IN an unprecedented move for a country that reveres its King, Thai protesters have handed over a list of monarchical reforms to the authorities.
They handed over the petition to the Thai Privy Council president through the Bangkok police chief outside the Supreme Court. The Privy Council are the advisors to the King.
Among the 10-point demands in the petition are the revocation of laws against defaming the monarchy, a new constitution, abolishment of royal offices, resignation of the government, and disbandment of the King's royal guards.
Thailand's monarchy has long been beyond direct public criticism, but over recent months, a student-led pro-democracy movement has challenged this.
Under its strict lese majeste laws, it is punishable by up to 15 years in jail for anyone making defamatory comments or criticising the monarchy.
However, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha has said the King requests that nobody be prosecuted under the law for now.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn, assumed the throne following the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016.
Although protesters have described the two-day rally in Bangkok as a victory with the handing over of the petition and also the installation of a plaque at the Sanam Luang grounds near the royal Thai palace, the leaders are now being investigated by the Thai police for multiple offences.
Deputy police commissioner Piya Tawichai said the protest leaders could face charges as they breached the Public Assembly Act by relocating the rally site from the Thammasat University to Sanam Luang without permission, stayed there beyond the closing time and illegally installed an object in the ground near the Thai royal palace.
The protesters had installed a "people's plaque" near the palace to commemorate the rally as a replacement for another plaque that had marked the end of monarchical rule in 1932. However, that plaque in Bangkok's Royal Plaza went missing in 2017 and no reasons have been given by the authorities.
"Here, the people declare that this place belongs to the people, not the King," the new plaque reads."
According to the Bangkok Post, the protesters could also be charged for breaking into the university's main campus and damaging its property.
Police said about 40 officers are studying recordings of all those who spoke on stage, to look for evidence that could lead to further charges against them.
On the fate of the new plaque, police are pressing City Hall to remove it from the ground.
Prayut and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who was in charge of security at the rally, thanked protesters and security personnel for maintaining law and order.
"Both the protesters and officers avoided confrontation and instigation which could lead to an unnecessarily tense situation," an official statement read.
"The government has the intention to allow people to lawfully express their rights under the constitution."
