Pro-democracy activists this weekend joined a new round of protests across Thailand, demanding both new elections and constitutional reforms, while banning coronavirus at rallies.
The protests, fueled in part by the arrest of two activist leaders on Friday, reflect the continuing energy of a continuing movement that the ruling government, which came to power after a military coup in 2014, considers illegitimate.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck, and arrested Nampa and Jadnok. According to Reuters, Nampa called for reform of the country’s monarchy in an unusually blunt set of comments last week – but although criticism of the king is prohibited under Thai law, the lawyer did not cover costs for that statement.
Both activists were released on bail on Saturday, but their detention triggered protesters at Saturday’s rally, in which protesters sang slogans such as, “Harass not the civilians,” “Police come out,” and “Dictatorship will fall.”
On Sunday, hundreds of protesters took to the streets across the country, calling for pro-democracy reforms. Students are reportedly planning more protests for Monday.
The weekend’s protests are the latest manifestation of public discontent with the Thai government – discontent intensified in the wake of the 2019 elections, which has left Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in power. Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections, but have joined thousands of activists in recent months to criticize the government.
In July, about 2,500 protesters gathered near Bangkok’s Democracy Monument and showed their graves. “Organizers proposed three demands: the dissolution of parliament, an end to harassment of government criteria, and amendments to the military-written constitution that critics say was a purely guaranteed victory for Prayuth’s party in elections. last year, “Reuters reported at the time.
Thai protesters find creative ways to push back against repression
While the political establishment, the constitution in 2017 written by military leaders, and even the monarchy have been questioned by Protestants in the past, a new and ongoing wave of demonstrations began in February, after a political opposition party was forced to disband. A court has ruled that the pro-democracy Future Forward Party received an illegal donation from its leader, and was dissolved.
That party was not small – he had the third largest share sitting in parliament – and was popular with young voters, some of whom have been active in recent protests.
Concerns about the ruling party’s authoritarian tendencies continued to grow when a well-known pro-democracy activist disappeared in June. The activist was allegedly abducted in broad daylight in Cambodia, where he has lived in exile since 2014, accusing him of orchestrating a kidnapping by a government.
“The students feel that what the government has done is not democratic. They want an honest government, ”Punchada Sirivunnabood, a professor of politics at Mahidol University, told BBC News.
Protesters have used creative methods drawn from the world of popular fiction to solidify their criticism of the government and reduce costs for violating restrictions on political speech. For example, some Protestants have disguised themselves as Harry Potter characters to advance their arguments against government and monarchy. Other pro-democracy protesters left three-finger salons inspired by the Hunger Games series.
Moreover, political concerns help fuel extreme economic inequality and pessimism about social mobility.
“More than fifty percent of wealth is held by the top one percent,” Matt Wheeler, a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera. “I think a lot of young people, when they look to the future for their opportunities, don’t see opportunities – and are so willing to take risks right now to see some political change.”
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