Thai police use water cannon on protesters

Riot police in Bangkok cracked down on thousands of student-led protesters who rallied in the capital in defiance of a strict state of emergency, as Thailand's prime minister rejected calls for his resignation Friday.

Police used water cannons and charged at the crowd, scattering protesters, onlookers and reporters.

The protesters had 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.

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