Severe Emergency Decree declared, police disperse protesters
Prayut Chan-o-cha the Prime Minister of Thailand has declared a state of emergency. Police dispersed democracy activists that planned to camp out overnight in front of the PM’s office. The protestors demand his resignation. A leader of the protest announced on stage the end of the rally, most of the protestors had already left the area before police dispersed the remaining protestors. The leaders of the pro-democracy group also announced before walking off stage that the rally was to continue on 15 October 2020 in the main part of Bangkok. When the PM declared a “severe” state of emergency in Thailand’s capital this allowed police to start moving into the protestors stationed in front of the Government House.
Facebook user “Is Tha” posted shortly after the dispersion of what he saw while in the incident and a message from an officer that had to disperse protestors. The post stated “I was in the front and there were about 50 protestors left. I believe there were at least 500 officers receiving orders from an officer on a truck. It was clear that the officers below didn’t want to follow the orders. Some stood with tears on their faces. The officer on the amplifier truck ordered to “go ahead” and “run at them” but the officers below stood still. Every was repeated at least 2 times before any action was actually taken. They knew inside that this isn’t right.
The people stand with nothing in their hands. All protestors did was throw plastic bottles at officers. One protestor was seen throwing a glass bottle but others nearby quickly stopped him. When I was held by an officer he said “I’m sorry” and “whatever you have throw it away”, but all I had was a camera. The officer then looked left and right to make sure that other officers weren’t watching and quickly shoved me into a group of reporters before wiping his tears. What type of society am I living in”. Police spokesperson Kissana Phathanacharoen warned that protestors who plan to join the rally in Rajaprasong will be breaking the law.
