Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
Ten of thousands people from across the country are expected to join the anti-government protest this weekend. To avoid communication hiccups during the demonstration in case the mobile signal network is down, protesters start to circle around encouraging others to download Bridgefy or Briar for back-up plan. Bridgefy is an offline messaging application that
The Dean of the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University has announced the closure of the Tha Prachan campus and cancellation of classes on Saturday and Sunday for the safety of staff members, students and property. The order to close the campus this weekend, which coincides with the planned protest by the Thammasat Alliance
The Metropolitan Police are advising motorists in Bangkok to avoid roads which are expected to be affected by the protest march from Thammasat University to Government House this weekend. The roads to be avoided include: Ratchadamnoen Nok Ratchadamnoen Nai Ratchadamnoen Klang Somdet Phra Pinklao Visutkasat Chakkrapatdiphong Larn Luang Dinsor Tanow Rama 8 Bridge Phra
Reform of the Thai Monarchy, part of the ten-point manifesto, published for the first time at a rally on August 10th, will definitely be raised at this weekend’s rally at Thammasat University’s Tha Prachan campus, said Ms. Panasaya Sitthichirawattanakul, one of the leaders of the Thammasat Alliance group. Ms. Panasaya shot to public attention
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned student activists not to break the law during their planned protest this Saturday, as he reassured that he has instructed the police to treat the protesters with leniency “because they are our children.” As the day of the protest draws near, the Prime Minister reminded the protesters,
Red-shirt movement leader Jatuporn Promphan has urged the leaders of the September 19th protest to make clear to the public the actual destination of their planned march on Sunday, whether it is to be Government House or the Royal Plaza. Quoting intelligence sources, Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn has claimed that Government House is just a
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha made a last-minute appeal this evening to protest leaders to postpone their rally, planned for this weekend, until the threat from the COVID-19 pandemic passes. Addressing the Thai public in national broadcast, the Prime Minister said that the world is facing a second wave of COVID-19, citing Spain, where about
Thammasat University’s historical Tha Phrachan campus has once again been chosen as the venue for a large student-led protest, setting the stage for renewed political confrontation. The United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration Group, as the student movement behind the ongoing anti-government protests calls itself, is going ahead with its rally on the campus on
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has suspended Democrat MP Theptai Seanapong from performing his duty as an MP, pending its ruling on his parliamentary status. The Nakhon Si Thammarat MP, and his younger brother Manote, were sentenced to two years in prison without suspension by the provincial court after being found guilty of vote buying, ahead of
Thailand’s Democrat party has proposed that the Government, Opposition and Senate chief whips meet to discuss constitutional amendments, before the issue is debated in a joint session of Parliament. Democrat party spokesman Mr. Ramet Rattanachaweng said today that party leader Jurin Laksanavisit wants representatives of the three groups to settle their differences on charter
The House of Representatives today (Wednesday) began the second and final readings of the budget bill for the 2021 fiscal year. The debate is scheduled to end tomorrow, but could be extended into Friday. The budget, originally set at 3.3 trillion baht, has been trimmed to 3.28 trillion baht by the bi-partisan House Budget Scrutiny
As the planned September 19th mass protest draws near, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngarm warned the anti-dictatorship protesters today (Wednesday) not to venture within 50-metres of Government House, or risk a breach of the public assembly law. Citing the Public Assembly Act of 2015, the Government’s top legal expert said that it bars protesters from
