BANGKOK — Police in the Thai capital blocked a march Tuesday by pro-democracy activists protesting four years of military rule and detained several of the movement’s leaders. Activist Seriwith Seritiwat said the protesters would “never back down,” and tempers briefly flared as they pushed and shoved with police. By late afternoon the demonstrators began to disperse after police said they were charging protest leaders with violating the law on assembly. Tuesday was the fourth anniversary of a bloodless coup in 2014 that toppled Thailand’s elected government, the country’s second coup in less than a decade. The junta vowed reform and reconciliation for a politically divided Thailand but its rule has been tarnished by corruption scandals and repeated postponement of promised elections.

Source: National Post May 22, 2018 03:34 UTC