Slightly more than half of Thais disapproved of the anti-government protest staged in Bangkok by the Free Youth group on Aug 7 but viewpoints varied sharply, according to an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
The poll was conducted via telephone interviews with 1,318 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education and occupations throughout the country from Aug 9-11 to compile their opinions on the Aug 7 protest.
Asked to comment on the Aug 7 protest, a slight majority -- 52.20% -- disagreed with it. Of them, 35.43% were strongly opposed, believing it had caused unrest in the country, was not the right way to solve the country's problems and could exacerbate the Covid-19 situation. A further 16.77% were in moderate disagreement, saying protesters resorted to violence and the protest could increase the risk of further spreading Covid-19.
On the other side, 45.37% were in favour of the protest, with 26.18% strongly supporting it, saying it was a way of demanding democratic rights, showing dissatisfaction with the government's handling of the country's affairs and a desire to see improvements. A further 19.19% had fairly favourable views towards it, saying it was intended to call for justice and change for the betterment of society, but protesters should not resort to violence.
The rest, 2.43%, had no comment or were not interested.
Asked whether the Aug 7 Free Youth group protest had unspecified "backers", a slight majority -- 51.74% -- believed it did, 36.04% thought it did not and 12.22% had no comment or were not interested.
The poll did not cover the subsequent anti-government protests by the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration on Aug 10 and by the Thalu Fah group on Aug 11 and 13.
Video: Police fire tear gas at protesters on Friday