As of the evening of 15 October 2020, large-scale anti-government protests are ongoing in central Bangkok at the Ratchaprasong Intersection despite a state of emergency declaration and decree by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha earlier in the day limiting public gatherings to a maximum of five people in an effort to end the protests. There is currently a large presence of police officers at the site attempting to disperse protesters, and police officers could employ heavy-handed tactics to clear the demonstrators. Prior to gathering at Ratchaprasong, demonstrators converged at Government House — the prime minister’s office — where they had gathered the previous day before being dispersed by police officers.
The previous day, thousands of anti-government protesters marched from the Democracy Monument in the capital Bangkok to Government House, demanding Chan-ocha’s resignation as well as constitutional reforms. Thousands of pro-government counterprotesters lined the route to Government House. There were reports of minor altercations between participants of rival protests, but no significant injuries or arrests occurred during the altercations.
