DEMONSTRATORS heading from Victory Monument to the Government House where they wanted to stage another rally there to pressure Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to step down were stopped at Nang Loeng intersection by a strong police barricade, Thai Rath newspaper said.
Accompanying the protesters was a procession of cars, motorcycles and pick-up trucks carrying four large Khao Phansa (Buddhist Lent) candles.
The march started at 4 p.m. with Mr Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, or Pai Daodin, leading the convoy of Harley Davison and other types of motorcycle riders and many cars but they were stopped at Nang Loeng intersection where they ran into a strong police line behind a barbed wire and metal panel barricade with high-pressure water cannon trucks also having been brought in.
At 5.20 p.m. Jatupat told the protesters to blare their horns loudly and raise their middle finger to show their anger.
This was followed by the reading of the October 14 poem by Mr. Visa Kanthap, a well-known former student activist, after which all the protesters gave a three-finger salute.
Once all this was completed by 5.30 p.m. Jatupat called an end to today’s demonstration but added that he would be back again and urged the demonstrators to follow the news in social media.
At 6:10 p.m., it was reported that the protesters had gradually returned with some vendors who followed them and groups of teenagers still in the area but police had not yet opened the route to traffic.
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Today’s protest to press Gen Prayut to step down. Photos: Thai Rath
