Thailand protesters burn tyres, dodge rubber bullets in latest clash with police
- Police used water canons and rubber bullets as protesters returned to the streets to demand royal reforms
- Demonstrators broke through police barricades of shipping containers, with some throwing petrol bombs as they called for detained activists to be freed
Thai police used water cannon and rubber bullets outside Bangkok’s Grand Palace on Saturday, after demonstrators broke through a barricade of shipping containers to demand reforms to the kingdom’s unassailable monarchy.
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Thai police use tear gas, rubber bullets in latest clash with protesters
But their most controversial demands have been for reforms to the monarchy, including the abolition of draconian royal defamation laws.
A wall of cargo containers, two containers tall, had been erected in Sanam Luang, a historic field in front of the palace, to keep protesters away but, just an hour into the rally, they used ropes to yank some of the top-row boxes down, allowing a small opening.
“You’re breaking the law!” said the police over an announcer as protesters used ropes to pull the lower containers out of place.
Once protesters were able to get through, they threw Molotov cocktails at dozens of police who stood by with water cannon trucks about 100 metres (300 feet) away, using the jets to prevent protesters from coming closer.
