- Title: Thai anti-government protesters, police clash despite expanded covid lockdown
- Date: 18th July 2021
- Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (JULY 18, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF POLICE FIRING WATER CANNON AND TEAR GAS AT ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTERS MOCK DEAD BODY BEING CARRIED MORE OF POLICE FIRING WATER CANNON AND TEAR GAS AT PROTESTERS RIOT POLICE STANDING BEHIND BARRICADE MORE OF WATER CANNON AND TEAR GAS BEING FIRED AT PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) 28-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER, IDENTIFIED ONLY BY FIRSTNAME "ITTINAN", SAYING: "I understand that the (covid) situation is not getting any better but we have to come out and show them that we are not happy about the measures imposed by the government. It's like they only wanted everything to stop at a standstill but they were not trying to fix anything. Yes, I know that we are risking getting infected, that's why I try to protect myself by wearing gloves and a gas mask so that I would be at low risk." MORE OF WATER CANNON TIRE BEING BURNT PROTESTERS TAKING COVER (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) 34-YEAR-OLD OFFICE WORKER, KANYAPORN VEERATAT, SAYING: "I feel that I was affected by what the government has done. The government has been poor at managing the situation and if we don't do anything there will be no change. We want a more up-to-date measure. They should open their eyes and see how the people have been living and not remain like a dictator. I feel very disappointed." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WASHING OFF THEIR EYES FROM TEAR GAS VARIOUS OF RIOT POLICE STANDING BEHIND BARRICADE VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING FROM DEMOCRACY MONUMENT, TOWARDS GOVERNMENT HOUSE CUT OUT BOARD OF THAI PRIME MINISTER PRAYUTH CHAN-OCHA PROTESTERS WEARING MASK AND HOLDING ANTIGOVERNMENT SIGNS PROTESTERS EXPANDING VINYL PORTRAIT OF PRAYUTH PROTESTERS GATHERING AT DEMOCRACY MONUMENT
- Embargoed: 1st August 2021 12:29
- Keywords: Thai anniversary anti-government clash coronavirus disease infections lockdown protest tear gas thailand
- Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND
- City: BANGKOK, THAILAND
- Country: Thailand
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001EMD8DON
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS PROFANITY
Thai police fired water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday (July 18) to stop protesters from marching on the office of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha calling for him to resign.
More than 1,000 protesters took part in the demonstration despite an expanded coronavirus lockdown. Demonstrators carried mock body-bags to represent coronavirus deaths, as they blame the prime minister and his government for mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The government has been poor at managing the situation and if we don't do anything there will be no change," one protester, Kanyaporn Veeratat, 34, told Reuters.
The use of force by the police came after some protesters tried to dismantle barbed wire and metal barricades set up by the authorities to block roads from Democracy Monument to Government House where the prime minister works. The protest marked one year since the first of a wave of large-scale street protests led by youth groups that attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the country.
Thailand reported 11,397 infections and 101 deaths on Sunday, bringing the cumulative total to 403,386 cases and 3,341 fatalities, the vast majority from an outbreak since early April that is being fuelled by the highly transmissible Alpha and Delta COVID-19 variants.
(Production: Vorasit Satienlerk, Juarawee Kittisilpa) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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