Meet Anon Nampa, the Thai lawyer who is one of the driving forces behind youth protests

The protests have no single leader but Anon on August 3 called for curbs on the power of the monarchy, shaking Thai politics and galvanising the push for reforms

‘We dream of a monarchy that coexists with democracy,’ Anon said to cheers from a crowd of more than 10,000 people in Bangkok on Sunday

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Anon Nampa, one of the leaders of recent anti-government protests. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:02pm, 17 Aug 2020Updated: 8:08pm, 17 Aug 2020

The deafening cheer for Anon Nampa at Thailand’s biggest demonstration in years underlined the bookish human rights lawyer’s emergence at the forefront of a youth protest movement with his taboo-breaking call for reforms to the monarchy.

“He looks quite harmless,” said Rangsiman Rome, a former activist who is now an opposition member of parliament. “But once he gets the microphone and gets on stage or starts working, he becomes a different, serious person.”

Although the protest movement has no single leader, Anon’s August 3 call for curbs on the power of the monarchy shook Thai politics in a way not known in living memory and made him a hero for some and a hate figure for others.

His open challenge put Anon at risk of arrest under lèse-majesté charges, which can mean 15 years in jail.

“I think there is a need for everyone to be able to talk about the monarchy openly and constructively,” Anon said. “I think society is becoming more open about this.”

The Royal Palace did not comment on Anon or on the protesters’ demands for change. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has said the king requested that nobody be prosecuted for lèse-majesté for now.

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