Activist blinded in 1 eye returns to anti-Prayut protest

Activist blinded in 1 eye returns to anti-Prayut protest

Tanat Thanakitamnuay, the wealthy activist who lost an eye during a police crackdown on a demonstration in Din Daeng, joins a Thalufah rally to oust Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha near Democracy Monument in Bangkok on Sunday. (Photo: Arnun chonmahatrakool)
Tanat Thanakitamnuay, the wealthy activist who lost an eye during a police crackdown on a demonstration in Din Daeng, joins a Thalufah rally to oust Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha near Democracy Monument in Bangkok on Sunday. (Photo: Arnun chonmahatrakool)

He lost sight in his right eye during a police crackdown at the site of a demonstration, but an activist from a rich family was back for a rally on Sunday with a crystal-clear goal: to oust Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Tanat Thanakitamnuay joined the Thalufah-led protest at Democracy Monument in Bangkok on Sunday and said he would continue peacefully campaigning for true democracy in Thailand.  

Mr Tanat sustained a semicircular cut to his right eyebrow, apparently caused by the impact of a blunt cylindrical object, during a rally in the capital's Din Daeng area on Aug 13.

His family announced on Thursday it would pursue all-out legal action against authorities over the crackdown on anti-government protesters.

He is a former core member of the People's Democratic Reform Committee whose raucous rallies led to the military coup in 2014.

The activist said on Sunday he did not want to see Din Daeng turn into a battlefield between protesters and riot police.

He said on his Facebook account that he would join a march on the Justice Ministry on Monday to demand Covid-infected activists, including Parit "Penguin" Cheewarak, be transferred from treatment at Corrections Department Hospital to Thammasat University Hospital.

"I'll go too," he wrote.

Din Daeng has become the site of clashes between young demonstrators and police every evening since a violent crackdown involving tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.

Thalufah has made clear it was not behind any of the demonstrations in Din Daeng. The protesters there called themselves Thalugaz.

At least 15 protesters were reportedly arrested in a rally in Din Daeng on Sunday.

Pol Maj Gen Piya Tahwichai, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said eight police officers were injured during the clash on Saturday. He did not say how many demonstrators were hurt.

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