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Anti-Government Protests Mount in Thailand as Young Thais Demand Change

Steve Sanford

   CHIANG MAI, THAILAND - Anti-government "flash mobs" have spread
   acrossThailandas techsavvyyouth demand democratic reforms as thecountry
   staggers forward in the initial stages of COVID-19 recovery.

   Thenumber ofrallies hasincreasedin the kingdom, with more than 40
   anti-government protests organized on short notice since a massive
   demonstration was held in Bangkok on July 18.

   Protestors are demanding amendments to the constitution, a new election
   and ahaltto the harassment and abuse of rights activists.

   The initial demonstrations began early this year, shortly after
   Thailand's Constitutional Court dissolved the Future Forward Party in
   Feb. 21 and banned its leader,ThanathornJuangroongruangkit,from
   politics for 10 years.

   The party, which came inthirdplace in the 2019 election, wasfavoredby
   young voters.

   However,theprotestswere temporarily halted when the COVID-19outbreak
   created a country-wide lockdown,including a restriction on public
   gatherings.

   Now, tech - savvy students have coordinated so-called 'flash mobs' on
   short notice, often posting on social media sites just days before the
   events, to avoid a security backlash.

   "At the first protest in Democracy Monument we put Free Youth on the
   hashtag and that's our first moment using that hashtag and it went
   viral very quickly and become a number one in the World," recalls a 23
   - year old female student leader, who travelled to the Northern city to
   show her support for the event.Like others who commented for this
   report, the student leader wished to remainanonymous for security
   reasons.

   But not all participants at the demonstration support the movement as
   several plainclothes police officers are among the crowd, photographing
   participants and monitoring the speeches.

   WATCH: Anti-government protests

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