Ukrainians and Russians in Thailand have been gathering in various locations in Phuket to call for peace and urge to stop the violence.
Crowds waved flags and balloons in Ukraine’s national colours yellow and blue as they called for an end to the conflict.
This morning, over 80 Ukrainian and Russian tourists and ex-pats gathered in front of the Royal Phuket Marina Hotel on Thepkasattri road in Muang district on Monday morning in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine with signs and national flags.
A smaller group of tourists stood in front of Phuket’s Russian Embassy, and they were later joined the big group at the Royal Phuket Marina.
They held the signs with messages related to the conflict and they called for peacefulness. The rally ended at around 10:30 am this morning.
Over the weekend, some also gathered at Patong Beach, holding signs and the Ukraine national flag.
The demonstrators sang the Ukrainian national anthem and demanded Ukraine remain free.
No Thais were seen at the protest site.
The rally ended at about 10.30 am.
The group’s representatives, Ahacctacir, shared with Thai media that they contacted each other on Facebook to arrange the rally. The authorities asked the group to only gather for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said today (Tuesday) that Thailand may need to fine-tune its policy on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it will not rush to condemn Russia like many other countries have done, because it will not help to improve the situation.
25 ambassadors based in Thailand have asked Thailand to speak up against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to support the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution on the war in Ukraine.
The 25 ambassadors met with the Thai Foreign Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Thani Thongphakdi at the ministry yesterday (Monday).
David Daly, the European Union ambassador to Thailand, said in his Tweet that the ambassadors went to the Thai Foreign Ministry yesterday to send a message to all UN members, including Thailand, that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a breach of the UN Charter and that they would like Thailand to support the UNGA resolution, which is expected to be put to a vote this week at the UN headquarters in New York.
