Protesters blocked from reaching Palace, drop petitions for monarchy reform in post box

The protesters from various pro-democratic groups, including the Ratsadon and the red shirts, started gathering at Democracy Monument on Sunday afternoon. They occupied the streets and later decided to march to nearby Sanam Luang to deliver speeches criticising the government and show some performances. The Sanam Luang ground was taken over by the protesters who also enjoyed some rest as well as “CIA” street vendor's food, while having conversations about Thai politics. Some volunteered to collect trash to make sure the ground remained clean. The protesters raised a three-finger salute at 7.50pm when they saw the authorities approaching, and called them “servants of the dictator”. They asked for gloves and helmets for those who were in the front row to protect themselves in case more violent methods were used against the demonstrators. Earlier, at around 6.45pm, police had used high pressure guns to spray water on the protesters.

The protest leaders later said that the authorities had apologised for "accidentally" spraying the high-pressure water on the crowd. They said they accepted the apology with a grain of salt, and asked them to explain their past behaviour.

At around 8.30pm, the protesters were blocked by police from marching towards the Palace Office in the Grand Palace, so they dropped their petitions seeking reforms to the monarchy in four post boxes, reportedly made of plastic that they had brought with them.

After the protesters dispersed at 9pm, police from Chana Songkhram brought the post boxes to the police station.

The pro-democracy protesters have been rallying for months, seeking the resignation of the prime minister and the government, dissolution of Parliament, rewriting of the Constitution and reform of the monarchy.