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Thai protesters, some dressed in black and wearing hard helmets and gas masks, take part in an anti-government demonstration in Bangkok on July 18. Photo: Vijitra Duangdee

In Bangkok, young Thai protesters inspired by Hong Kong demand change but fear blowback

  • Student-led protests have flickered at campuses across Thailand since last year’s elections, won by former junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha
  • Saturday’s event in central Bangkok drew thousands, and appeared to borrow heavily from last year’s massive rallies in Hong Kong for its imagery
Thailand
United in their derision of a government they say is failing Thailand and inspired by the tactics, garb and wit of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, thousands of young Thais took to the streets of Bangkok on Saturday to demand change.

But in a country with a grim record of crushing student movements, such a political awakening could prove dangerous for those who followed calls over social media to descend on the capital’s Democracy Monument – a symbolic spot which commemorates the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

For years, Thailand’s political scene has been dominated by short-lived governments linked to the pro-democracy “red” and pro-establishment “yellow” blocs, and defined by their rival street protests.

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Thousands take to the streets of Thai capital Bangkok to protest against the government

Thousands take to the streets of Thai capital Bangkok to protest against the government

But many of the protesters interviewed for this article, who often only gave one name out of fears for their safety or other repercussions, said they did not follow a colour – instead they are part of a new generation, knitted together by social media, hashtags and memes.

Ice, Bass and Sien, three 18-year-olds from different parts of Thailand who travelled to the capital for their first ever protest on Saturday, said posts they had seen online deconstructing government policy had helped open their eyes to Thailand’s weak education system, faltering economy and restrictive laws on free speech.

“I was 14 during the last coup in 2014 … I was too young to think much of it,” said Sien, a first-year university student.

“But once I got access to information – knowledge – I realised we have been fooled and oppressed all along. This country is full of secrets and lies – how could they not teach us [at school] about the 1932 revolution?”

Protesters take part in an anti-government protest in Bangkok on Saturday, July 18. Photo: Vijitra Duangdee

Banners held at the protest on Saturday made references to 1932 and the group – later a short-lived political party – whose revolution that year ended direct royal rule.

Others ridiculed former junta chief and now Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, or carried calls to “end 112”, a reference to the country’s draconian royal defamation law that carries long jail terms for anyone who insults the monarchy – bold messaging in a country where public discussion of the institution is seen as off limits.
The Hong Kong protests totally sparked the fire in all of us students.
Student protester Ice, 18

Fresh demonstrations are planned outside Government House on Monday, activists say.

Saturday’s event seemed to borrow heavily for its imagery from last year’s massive rallies in Hong Kong – from the black clothes and masks to a few gas masks and a night time vigil lit by camera phones, as well as rappers, artists and musicians entertaining the crowd.

In a sign of the average attendee’s youth, volunteers could be seen handing out pamphlets to first-time protesters with tips such as drink water and avoid wearing expensive jewellery or high heels.

Thousands take to Bangkok streets to protest against Thai government

Ice, who is in her final year at a high school outside Bangkok, said the “Hong Kong protests totally sparked the fire in all of us students”.

“After seeing them still protesting despite so many political activists being silenced, that really inspired us Thai kids to come out,” she said.

“If my headmaster finds out that I’m here, I’ll probably be kicked out. But if we don’t exercise our rights, how long will we have to put up with this dictatorship government?”

Thai students and pro-democracy activists display the flashlights on their cellphones as they take part in an anti-government rally near the Democracy Monument in Bangkok. Photo: EPA-EFE

– Making of a movement –

Thailand’s coronavirus lockdown, which began in March, put a dampener on student-led protests that had flickered at campuses across the country since last year’s elections, when the party led by Prayuth, who also led 2014’s coup, solidified the military-backed establishment’s grip on power.

But the time spent sheltering in place amid the pandemic was put to good use by the group Free Youth, one of the main organisers of Saturday’s rally, to build protest networks online until the country’s lockdown began to be eased in June.

Bass, who is also a secondary school student, joined Free Youth by filling out a questionnaire online and passing a video interview. He travelled to Bangkok alone from a northern province on Saturday, meeting with strangers who he had previously only met online – all wearing black, with “democracy” emblazoned across their clothes in white letters.

Free Youth has laid down three demands: dissolve parliament, end judicial harassment of dissenters and rewrite the 2017 constitution, which was written by the junta.

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Critics say the last of these has allowed ex-generals to shed their uniforms and win election as MPs supported by an appointed senate of military and establishment allies.
But there are deeper currents pushing Thailand’s angry youth: a culture of seniority and compliance, a school system that compares poorly with others in the region, and an economy that offers little in the way of opportunity as it is forecast to contract more than 8 per cent this year alone.

Still, organiser Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree, a 23-year-old better known as “Ford”, said the huge turnout had left him “speechless”.

“We give the government two weeks to respond to our demands otherwise we will escalate protests,” he said.

Thai police stand at a barricade during a protest in Bangkok on Saturday July 18. Photo: Vijitra Duangdee

– Troubles ahead? –

The way forward is however littered with difficulties.

Prayuth’s government is supported by the military which has routinely cracked down on mass opposition movements since the 1970s.

A massacre at Thammasat University in 1976 and a bloody crackdown three years earlier are still raw in the minds of the public.

Equally, the bloody end to 2010’s “red shirt” protests in central Bangkok, which left scores dead in the shopping district, remains traumatic to the pro-democracy movement.

Explained: Thailand’s politics and monarchy

The 112 royal defamation law hangs heavy in the air – even though it has not been used in months – while tough cybercrime rules are still being used to arrest and jail dissenters.

“Many people who took part in [Saturday’s] rally are likely to be charged. Some will be harassed by Thai authorities and their surrogates. There will be witch-hunts and hate campaigns, using disinformation,” said Sunai Phasuk, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch Asia.

“But Thailand is seeing a new chapter for political uprisings that seem unlikely to end any time soon.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Youth Inspired by HK protests Demand change
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