A group of Din Daeng flat tenants have asked the government to take a less drastic approach in handling protesters who engage in daily clashes with police close to where they live.
Prasong Hormsanit, a member of the tenant committee for flats 1-17, submitted an open letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at the government complaint centre on Tuesday that sought a more lenient way of dealing with protesters.
The letter outlined requests for changes to the police's handling of the protesters during clashes which have taken place every day for the past few weeks at Din Daeng intersection near the flats.
Earlier, the group put up a vinyl poster outside the flats saying tenants do not want their neighbourhood turned into a battleground. The message echoed by the poster was also supported by the "We Love Adisorn" group.
"Adisorn" is understood to refer to Adisorn Pho-arn, a former MP candidate who ran for the Din Daeng constituency in a previous election under the Future Forward Party (FFP) banner. The FFP has since been dissolved by the Constitutional Court over an illegal loan extended to the party by its then-leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. The FFP has now been reborn as the Move Forward Party.
On Tuesday, the tenant group said in the letter that police should adopt a softer approach to contain the crowds.
It added the police should use tear gas only when necessary and fire at the protesters from the waist down, to align with international standards.
The police should also opt for high-pressure water cannons rather than tear gas or rubber bullets.
The group said only mature and experienced crowd-control police officers should be deployed so they can better tolerate incitement by protesters.
The police have also been asked to move back their line of defence by at least two kilometres from Din Daeng intersection. This would keep clash sites and scenes of violence away from the flats.
The group said several protesters ran into the flats during clashes in order to escape the police.
In addition, the group suggested police pay compensation to flat tenants affected by their crackdowns.
Meanwhile, another group has petitioned the United Nations and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, calling for them to investigate the presence of minors at the protests.
The group, led by Warissanan Sriborwornthanakit, also handed a similar petition to several foreign embassies in Bangkok.