Fiery speeches cap day of protest in Bangkok

Thousands of demonstrators defied police warnings and occupied a historic field in Thailand’s capital on Saturday to support the demands of a student-led protest movement for new elections and reform of the monarchy.

A fiery late-night speech with harsh criticisms of the royal institution set the crowd abuzz, even though the country has a harsh law that mandates a three- to 15-year prison term for defaming the monarchy.

The speaker, Arnon Nampha, is a lawyer who broke the taboo on criticism of the monarchy ahead of the pack at a small rally in early August with some mild questions about the institution.

The protesters, whose rally was continuing past midnight, have more activities planned for Sunday.

They have been purposely vague about a planned march, but Arnon revealed in his speech that the protesters would lay down a plaque dedicated to the power of the people.

Speaking to the pro-democracy crowd, Arnon said he would "go to jail" to "discuss the monarchy."

Organisers had predicted that as many as 50,000 people would take part in the weekend’s protest.

Estimates of attendance at mass political events in Thailand are notoriously unreliable, but Saturday's crowd appeared as big as any protest held at that venue in the past three decades.

Associated Press reporters estimated that around 20,000 people were present by early evening, while people were still arriving.

As the night progressed, there were skits, music and speakers on the stage.

At least 8,000 police officers reportedly were deployed for the event, which attracted the usual scores of food and souvenir vendors.

The core demands declared by the protesters in July were the dissolution of parliament with fresh elections, a new constitution and an end to intimidation of political activists.

They have held a series of rallies since then.