55 people injured in clashes at Bangkok protests

The current spate of protests in Thailand took an ugly step forward yesterday when police resorted to using a high power water cannon truck with the water laced with a chemical irritant. They also fired tear gas and, according to protesters, used rubber bullets. Photos show the police were carrying weapons to fire tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. Police maintain their use of force was necessary to protect the parliament building and the lawmakers inside.

Fortified blockades had been assembled on routes leading to the front of the Thai parliament, where a 2 day session to discuss 7 amendments to the 2017 Charter was in play.

At least 18 people, including a child and a policeman, ended up in hospital, most of them through the effects of the tear gas. An earlier protest from around 100 royalist supporters started the day, but it was the afternoon arrival of the anti-establishment…