Over the
past three months, Thailand has seen a student-led, pro-democracy movement gather
momentum with activists demanding for unprecedented changes to the kingdom’s unassailable
monarchy.

The Thai government
announced an emergency decree on Thursday, banning gatherings of more than four
people, which led to the arrest of over 20 protesters, including a number of prominent
leaders, AFP reported.

This came
after thousands of protestors rallied around the Democracy Monument in capital Bangkok
on Wednesday, before marching to the government house where many camped
overnight.

Also Read: US slams UN Human Rights Council after Pakistan, China, Russia’s inclusion

What we know so far:

The demonstrations
are primarily directed towards Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s government,
who, as the army chief, led a coup in 2014 and has since kept the kingdom under
military rule.

A new
constitution was formed under the new junta before elections were held last
year. Prayut was elected to lead the newly formed government, which analysts
say was significantly tilted by the new charter’s provisions.

Protesters have
called the whole process sham and are demanding the dissolution of the
Parliament, along with re-writing of the constitution.

They have
also put forward a list of 10 demands for the royal family, which includes scrapping
a defamation law that shields the monarchy from criticism. The law is one of
the harshest in the world, carrying a jail sentence of 15 years per charge.

Discontent
has been simmering since February when the leaders of an opposition party,
popular among young people, were banned from politics.

Many
protesters say the move against the Future Forward Party was politically
motivated.

A pandemic
lockdown, which sent Thailand’s economy into freefall, exposed the chasm
between the billionaire class and the poor.

Also Read: Main officer accused in George Floyd killing released on bail: Court

And in
June, prominent activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit, who had been living in
self-exile in neighbouring Cambodia, disappeared.

Activists
in Thailand lit up Twitter with their demands for answers.

The online
campaign spilled offline mid-July and a wave of protests across the country
began, with up to 30,000 turning out in mid-September for what was the largest
gathering since the 2014 coup.

Wednesday’s
demonstration in particular has drawn the ire of authorities because of the
reaction of protesters encountering a royal motorcade.

Some
protesters held up the three-fingered salute — a gesture of defiance the
pro-democracy movement has borrowed from the popular “Hunger Games”
books and films — as the royal motorcade carrying Queen Suthida passed by.

True,
Thailand has seen a cycle of violent street protests and military coups over
the decades.

But in the
past the protest movements had vast financial and political clout behind them.

Today’s
student demonstrators say there is no single leader — a strategy partly
inspired by the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.

Daring to
take on the taboo topic of the monarchy is also a first.

Under the
constitution, the royals — including super-rich King Maha Vajiralongkorn —
are supposed to stay out of politics, but they wield enormous clout.

Since the
king took the throne in 2016, he has made unprecedented changes, taking direct
control of the palace’s fortune and moving two army units under his command.

At his side
are the arch-royalist military and powerful billionaire clans.

The
student-led protests have drawn support from a broad demographic.

It
initially attracted big crowds of so-called “Red Shirts” —
supporters of former exiled premier Thaksin Shinawatra — though their numbers
have dropped in recent demonstrations.

The
movement has also spread to high schools across the country, with teenagers
tying white bows of solidarity in their hair and on backpacks.

Also Read: Hong Kong marks China anniversary as Beijing tightens grip

The
emergency decree issued Thursday gives police powers to arrest anyone suspected
to be involved in the protests.

Hundreds of
Thai protesters later gathered in defiance of the sweeping crackdown, with the
situation now “fluid and combustible,” according to Political analyst
Thitinan Pongsudhirak from Chulalongkorn University.

While the
movement has suffered a setback because of the arrests, it is likely to
“maintain traction because popular grievances are so wide and deep”,
Thitinan said.