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LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul read out the reform manifesto
A growing movement among students has called for political reform in Thailand. In recent days, the protests have taken a surprising turn, writes an analyst in London for the BBC.
On a stage on an outdoor campus of one of Thailand’s top universities, a young woman with wavy long hair and owl glasses steps forward, through a dramatic cloud of dry ice, and reads out a 10-point manifesto to a crowd of cheerful students.
Their demands, for a monarchy responsible for the elected institutions of the country, which moderates its use of public funds, remains out of politics and does not exercise control over important army units, would be unremarkable in most countries .
In Thailand, they are nothing short of revolutionary.
Thais are taught from birth that the monarchy is the touchstone that holds the country together, the institution that depicts the national character.
Every recent Thai constitution – and there were 19 in modern times, along with a dozen military coups – has stated at the top that “The King will be enthroned in a position of reverent worship” and that “No one will expose the exposition. will expose King to any kind of accusation or action “.
Those provisions are supported by Article 112 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, known as the law of majesty, which applies to anyone who criticizes the royal family to secret probation and long prison terms.
- Thailand’s red-majesty law declared
More recently, critics who have fled to neighboring countries have been abducted and murdered. Thais are taught to respect, honor and love the monarchy, but also to be afraid to talk about the consequences.
A ‘dark hand’?
The issues raised at that stage at Thammasat University on Monday have in the past only been openly discussed by those who live safely in exile, far from Thailand, or whisper in the privacy of the house.
Thammasat’s manifesto caused an uproar.
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LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA
Thais are taught to honor the royal family
The students are accused of ‘crossing the line’, going too far, even by some of them who support their other demands for reform.
Senators appointed by former military junta, and a major political crutch for the government of junta-led Prime Minister-Uhta-Ocha, have called for legal action against the student leaders, for an investigation into how they financially produced the spectacular protest, and in which ‘dark hand’ urged the young people to come up with such scandalous demands.
The powerful army commander, General Apirat Kongsompong, suggested that the Protestants were struck by “chung chart”, “hatred of the nation”, a term used in the past to drive ultra-nationalist Thais against perceived enemies, and a disease, General Apirat told soldiers, that was much less than Covid-19.
The student leader who read the manifesto, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, has since mostly stayed on her campus, planning further meetings, and nervously watching the police of ordinary clothes who are now constantly checking her.
It is a pity that some ultra-royalists increased the spectacle of October 1976, when policemen and right-wingers opened fire on left-wing students at Thammasat University, killing dozens, striking some lynxes and then beating their bodies.
That shockingly brutal attack was provoked by a rumor of a light by the students against then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, the current king.
Veterans of the 1976 circumstances do not believe it will happen again.
Former Prime Minister Chaturon Chaiseng, who was among a number of student activists who had been hiding from communist insurgents for years after the 1976 massacre, said a repeat of such violence would be very dangerous today.
There are currently so many grievances against the government, he says, sharing the students with a broader Thai society.
These protests occur during an almost perfect storm of bad news for the Thai government.
Despite managing an impressive supply of the Covid-19 coronavirus, with almost no local infections for almost three months, the collapse of tourism has hit the economy very hard and drawn attention to one of the world’s widest gaps between rich and poor. and poor.
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MLADEN ANTONOV
Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit has been abducted in Cambodia, whose whereabouts are unknown
The decision earlier this year to dissolve a dynamic new political party, which had attracted the support of many younger voters, gave her the feeling that the military-dominated political system was giving her a voice.
That was fueled by the abduction and murder of a Thai activist in Cambodia, accused by some on elements near the palace, and then by throwing all criminal charges against a member of one of Thailand’s richest families over the murder. of a police officer in a hit-and-run incident eight years ago.
In addition, since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, King Vajiralongkorn has lived most of his life in a hotel in Germany, using a Twitter hashtag #whydoweneedaking?, Which has been reposted more than a million times. .
The voices of the next generation
The protest leaders have been careful to frame their demands within the constitution.
The first person to break the taboo, a week before Thammasat’s manifesto, was human rights lawyer Anon Nampa, speaking at a Harry Potter-themed protest and looking nothing more than the fictional young wizard.
He stressed that he wanted the constitutional monarchy reform, and not reversed it.
He focused in particular on the enormous possessions of the Crown Property Bureau, which under the late King Bhumibol had notively been trusted for the benefit of the Thai people, but now the personal property of the king has been declared, whereby he made him by far the richest person in Thailand.
Anon also questioned King Vajiralongkorn’s decision to take personal command of all military units based in Bangkok, something he believes may not be compatible with a democratic, constitutional monarchy.
“It had to be done,” he said of his call for accountability.
“That’s why I chose to speak honestly, to honor my own integrity, the integrity of the public and out of respect for the monarchy. Because if we do not talk about it honestly, we will never understand it.”
Anon Nampa and another activist, Panupong Jaadnok, have since been arrested on charges of violating Thailand’s sweeping sedition law, an alternative to the law of red majesty, which, as the King has made it known, is no longer so broad. wants to be used.
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Lauren DeCicca
Anon Nampa, a Thai human rights lawyer, was the first to push for monarchy reform
But far from silencing the monarchy, its demands have now been accepted by a student movement that has been agitating for change for many months, active on campuses across the country, including high school students. .
We spoke to two young students in political science who have joined the movement, both imaginable and articulate, hoping for good careers to the university.
Yet her remarks about the monarchy, though expressed with moderation and reason, would have been unthinkable even a year ago.
“This generation knows with a fact that the monarchy is involved in politics and that affects the lives of the Thai people,” said one.
“That it is fair and democratic for us to talk about anyone involved in politics, whether it is military or the monarchy.”
“We should try to start talking about it, making it a new norm in society to talk about the monarchy,” said the other.
“I think the silent majority wants to talk about it, because if you do not touch something, if you do not reform it, it will become rotten and collapse.”
There are young people on the other side, though how many are right now to measure. The potential for collisions, affected as well as spontaneous, is real.
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Lauren DeCicca
Protesters have long called for the three-fingered salute from the movie The Hunger Games
At a small pro-monarchy demonstration in Bangkok’s historic royal district this month, a student told the BBC that “the three pillars of this country, nation, religion and monarchy, should be respected, not brought down in order to do so. “That is not the way to go under a constitutional monarchy.”
“We are not coming out to fight with them. We have gone out to show the power of the other side. Thailand has a long history. It cannot be overthrown by those who want to blaspheme the monarchy,” they said.
This is uncharted territory for Thailand, and no one knows what will happen next.
The government, consisting mostly of conservative, military and royalist figures, seems uncertain of how it should react.
Too harsh a reaction risks creating anger for an audience that is already frustrated about other issues. Yet it cannot be seen that it does not defend the monarchy.
“The genius is out of the bottle,” said Professor Thongchai Winichakul, a historian at the University of Wisconsin and another survivor of the 1976 massacre.
“Society will not stop, change will not stop. The only thing we can do is make sure that change takes place with as little bloodshed as possible. Thais have years of privacy over the monarchy and then teach their children to be generous in it. to praise the public, to be hypocrites. All these young Protestants have done is to expose gossip. “
The red majesty and other laws and the threat they pose to BBC staff limit some of our reports directly related to members of the Thai royal family.
