Thai Protesters Use Giant Ducks to Shield Against Tear Gas-Laced Water Cannons

Thai Protesters Use Giant Ducks to Shield Against Tear Gas-Laced Water Cannons
Bryan Ke
November 19, 2020
Thai protesters are using giant inflatable rubber ducks to defend themselves against police water canons and a liquid laced with tear gas as massive protests continue in the country.
Inflatable defense: The Tuesday demonstration in front of the Parliament House in Bangkok was marked as the most violent protest since the start of the movement in July, according to the BBC.
 
  • Protesters threw smoke bombs and paint bags at the police as they tried to cut their way through the barricades and into the parliament.
  • Thai police fired back with tear gas and water cannons laced with irritant on protesters trying to reach parliament, Aljazeera reported.
  • The protesters found their solution in giant inflatable rubber ducks.
Protesters carry inflatable yellow rubber ducks at the Ratchaprasong Intersection. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
  • The protesters initially intended to float the ducks behind the parliament, where lawmakers continue to debate the possible changes in the constitution.
  • At least 41 people were reportedly injured in the clash between the two opposing sides.
 
Other details: The wide-spread protests started in February after the Thai court dissolved the nine-member pro-democracy party, The Future Forward Party. The group pushed for “full democracy, an end to conscription and the removal of the army in both politics and business,” Rappler reported.
Pro-democracy protesters amassed at a key intersection in central Bangkok on Wednesday. (Photo by Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images)
  • It was re-energized in June after Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a pro-democracy activist exiled in Cambodia, went missing. Satsaksit was reportedly kidnapped by gunmen in Phnom Penh.
  • The demonstration was fueled even more after protesters began questioning the powers of the monarchy.
  • In Thailand and under the lèse-majesté law, citizens were not allowed to insult or threaten the monarchy. Doing so will lead to imprisonment, which can range from three to 15 years of jail time.
  • Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, one of the protesters at the demonstration, said their intention “is not to destroy the monarchy but to modernize it, to adapt it to our society,” BBC reported.
  • Protesters had drafted a list of demands made by representatives of the people, which includes monarchy reforms and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his government.
Featured Image via On Demand News
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