Protesters have rallied in Bangkok for what organisers billed as be the biggest demonstration in years to demand the removal of former junta leader and now military-backed Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a new constitution and elections
“Today the people will demand back their power,” Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer who has emerged as a leading figure in the protest movement, said on Twitter.
"The government is cheating and we want to get rid of them," said Patricia Phakkhaphinya, 35, who had come from Surat Thani, in southern Thailand.Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak, one of the protest leaders, told Reuters at lunch time, he believed as many as 100,000 people could show up. Police said they expected up to 50,000 to join.
The military, which proclaims itself the defender of the country's core institutions, in particular the monarchy, has stepped in to overthrow civilian governments numerous times, most recently in 2014, citing the need to maintain stability.
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