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Bangkok (AFP)
Anon Numpa, behind bars in northern Thailand, urged supporters on Friday to keep fighting for democracy, still challenging months after his fierce speeches fueled a movement calling for reforms to the ultra-powerful monarchy.
Student leaders and activists have held relentless protests, demanding that the government resign.
But this week tensions soared when activists dared to surround a royal caravan carrying the queen.
The government issued an emergency decree in response, banning the gatherings of more than four people and arresting some two dozen of the most prominent protesters, including human rights lawyer Anon.
He wrote on Facebook that he had been forcibly taken by helicopter to Chiang Mai, where his lawyer confirmed that he had been denied bail.
In a handwritten message posted online, Anon urged his followers to “keep fighting.”
“My freedom is a very small issue compared to the entire struggle for democracy,” he wrote.
“Adhere to the ideology of non-violence and don’t be afraid of obstacles.”
Anon has spent his career defending defendants under Thailand’s draconian royal defamation laws, which can land people in prison for up to 15 years per charge.
But in August, the 36-year-old rose to fame by calling for frank discussions about the monarchy at a rally in Bangkok.
His speech sent a thunderbolt through Thailand’s royalist establishment, breaking a long-standing taboo.
“He had to go out and be on the front lines,” Anon told AFP in an interview last month, knowing the decision would make him a primary target.
“It is not right for me, an activist and a lawyer who deals with human rights and is watched by the media, to hide behind people on the ground.”
– King and country –
Anon was born in 1984 in the northeastern province of Roi Et, where Bangkok’s aligned military establishment is widely hated.
His disenchantment with the monarchy grew as he began to defend the accused under the draconian law of lese majesty, known as “112”.
The law protects the royal family from defamation and can also be interpreted broadly to target criticism.
“Handling the 112 cases made me realize what the role of the real institution was … and how it is linked to Thai politics,” Anon told AFP.
Critics also accuse authorities of enforcing the law against anti-military activists, eliminating dissent under the guise of defending royalty.
Today’s youth-led movement calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, the former military chief who led the 2014 coup and remained in power after last year’s disputed elections.
Prayut warned that Thailand would be “engulfed in flames” if students push too hard on demands for royal reform.
Anon recognized that the fight for “structural” change will not be easy.
“The people around the royal institution are still trying to hold on to the old power.”
Under Thailand’s constitutional monarchy system, King Maha Vajiralongkorn is supposed to stay out of politics.
But his influence permeates every aspect of society, reinforced by the arch-royalist army and the kingdom’s billionaire clans.
The ultra-wealthy monarch has made unprecedented changes since he ascended to the throne in 2016, took personal control of the palace fortune, worth an estimated $ 60 billion, and moved two army units under his direct command.
– ‘The fight will continue’ –
The protesters call for the abolition of the royal defamation law, greater accounting of the palace finances and the withdrawal of the monarch from politics.
His previous arrests, for which he was granted bail, failed to silence the attorney, earning him rock star status in the movement.
With Thailand’s history of state-sanctioned coups and bloodshed, fears of violent repression loom.
But the lawyer told AFP that the achievements made in recent months are worth it.
“What we have done will not be in vain,” he said.
“We can use our victories as a way for the next generation to keep fighting.”
© 2020 AFP
