Thai pro-democracy protesters hand letter with demand for King to Police chief

Thousands of protesters, mainly students, in Thailand were marching to the Royal Palace to present a letter with their demands for King Maha Vajiralongkorn. According to Bangkok Post, the protesters ended their rally on early Sunday morning after handing over the letter to the Metropolitan Police Bureau chief. The pro-democracy protesters have said that they would gather again on September 24 outside the parliament and will call for a general strike on October 14, the anniversary of the student uprising of 1973. 

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Reason behind protests

Protests in Thailand have been taking place since last year after in a disputed election former junta leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha was elected the Prime Minister of the country. Prayuth Chan-Ocha has been leading Thailand since 2014 after he took power in a military coup. After seizing power, Prayuth cracked down on dissent, amended the constitution among other things. Prayuth in 2015 declared that he had the power to shut down media organizations if they are found violating "government laws". 

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Student protesters, led by student leader Parit 'Penguin' Chiwarak, in their letter to the King have demanded the constitution of the country be re-written, they want the Prime Minister Prayuth to be removed and fresh election be held, and lastly, the power of the monarch be constrained. Protests in Thailand intensified from February this year after a pro-democracy party was ordered by a court to be dissolved. The Future Forward Party had won the third-largest number of seats in the March 2019 general election.

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In June this year, a pro-democracy leader went missing from Cambodia, where he had been in exile since the 2014 military coup. This also caused major concern among the activists in Thailand, who took to the streets to protest. The protesters have said that they don't want to demolish the monarchy they only want reforms and put it in place. Criticizing the monarchy in Thailand is punishable and can result in prison sentences. 

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