Has the government succeeded in using the Covid-19 orders in a roundabout way to suppress anti-government gatherings? Well over the past few days it certainly would appear to be the case. It's also kind of funny to me that the media, who was restricted from reporting about these events in the past have now made a very big deal about the diminished crowds.
While the protests are still about ending the current Prime Minister's position and also about creating new limitations on the power of the Thai Royals, this particular gathering was about demanding the release of 4 protest leaders who have been detained indefinitely and denied bail. They are currently being held under lese majeste laws, which subsequently is one of the things that the crowd has been calling for the elimination of for quite some time.
The crowds used to be huge and numbered in the tens of thousands, the protest this week only had a few hundred attendees.
I don't really have a horse in this race but I don't like over governance in any capacity anywhere in the world so I guess you could say that I support them. Doing so publicly as an expat is a fantastic method of having your visa revoked and getting deported so I keep my opines to myself or limit it to anonymous methods such as this.
The reports that I have read indicated that many of the attendees walked 250 kilometers from Korat all the way to the center of Bangkok. I find it a bit disappointing that these people would put forth so much effort only to have the millions of people who live in Bangkok not participate at all.
The organizers were warned by police that the gathering was illegal as all political rallies are "illegal" right now and of course this is done under the auspices of preventing the spread of Covid, just like that same method is used in other parts of the world including my home country.
The news coverage could be a good thing though, even though the stories I am reading are presenting the latest gatherings as a failure and a sign that the group is losing steam. By the way they refer to themselves as "Pro Democracy" and not anti-government. They are not anti all government, they are just sick and tired of the current regime which first took power by military coup and then were re-elected under some pretty suspicious circumstances such as vote counts from certain provinces exceeding the number of people that actually live in those provinces.
Perhaps the reporting, which is heavily suppressed and basically government controlled in Thailand, could actually have the opposite effect that the government is hoping for and will encourage increased numbers should they do it again.
This is why the people are protesting. When stuff like this happens you demoralize your population and lead them to believe that their votes are not even counted - but this is something I personally believe to be true around the world in many places.