Protesters of anti-government Thai Mai Thon (impatient Thais) gathered in the resort town of Pattaya yesterday afternoon (Saturday) to reiterate demands for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s resignation.
The protesters, most on motorcycles with some moving cars, gathered in front of the shrine of King Taksin the Great on Pattaya’s Beach Road near Pattaya Soi 6 at about 2 p.m.
During the protest, they performed a swearing ritual by smashing pottery pots on the prime minister’s portrait and then pounding them into smithereens, before driving past the Beach Riad to South Pattaya and several other roads in the city.
The police, led by Colonel Thanavuth Jongjira, the deputy. Chief Inspector of Chon Buri Provincial Police, was sent to the protest site to maintain order and control the flow of traffic.
Then Colonel Thanavuth read an order from the provincial governor and reminded protesters that public gatherings of more than five people are prohibited as Pattaya is located within the COVID-19 “dark red” zone.
The protest leader, Mr. Wanchalerm Koonsen, read a statement saying similar protests are taking place across the country by people who strongly condemn the government’s mismanagement of the pandemic and the economy
He said the protesters will continue to defy the ban on public gatherings, adding they will continue even if some protesters are arrested.
Protests from various anti-government groups will also take place today at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok.
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