Thai protesters approached court to revoke order as rallies continue

In Thailand, student activists have  approached the court on Wednesday to revoke a state of emergency that Thailand’s government declared last week in an effort to rein in the country’s growing anti-government protests. The students, who read their petition to the media in Thai, English and German, said the decree restricted the legal right of assembly and “excessively, unfairly and shamelessly violated the rights and freedoms of people” with no respect to the constitution. Demonstrations have continued daily in a movement that calls for Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to step down, for a more democratic constitution and for reforms to the monarchy — a revered institution traditionally treated as sacrosanct in Thailand. 

Since Friday, police have not confronted the protesters directly, instead trying to disrupt their gatherings by selective shutdowns of mass transit and seeking to block their online organizing activities. Protesters gathered Wednesday for an eighth straight day, even though many of their top leaders have been detained and the state of emergency bans public gatherings of more than four people. The calls for reform of the monarchy have galled conservative Thais. Royalists have stepped up their presence online and held a small rally Wednesday.Thailand’s Parliament is reconvening for a special session next week to deal with the political pressures of the protests. The government has also sought to censor reporting of the demonstrations, citing “distorted information” that could cause unrest and confusion