THAILAND PROTEST

Brief Timeline

February 2020

Anti-government protests started.

26 March 2020

The demonstrations were interrupted due to Thai authorities imposing a state of emergency to stop the spread of the coronavirus, limiting gatherings and travel.

Jun 2020

Protesters returned after the disappearance of a pro-democracy activist.

18 July 2020

The Free Youth group draws about 2,500 to a protest in Bangkok and makes three demands.

10 Aug 2020

Students at Thammasat University list 10 demands for reforming the monarchy.

16 August 2020

More than 10,000 people joined a protest at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument.

20 September 2020

Protesters install a plaque near the Grand Palace in Bangkok with the message that Thailand belongs to the people and not to the monarch.

15 October 2020

Thai authorities declared a state of emergency prohibiting any gathering of more than five people which later raised the anger of protesters persisting to this day.

Causes of Protest

Military-drafted constitution and monarchy power abuse were the main causes that triggered thousands of young Thais to demand for resignation of the current prime minister, a new more democratic constitution and reformation of monarchy.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha also a former junta leader that drafted a new constitution before elections were held in 2019. Prayut was voted in to lead a civilian government according to a win analysts, was driven by electoral rules. Protesters say the whole process was a stitch-up.

They also have a list of 10 demands for the monarchy, including throwing out a defamation law that shields the powerful royal family from criticism which carries a jail sentence of up to 15 years per charge and about the king's decision to declare crown wealth and holdings as his personal assets.

Discontent has been simmering since February when the leaders of an opposition party, popular among young people, were banned from politics. Many protesters say the move against the Future Forward Party was politically motivated.

A lockdown to restrain the spread of Covid-19, which affected Thailand's economy into freefall, exposed the gap between the billionaire class and the poor.  

In June, prominent activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit, who had been living in self-exile in neighboring Cambodia, disappeared. Protesters accused thai authorities of

arranging for the activists to be kidnapped.

Response of Protest

​Prime minister Prayuth has rejected the protesters demands for him

to step down. He also cited the incident involving the queen's motorcade to justify an

emergency decree that caused banning gatherings of more than five which latter added with the order nationwide ban on broadcasting or publishing news and information which might incite public fear, also banning telegram and an encrypted messaging app used by protesters. Furthermore, the prime minister directs the police to take drastic legal action against those people who have broken the law. At the protest site, police have responded by firing water cannons and arresting dozens of protesters.

The ban on gatherings urges the Thai democracy activists to increasingly adopt tactics inspired by their counterparts in Hong Kong. One of them, demonstrators in Bangkok, held up umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas fires. From helmets and gas masks to flash mobs and hand signals, this Thailand’s student-led movement is drawing on the experience of Hong Kong’s young activists in its own fight for change. As a response, Hong Kong activists have expressed their solidarity, offering tips on protective protest wear, internet security and first aid.

In contrast, clashing with anti-government protesters, more than a thousand of supporters have demonstrated in Thailand’s capital in support of King Maha Vajiralongkorn while dressed in the royal yellow color chanting ‘Long live the king’. These supporters were in their 50s, 60s, and older. Moreover, many royalists believe the student protesters are being manipulated by older activists with their own political agendas. The military also considers defending the monarchy to be one of its main duties. The two sides traded punches and threw plastic bottles as police tried to keep them apart.

In terms of covid-19 crisis, Interestingly, Thailand was described by public health experts as a “COVID-19 star,” with fewer than 60 deaths and just 3,700 cases, even though it was the first country outside of China to report COVID-19 infections. A stringent government lockdown and decontamination program, enforced by the military and police, quickly followed. This had also caused the protester to bravely hold huge gatherings for the protest.

Intellectual Unit’s Opinion

1) Right to democracy

Everyone has a right for freedom of opinion and expression as long as the rights pursued will bring good not only to oneself but to the people and the country.

2) Protest should be considered as a last resort in voicing opinions

As what has been done by the pro-democracy protesters that included university students, young professionals, as well as a large contingent of high school students, a lot of legal processes have been gone through before they started the protest. As a last resort, they did the protest but in a really organized way inspired by the Hong Kong protesters.

The inspired tactics are considered as a peaceful method for example, jungle telephone tactic used to signal police arrivals or request equipment such as umbrellas for those on the protest frontlines. In addition, to signal off the need for helmets, activists raised their hands in a triangle above their heads, by crossing their fingers they showed someone was injured and swirling an index finger in an anti-clockwise direction was a warning to disperse. These methods opened up the world perspectives toward a new concept of protest which can be exemplified.

3) Difference of ideologies

Different generations have different views in certain ways including the reliance on traditional monarchy. According to reports from the protests, many elders were against the action of young Thais in protesting the king monarchy since it was appropriate to question the king's duties.

We also discussed how young people should approach and share opinions with the elders in a way that can avoid them from feeling offended. Here courtesy plays an important role because in relaying ideas, the elderly want to be respected since they have gone through a lot of experience in life. Furthermore, the information should be delivered in a clear and easy method for them to receive. As the elderly usually have problems with gadgets and the internet, they lost some information regarding the current situation or problems that are often discussed in the mass media. Therefore, misunderstandings may occur between generations.

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Reference

Al Jazeera News - https://www.aljazeera.com/

BBC News - https://www.bbc.com/news/world/asia

The Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/international

South China Morning Post - https://www.scmp.com/