, staged demonstrations in different parts of Thailand also on Saturday, reports The Bangkok Post newspaper. In Kanchanaburi province, a group of about 50 young people comprising secondary school and university students gathered in Muang district.
The protesters held placards and banners with messages attacking the government and military dictatorship. They called for the House of Representatives to be dissolved to make way for a new election, for the government to stop all forms of intimidation of the people and for the constitution to be rewritten. (IANS)