‘They try to make it a hidden history’: one Thai dissident’s lonely mission to preserve monument to democracy

Plaque commemorating the bloodless 1932 Siamese Revolution that ended absolute monarchy was suddenly replaced in April with a new plaque espousing loyalty to Thailand’s royal family

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Thai dissident Ekachai Hongkangwan holds a brass replica of the missing plaque commemorating the year Thailand went from being an absolute monarchy to a democracy in 1932. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:45pm, 24 Jul 2017Updated: 10:56pm, 24 Jul 2017

Carrying a bucket of cement and a heavy bronze plaque, Ekachai Hongkangwan set out across Bangkok’s heavily policed Royal Plaza in late June to perform a solo act of DIY dissent.

But the 42-year-old was quickly bundled into a police van before he could lay down the metal disc – an exact replica of a monument that was mysteriously removed in April, sparking fears officials were trying to whitewash history.

The 15-inch plaque, which had lain undisturbed for decades, marked the bloodless 1932 Siamese Revolution that ended absolute monarchy. But it was suddenly replaced with a new plaque espousing loyalty to Thailand’s royal family, an institution whose influence has roared back into prominence in recent decades as democracy has faltered.

The date Ekachai chose for his one man protest was June 24, the anniversary of that revolution.

“I wanted to dig the new one out but I knew it will be very difficult for me,” he said.

This is a democracy symbol. They try to make it a hidden history

Ekachai Hongkangwan, dissident

The attempted restoration was a dangerous and rare act of subversion in a country smothered by an arch-royalist military and where criticism of the monarchy is being purged at an unprecedented rate.