Thailand: anti-government protest inspired by Harry Potter

(ANSA) - BANGKOK, AUGUST 4 - About 200 government-protesters staged a protest yesterday in Bangkok inspired by Harry Potter, in an innovative form of dissent that for the first time in public it referred, albeit indirectly, to the monarchy.
   The demonstrators, gathered around the Monument for Democracy in the ancient part of the Thai capital, exhibited signs with drawings and writings on the theme "Harry Potter against whom one cannot name", tracing a link between Lord Voldemort, the "villain" of the saga focused on the adventures of the young wizard, and the royal palace. The demonstrators were also dressed in theme.
    In Thailand, the most severe law of lese majesty applies, with penalties ranging up to 15 years of imprisonment and that several cases have been increased by combining the penalties provided for by the Cybercrime Law. The ruler is considered to be semi-divine and maintains a huge moral influence on the affairs of the kingdom, and the new Constitution written by the military four years ago gives him greater powers, although officially the king is above politics. Furthermore, the reVajiralongkorn does not enjoy the moral authority of the late father Bhumibol and spends most of the year in a villa in Germany, with rare and short visits to the kingdom.
    "Discussing this is not an act to overthrow the monarchy, but to allow the monarchy to exist in the Thai society in an appropriate and legitimate way in the context of a constitutional and democratic monarchy," said one of the organizers.
    In the past two weeks, after a four-month break due to the state of emergency proclaimed to combat the Covid emergency, student demonstrations against the government led by ex-general Prayuth Chan-ocha have resumed, with a peak of 2 thousand protesters in July. Before being inspired by the Harry Potter theme, anti-government demonstrators have been using the three-fingered salute for the past ten years, as in the series "The Hunger Games", in which young people organize resistance against a dictatorship. (HANDLE).