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BANGKOK: Mitree Chitinunda was such a devout Thai monarchist that he cut his portrait of the king in his hair last year, but politics like fashion and hairstyles are changing in Thailand.
Mitree’s latest hairstyle shows the “Hunger Games” salute from pro-democracy protesters demanding reforms to curb the power of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as well as a new prime minister and a new constitution.
“I support all three demands,” said Mitree, 48, who regularly joins the protests.
“The protests happened because people had enough,” he told Reuters.
“If we do not achieve a real democracy, we will not stop and I will continue to support and come to protest.”
Mitree’s change of mind reflects the dramatic transformation in a country where reverence for the monarch is mandatory under the constitution, but tens of thousands of people have joined the protests to demand real reforms.
The government and royalist groups say loyalists remain in the majority, but there are no accurate opinion polls and protests that began in July have demonstrated the strength of demands for change.
At first, the youth protests only sought to remove Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former leader of the junta, but then they broke taboos by calling for changes in the palace.
The protesters say they are not seeking to end the monarchy, but rather to hold the king accountable under the constitution, reverse measures that gave the king greater powers and reduce palace expenses.
“The king is spending the people’s taxes in the wrong way. That is why we need to reform the monarchy, but that does not mean getting rid of the institution because we all love the king, ”Mitree said.
When asked about the protesters recently, the king said they were loved “anyway.” The palace itself has not commented.
Mitree, a radiologist, had been a passionate realist for decades and grew up in a country where the monarchy is promoted from schools to television to giant portraits on the streets.
But he said he changed his mind when he found out more.
“I have received a lot of information through the Internet, television or YouTube channels and I weighed if it is true and it turns out that it is true,” he said.
Warong Dechgitvigrom, leader of the royalist group “Thai Pakdee”, said that some people were being misled by social media, but he believes that the majority of Thais support the monarchy.
“I am not so concerned about people who are switching sides because I think that between 80 and 90% of the information on social networks is false,” he said.
Mitree is known for his novel haircuts, which he says help make patients comfortable.
The protesters’ three-finger salute is on the back of their head, while a peace symbol is on the left and a dove on the right.
“I have to be a little more careful wherever I go because some ultra-realistic people are ignorant, they don’t accept the truth,” he said.
