Protesty vypukly ve chvíli, kdy se vláda snažila schválit návrh zákona o amnestii, který by zvrátil odsouzení bývalého premiéra Tchaksina Šinavatry – bratra Jinglak a zakladatele PTP, jehož v roce 2006 svrhla armáda – za korupci a zneužívání moci.
The protests began when the government tried to enact amnesty legislation that would have overturned the conviction of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra – Yingluck’s brother and the PTP’s founder, who was overthrown by the military in 2006 – on charges of corruption and abuse of power.