Thailand protests 2021: Anti-government protesters clash with law enforcement

There has been another case of civil unrest that occurred in Thailand as many of its citizens have grown frustrated with their government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Over the weekend, the unrest reached a violent point as anti-government protesters clashed with the local law enforcement officials.

Last Saturday, Reuters reported that over 1000 Thai anti-government protesters clashed with the police in their efforts to demand change due to the Thai government’s mishandling of the pandemic in the country. Over 100 police officers were present when the demonstrators were marching towards the Government House, where Prime Minister Pranuth Chan-ocha’s office is.

A spokesperson for the police, Krishna Pattanacharoen, said that the law enforcement officials made use of tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. The protestors, according to Pattanacharoen, threw ping-pong bombs, stones, and marbles against the police. The violent clash led to dozens of demonstrators being rushed to the hospital for treatment on motorcycles and ambulances.

According to the Erawan Emergency Medical Center, at least two civilians and three police officers were injured from the unrest. One protester said that they want Prayuth to resign as Thai PM over the lack of vaccine rollouts. To note, around six percent of Thailand’s overall population are fully vaccinated, and most of the country, including the capital Bangkok, is under curfew.

Among those who have been protesting in the streets are also Prayuth’s former political allies, demanding change and expressing frustration about the current state of the pandemic in Thailand. During that weekend, the country reported almost 22,000 new infections in a day, along with 212 deaths from the coronavirus.

One of the leaders of the groups leading the protest, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak of the Ratsadon group, was arrested and detained upon going to the Royal Thai Police Office, according to The Bangkok Post. Chiwarak’s arrest comes two days before a rally was to be held at the Ratchaprasong intersection. The police have also detained 14 other individuals in relation to the violence that occurred at that time.

Parit was summoned on August 2 and appeared at the RTP office, reporting his role surrounding the graffiti that was on the Region 1 office of the Border Police Bureau in Pathum Thani. Parit was present to lobby the police into releasing protest leaders that were being detained.