Protesters disrupt Thai PM Prayuth’s speech in New York

‘General Prayuth is a coup maker and a dictator,’ reads a sign held Wednesday behind Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha in New York.

By Coconuts Bangkok

Sep 26, 2019 | 11:09am Bangkok time

A number of protesters interrupted a speech being given by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha last night in New York.

Prayuth, in town for the UN General Assembly, was giving comments at the Park Avenue cultural center when several protesters stood up and attempted to disrupt his speech.

“Hey, Mr. Dictator!” shouted one, according to a video of the event. They were quickly removed from the hall.

Prayuth was also greeted by a handful of protesters, including Nachacha Kongudom, who four years ago was in a Bangkok prison for protesting the coup staged by Prayuth. She was famously arrested in 2014 for making a three-finger salute at the Bangkok premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I.

Nachacha reportedly later won asylum and has been living in the United States.

Large billboards near the UN were also plastered with messages reading “Don’t let democracy die in Thailand” by a group that also seems behind a full-page ad taken out in Tuesday’s New York Times. Coinciding with Prayuth’s visit, a group of human rights activists and lawyers were there to meet with members of the US Congress and State Department.

Coconuts Bangkok received a number of images from a source on the condition they not be identified.