• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home World

Thai protesters call on king to give up royal fortune

25 November 2020, 3:37 PM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
Youth-led demonstrations last year attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the country

Youth-led demonstrations last year attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the country

Image: Reuters

Youth-led demonstrations last year attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the country

Thousands of Thai protesters called on King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Wednesday to cede control of a royal fortune valued in the tens of billions of dollars, the latest in months of demonstrations focused squarely on the monarchy.

The protesters have broken a longstanding taboo by criticising the king, and police summoned many of the best-known protest leaders on Tuesday on charges of insulting the monarchy, which can mean up to 15 years in prison.

Protesters demonstrated outside the headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank, Thailand’s biggest bank, in which the king’s 23% stake worth over $2.3 billion makes him the largest shareholder.

“The people demand back national assets from the king,” read one protest banner.

Police put the number of protesters at 8 000.

Parit Chiwarak, among those facing royal insult charges, said: “Millions of families are struggling so how can we give our taxpayers’ money to just one family to spend luxuriously?”

The total value of the royal holdings is not made public, but is estimated to be worth more than $30 billion.

Wednesday’s protest was moved to the SCB headquarters after police built siege barricades of shipping containers and razor wire around the Crown Property Bureau, which manages the royal assets and where the rally had originally been planned.

“The SCB shares should not belong to the king but the finance ministry, so the dividend can be used to develop the country,” said Boss, 28, one of the protesters.

The shares rose more than 2%, in line with other banks.

The palace has made no comment since the protests began, but when the king was asked about the protesters recently he said they were loved “all the same”.

Some of the king’s critics quoted those words sarcastically after the summonses on charges of insulting the monarchy, which Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had said in June were not being used at the request of the king.

International human rights groups condemned the use of the charges. Police sources said 15 protest leaders faced the charges, which they must acknowledge by the end of the month.

Responding to the criticism, government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek defended the use of the charges.

Since July, protesters have been calling for the removal of Prayuth, a former junta leader. They accuse him of engineering last year’s election to keep hold of power he seized in a 2014 coup. He says the ballot was fair.

The protesters seek to make the king more accountable under the constitution as well as the reversal of changes which gave him personal control of some army units and the royal fortune.

Wearing yellow shirts, in the king’s colour, hundreds of well-wishers gathered to greet him ahead of an event in Bangkok.

“We’re here to protect the king. The king is the key to the unity of the people,” said Santi Yanothai, 67.

Share article
Tags: Royal fortuneThailandProtestersKing
Previous Post

Tributes pour in for former Black Springbok Ntonga Singata

Next Post

Investigation into forced sterilisation of HIV positive women continues: Mkhize

Related Posts

Palestinians throw objects next to an Israeli military vehicle during a raid near Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Israeli military hits Gaza Strip as protests continue

22 September 2023, 6:48 PM
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 21, 2023.

China committed to opening itself wider to the world: vice president

22 September 2023, 11:30 AM

President Ramaphosa wraps up US visit

21 September 2023, 7:30 PM
A banner with the image of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar is seen at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple, site of his June 2023 killing, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, September 20, 2023.

Canada gathers allies as tensions rise with India over Sikh leader’s murder

21 September 2023, 10:27 AM
President Cyril Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa urges developed nations to support financial system reform

20 September 2023, 9:52 PM
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, US, September 19, 2023.

Poor nations have ‘every right to be angry’ about climate crisis: UN chief

20 September 2023, 9:30 PM
Next Post
People across the globe will mark the World Aids Day tomorrow.

Investigation into forced sterilisation of HIV positive women continues: Mkhize

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • High waves and rough water conditions force beach closures in the Western Cape
  • UPDATE: Public warned not to go to W Cape beaches as another spring tide expected
  • Spring high tide leaves trail of destruction along Garden Route
  • ‘Buthelezi was a good man who did a bad man’s job’
  • A Celebration of a Legacy: Amabutho, IFP pay final tribute to Prince Buthelezi
  • High waves and rough water conditions force beach closures in the Western Cape
  • Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi to rest in the town he built and nurtured
  • NSPCA files criminal case against Julius Malema for alleged animal cruelty
  • Snow, heavy rainfall expected in parts of KZN: SAWS
  • Cold-front sweeps across SA bringing snow and chilly temperatures
  • Concern over exclusion of foreign nationals from Road Accident Fund
  • Cashless taxi service launched in Cape Town
  • Mbeki expresses confidence in resolving current electricity challenges in SA
  • Legal professionals raise concerns over proposed amendments to RAF 
  • Limpopo multi-million rand water treatment, sewage project abandoned

LATEST

  • South Africa

Joburg Water monitors troubled water systems closely


[FILE IMAGE] William Nicol Drive, during the start of the Covid-19 lockdown.
  • Politics

ANC welcomes renaming of William Nicol to Winnie Mandela Drive


South Africa's Faf de Klerk in action with Romania's Adrian Motoc.
  • Sport

Ireland unfazed by Springboks ‘7-1 bench split’


Palestinians throw objects next to an Israeli military vehicle during a raid near Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
  • World

Israeli military hits Gaza Strip as protests continue


The high tide left a trail of distraction in some Western Cape coastal towns like George.
  • South Africa

George Municipality urges public to heed weekend weather warnings


FILE PHOTO: A Somali police officer looks from the broken windows of the Pearl Beach Restaurant following an attack by Al Shabaab militants
  • Africa

Somalia asks UN to delay peacekeeper drawdown after ‘significant setbacks’


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous Tributes pour in for former Black Springbok Ntonga Singata
Next Investigation into forced sterilisation of HIV positive women continues: Mkhize