Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
With Thailand still battered and bruised by the impact of COVID-19, another storm is brewing on the horizon. Protesters’ loud and unprecedented calls for reform of the monarchy are dividing families and pushing the country towards potentially violent deadlock, observers warn. The student-led protests began in late February but on August 10 broke a historical
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed concern over the recent phenomenon of students raising three fingers, in many educational institutes, during the daily singing of the national anthem and whether any students who do not join in are boycotted or bullied as a result. The Prime Minister said today that he understands the political expression
Thailand’s Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) has instructed all educational offices to tell schools under their supervision to open a space on campus, to allow students and teachers to exercise free expression of political issues within the framework of the law. In an urgent circular, OBEC reminded school administrators of the students’ right
Police in Pathum Thani province are gathering evidence to seek arrest warrants for six Free People protest leaders, for their roles in the August 10th protest at Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus, during which offensive remarks were allegedly made about the Thai Monarchy. The six protest leaders were identified by police as Ms. Panasya Sitthijirawattanakul, Panupong
Thai police are to issue summonses for at least 15 more key protesters, from the Free People movement, for questioning in connection with the protest held at the Democracy Monument on July 18th. Police superintendents and enquiry officers from 10 police stations have been summoned for a meeting with Pol Lt-Gen Pakkapong Pongpetra, the Metropolitan
Security for Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been stepped up after an incident on Monday morning when his motorcade, travelling from his home to Government House, was chased by a private car, the driver of which occasionally sounded its horn, in an apparent show of discontent. Government House sources said that Special Branch police
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed police to exercise restraint in response to any provocation by anti-government protesters, most of whom are university students, and to refrain from using force against them. The Prime Minister’s instruction came ahead of rallies, planned by rival groups, the “Network of Vocational Students” and the “Free People Movement”,
Thailand’s opposition Pheu Thai Party has agreed to send its MPs, or other party members, to student protest sites to ensure safety and order and to pre-empt allegations that the party is behind the protests. Mr. Somkid Chuakhong, the party’s Ubon Ratchathani MP and chief of the House working committee following up on the student
Student protest leader Prit “Penquin” [sic] Chivarak was today held in police custody, charged with inciting public unrest. Armed with an arrest warrant, issued by the Criminal Court, police took the Thammasat University student to Samranrat police station. Police sources said that the student leader violated Section 116 of the Criminal Code by allegedly inciting
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said today that the Government will not take a heavy-handed approach dealing with student activists, following the controversial rally at Thammasat University on Monday night, but warned them not to cause unrest in the country. The Prime Minister claimed, however, that the majority of the people disagreed with the Government‘s
105 lecturers, from various universities across Thailand, issued a statement today defending the controversial speeches, delivered during the protest at Thammasat University on Monday night, as honest and legitimate expressions regarding the role in and relationship of the Thai Monarchy to Thai society. The lecturers cited Section 34 of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom
At least two complaints were filed with police in Bangkok and in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen today, against leaders of the protest at Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus on Monday night, for allegedly offending the Monarchy and inciting public unrest, in contravention of Sections 112 and 116 of the Criminal Code. In Bangkok this
