BANGKOK (THAILAND) – Thai authorities ramped up security around parliament on Friday before demonstrations colliding with a no confidence vote against the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Several water cannon trucks were found near parliament, bringing alive the prospect of a return of clashes between protesters and police.
The police says all protests in Bangkok are not legal, by referring to the ban on public gatherings since a second wave of coronavirus infections began in December.
Police Major General Piya Tavichai, deputy commissioner of Bangkok Metropolitan Police Bureau, told, “We will not allow the demonstrators to enter the area in front of parliament.”
Umpteen number of police officers were on standby ahead of the parliamentary vote slated for the weekend, which Prayuth and his cabinet are expected to survive.
The censure debate began on Tuesday, led by an opposition that has said a 2019 election was engineered to make sure that Prayuth continued to be in power five years after the ouster of an elected government. Prayuth’s administration, however, says the vote was free and fair.
The protests have put an end to long standing taboos by calling for reform of the powerful monarchy.
Protest leaders planned to gather in front of parliament on Friday afternoon and initiate another protest in Bangkok on Saturday.
Piya said the police had placed around 900 officers around parliament and put 11,850 officers on standby for the weekend.
“We will not use all (the forces) but we have the force to be called upon when necessary,” Piya said.