A large majority of people agree with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)'s designation of seven protest sites - some with confidence that the city administration would be able to effectively keep protesters in designated areas, according to the result of an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
The poll was conducted on June 27-29 by telephone interviews with 1,310 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education, occupations and incomes whose official domicile registrations are in Bangkok.
The seven protest sites designated by the BMA are: Lan Khon Muang ground in front of City Hall; the Thai-Japanese Youth Centre in Din Daeng district; the public space beneath Ratchavibha Bridge near Soi Vibhavadi Rangsit 36 in Chatuchak district; the parking lot in front of the Phra Khanong district office; the 72nd Anniversary Stadium in Min Buri district: the Chalerm Phrakiat Stadium in Thung Khru district; and Monthon Phirom Park in Taling Chan district.
Asked to comment on this, a large majority - 84.05% - agreed with the plan. Of them, 54.89%, strongly agreed, saying the protesters would then not cause trouble to other people, would not obstruct traffic and the move would provide a space for people to express their opinions, while 29.16% were in moderate agreement, saying the protests would be kept in order and controllable and would not cause problems to road users.
On the other side, 9.16% were in total disagreement, reasoning that the protests would likely be held more frequently, causing trouble to other people, while 6.71% somewhat disagreed, saying the authorities might not be able to control the protesters in designated areas - with some worried the protests could cause Covid-19 to spread.
The rest, 0.08%, had no comment or were not interested.
Asked what the BMA should do if the protesters did not remain in designated protest sites but spilled outside onto the roads, a majority - 63.62% - said the BMA should stop providing them with facilities (such as mobile toilets). Of them, 40.08% said legal action should be taken against them while 22.44% said no legal action should be taken against them.
On the other side, 36.79% said they should be provided with facilities as usual.
The rest, 0.69%, had no comment or were not interested.
Asked whether they were confident the BMA would be able to keep the protesters in designated areas, 36.18% were farily confident and 22.60% very confident.
On the other side, 26.26% had little confidence while 14.65% had not confidence at all.
The rest, 0.31%, had no comment or were not interested.
