Rights protest gets little reaction
A student activist burns a copy of the Interim Constitution during a demonstration against last month’s military coup outside Army headquarters on Rajdamnoen Avenue yesterday.
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Demanding the right to free speech, several dozen students and activists yesterday demonstrated outside the Army's headquarters on Rajdamnoen Avenue.
It was their fifth public rally, but the first at an important military target since the military overthrew the Thaksin Shinawatra government two weeks ago. Under martial law, political assemblies of more than five people are banned. The demonstrators were met by scores of Army officers and police, both in uniform and plain-clothes, but no incidents were reported. A senior Army officer said the demonstration was an "ordinary course of action" and the military did not plan to arrest any protesters. "It is okay for people with different opinions to say what they stand for," said the officer, who asked not to be named. "This is a democracy, isn't it?" The student group also burned an enlarged copy of the interim constitution issued by the military junta as a symbol of their rejection of the military's power. "The military tore apart the constitution drafted by the people, so we are burning the charter issued undemocratically by them," said Chotisak On-soong from the Students Activities Information Resource group. A dozen labour group representatives later showed up in black clothing to denounce the military.
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