THAI CIVIL UNREST UPDATE

Tensions are again running high in Thailand following the announcement of the Ratsadon protest movement in mid-February to intensify their protests after four of their key leaders were sent into pre-trial detention on royal defamation charges.

Their continued detention and the increasing number of key activists who face jail time over lese-majeste or sedition charges has become the main rallying cry for the protesters, suggesting that momentum has shifted in favour of the government.

Generally, the protest movement can be expected to mobilise several thousand supporters, but it is becoming increasingly unlikely that it will be able to generate the massive turnout it achieved at the height of the unrest in late 2020, before a second coronavirus outbreak brought an end to the protests.