Fresh protests against Thai PM amid surge of infections

BANGKOK • A year after the start of student-led protests against Thailand's military-backed government, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is facing rising anger amid a mounting wave of Covid-19 cases and a dismal economy.

Some of those calling for him to step down are his one-time allies.

Yesterday, hundreds of protesters from three separate groups marched to demand the resignation of Mr Prayut, who first came to power in 2014 when, as army chief, he led a military coup against an elected government.

Several political parties in Parliament, including two in his ruling coalition, are preparing to try and change the military-drafted Constitution that helped keep him in office through elections in 2019, by allowing a junta-appointed Senate to vote for the prime minister.

Assuming the continued support of the military and Thailand's powerful king, it is likely that the new push to change the political power structures will come to nothing again. Still, frustration with Mr Prayut, in particular, has grown since last year, when it was mainly students calling for him to go.

"People have to come out to clean up the dirt in our system," said political activist Nittitorn Lamlua, 56, who led a group of protesters in Bangkok yesterday.

He is a veteran of the "Yellow Shirt" movement of mostly royalist conservatives who protested against a succession of elected populist governments, the last of which was ousted when Mr Prayut seized power. However, Mr Nittitorn shares few views with the youthful student protesters of last year. In fact, he led a counter-protest to defend the king and the monarchy against the students' call for curbing the king's powers.

But Mr Nittitorn ticks off a list of what he calls the Prime Minister's faults: Mismanagement of the coronavirus and the economy, inadequately defending the monarchy from calls for reform, plus failure to restore true democracy with the 2019 elections.

"It is this government that has pushed me to come out again, through their failures and their mismanagement," he said.

Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said Bangkok was willing to listen to criticism, and the Prime Minister would act only in the best interests of the public. "The government is trying not to be an opponent to any particular groups," he said.

Thailand's third Covid-19 wave, its worst since the start of the pandemic with a record 51 deaths on Wednesday, has fuelled anger.

"The public pressure is palpable, mounting and people want answers," said Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak, political scientist at Chulalongkorn University and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies. However, he said, with the military and palace still behind Mr Prayut, it is difficult to see how he could be removed.

This week, Parliament is debating amendments to the 2017 military-written Constitution, which stipulates that the Senate, appointed by Mr Prayut's former junta, votes for the prime minister along with the elected House of Representatives.

Along with opposition parties, even two members of Mr Prayut's ruling coalition - the Bhumjaithai and Democrat parties - favour changes that would remove the Senate's right to vote for the country's prime minister. The next general election is due by 2023. But changes to the Constitution require the Senate's approval.

"We are kind of stuck with Prayut indefinitely, until the next election," said Dr Thitinan.

REUTERS