(ANSA) - BANGKOK, FEBRUARY 13 - Clashes between riot police and a group of pro-democracy protesters, given mildly among both agents and demonstrators, broke out this evening a few hundred meters from the Palazzoreale in Bangkok, in the queue at a peaceful demonstration near the nearby Democracy Monument.
Tempers flared up around 20 local time, when most of the demonstrators had already abandoned the previous demonstration.
Exasperated by not being able to advance towards the Royal Palace due to the cordon of the agents, some dozens of demonstrators started throwing objects, smoke bombs and firecrackers at the agents, who responded with manhandling and arresting some demonstrators.
According to a police spokesman, 20 officers were injured.
The demonstration came in the wake of arrests and accusations of great majesty against some of the main leaders of the protest which began last year with three demands: the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a new constitution, and a uniform of the monarchy in a progressive sense, a true taboo for conservatives.
The numbers of today's protest were far from the tens of thousands of people, mostly young, who took part in the first demonstrations last year.
However, the events of this evening highlight the risk of a radicalization of the protest in the face of the refusal of the government and the monarchy to listen to the demands of the movement.
(HANDLE).