(Bloomberg) -- Thailand is clamping down on its growing anti-government protest movement that's calling for an end to the military-backed government and limits on the monarchy's power.
A Thai court has issued arrest warrants for six protest leaders on charges of sedition, computer crimes and disease control breaches, Pathum Thani Police Chief Chayut Marayat said on Wednesday. The six had organized a demonstration at Thammasat University and demanded a sweeping change to the laws concerning the monarchy.
Last week, the student-led protest made 10 demands -- including a call to revoke the country's strict lese-majeste laws that criminalize insults against top members of the royal family. The demonstrators are breaking deeply entrenched taboos in Thailand, where openly criticizing the monarchy can lead to long jail sentences and worse.
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Other demands include changing the constitution to allow criticism of the king, separating the monarch's properties from the Crown Property Bureau, aligning the budget for the monarchy with economic conditions, banning the monarch from expressing political opinions and prohibiting the monarchy from endorsing any coups.
‘Good-Faith Proposal'
The group -- United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration -- said its demands weren't designed to topple the monarchy but rather a “good-faith proposal” to bring it in line with democracy. “It should be able to to be controlled, audited, and criticized and it should not be a burden on the people,” the group said in a statement.
Among those the police are seeking to arrest are Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, who read out the demand on stage, and lawyer Arnon Nampa, who made the first public call for the monarchy's reform earlier this month and was arrested and released for another protest. The six leaders are facing charges that include sedition, which can lead to a jail sentence of as many as seven years.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said on Wednesday that he doesn't want the protesters to discuss issues related to the monarchy because it's a “respected” institution. “There are 67 million Thai people, and not everybody came out to protest,” he said. “The majority of the people in this country don't agree with the demonstrations.”
Also on Wednesday, hundreds of high school students gathered at the Education Ministry to protest the agency's lack of protection for their right to protest and to demand the resignation of the minister. Several other protests were also held in schools and universities across Thailand, with more being planned.
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