Three hurt as protesters march for reform of Thai monarchy

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"111265417"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>Three pro-democracy activists have been injured during a rally in Bangkok which criticised a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Hundreds of protesters had planned to march to the capital’s Democracy Monument on Sunday over a ruling which said their demands for reform of the monarchy are tantamount to attempts to overthrow the system of government&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The protesters changed route after police blocked their way&comma; and instead trooped to the German Embassy to submit a petition&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A protest representative read out a statement saying the rally was being held to protect democracy and raise voices against absolute monarchy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>King Maha Vajiralongkorn is a frequent visitor to Germany and is believed to have travelled there recently&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Police and the city’s Erawan emergency service confirmed three injuries among the protesters&comma; two of whom were later discharged from hospital while one remained for treatment&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The cause of the injuries is not clear&comma; deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said&comma; adding there were explosive sounds heard as the protesters made their way to the embassy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to local media reports&comma; two of the protesters were shot in front of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Police Hospital&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The protesters burnt effigies of the Constitutional Court judges to protest against the court’s ruling on Wednesday that some previous calls for reform of the monarchy were illegal&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The decision implied that the authority of the royal palace supersedes other institutions in a country that is nominally a democracy under a constitutional monarchy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It appeared to broadly deter all calls for reform of the monarchy by highlighting there are legal liabilities beyond a royal anti-defamation law under which more than 150 activists have been charged in the past two years&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The protests were started last year to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha&comma; who came to power in 2014 by staging a coup as army commander&semi; amendment of the constitution to make it more democratic&semi; and reform of the monarchy to make it more accountable&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The demand for reform of the monarchy is the most radical and controversial because the royal institution has rarely faced public scrutiny and is considered by many to be a sacrosanct pillar of Thai identity&period; Its reputation is fiercely guarded by the country’s ruling elite&comma; including the courts and the military&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The statement read outside the German Embassy said the protest movement is &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;the fight to insist that this country must be ruled with equality”&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Sirachad Treewisawawet&comma; a representative from the Coalition of Salaya for Democracy&comma; said the protest against the threat of what he termed &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;absolute monarchy” will continue until its goals are achieved&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Protesters say Mr Vajiralongkorn&comma; who took the throne after the death in 2016 of his father&comma; has steadily accumulated power and has downplayed the historical significance of the 1932 revolution which established a constitutional monarchy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div style&equals;"padding-bottom&colon;15px&semi;" class&equals;"wordads-tag" data-slot-type&equals;"belowpost">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div id&equals;"atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68cd4bd8926b4">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<script type&equals;"text&sol;javascript">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &equals; function &lpar;&rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;if &lpar; false &equals;&equals;&equals; &lpar; window&period;isWatlV1 &quest;&quest; false &rpar; &rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&sol;&sol; Use Aditude scripts&period;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;tudeMappings &equals; window&period;tudeMappings &vert;&vert; 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