Thailand's prime minister rejected calls for his resignation Friday, while his government failed to stop student-led protesters from rallying again in the capital in defiance of a strict state of emergency.
More than 1,000 protesters gathered in torrential monsoon rains to push their core demands, including that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha leave office, the constitution be amended and the nation's monarchy undergo reform.
It was the second day they defied an order not to gather, imposed after some demonstrators heckled a royal motorcade, an unprecedented development in Thailand, where the monarchy is normally held in reverence.
Police had earlier closed roads and put up barricades around a major Bangkok intersection where some 10,000 protesters defied the new decree Thursday. Police in riot gear secured the area, while malls in the normally busy shopping district closed early. Nearby mass transit stations were closed to stop crowds of protesters from getting near the area.
The student protesters, however, simply moved down the street to another large intersection.
Prayuth's government declared a strict new state of emergency for the capital on Thursday, a day after the heckling of the motorcade.
The state of emergency outlaws public gatherings of more than five people and bans the dissemination of news that is deemed to threaten national security.
It also gives authorities broad powers, including detaining people at length without charge.
