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BANGKOK (Reuters) – It was with a kiss that student activist Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree took center stage in Thai politics.
Her hug with her boyfriend in parliament while campaigning for gay marriage rights last December stunned conservatives and sparked a social media storm.
Nine months later, the changes it now demands for Thailand are even more fundamental to the protest movement challenging an establishment long dominated by the army and the palace.
“I’m confused about how I got here,” Tattep, 23, told Reuters.
Since mid-July, protesters have called for the departure of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former coup leader. They want a new constitution, new elections and an end to the harassment of activists.
Some protesters are also seeking reforms to curb the powers of the Royal Palace of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Although there is no overall leader of the fragmented movement, and activists say they want to keep it that way, a July 18 protest by the Tattep Free Youth Movement unexpectedly drew some 2,500 people and helped build momentum for the almost daily demonstrations since then.
“At the time, there was no one leading the protest, so I decided to do it,” said Tattep, also known by the nickname Ford.
The government did not oppose the demonstrations, spokeswoman Anucha Burapachaisri said.
“Young people can express their thoughts as long as it is under the rule of law. I want them to avoid sensitive topics because they can create conflicts between people,” he said.
The Palace did not respond to requests for comment.
Tattep grew up in the heart of Bangkok. Her father works as a delivery driver for a mobile phone app. When Tattep’s mother died six years ago, they moved into a room in a shared house while he completed his studies.
“I support him because the movement is for the country: it is not just about him,” said his father, Somrak Ruangprapaikitseree.
But his father worries that the protests will turn violent, recalling the decade of bloody street riots before the Prayuth coup in 2014.
YELLOW VERSUS RED
Tattep said his political consciousness began during those protests, when pro-establishment yellow shirts shut down Bangkok in clashes with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s red shirt supporters.
While Tattep had initially hoped to be a pharmacist, this year he switched to political science and graduated from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
He and his boyfriend Panumas Singprom met on Tinder and realized they had been attending the same political meetings.
“We don’t want to get old and have our children ask us ‘When the country faced injustice, what did you do?'” Said Panumas, who is often by their side.
Last year’s elections fueled calls for change after Prayuth returned as prime minister in a vote that his opponents said was unfair. Prayuth says the vote was fair.
In addition to campaigning for LGBT rights, they established a Facebook discussion forum that became the Free Youth Movement, and later the Free People Movement to broaden its appeal.
“Let it end in our generation,” Tattep shouted as he took the stage on August 16 at a Bangkok rally of more than 10,000, the largest yet.
Prominent right-wing Warong Dechgitvigrom said youth protesters like Tattep were being misled, particularly when it came to questioning the monarchy.
“There is no way that high school or college students can deeply understand politics,” he told Reuters.
Tattep has taken a less radical approach than some student leaders, who have publicly proposed 10 points for the reform of the monarchy. But he said this is simply because he sees constitutional change, rather than monarchy reform, as the priority.
Tattep and Panumas, wanted by the police for their involvement in organizing the July 18 protest, were arrested on August 26. They were among at least a dozen activists accused of violating internal security laws and an emergency decree to stop the spread of the coronavirus. They were released on bail the same day.
Tattep said the charges would not stop him.
“I am pressured by the government, the people of the movement, the opposition and even the supporters because they expect me to lead,” he said. “It’s worth it if I can be part of a movement that leads the country to a true democracy.”
(Additional reporting from Patpicha Tanakasempipat; edited by Matthew Tostevin and Sam Holmes)
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