Further updated: The royalist bastion at Chulalongkorn University

Prachatai has an interesting account of Chulalongkorn University maintaining its well-deserved reputation as the bastion of royalist ideology. And, even more striking, the story has to do with elements from the administration and the Faculty of Political Science preventing political activism. The story is of a group of Chulalongkorn students attempting to protest against a visit by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to the university. Their protest was opposed by a political science lecturer and university security guards.

About 7-8 students tried to protest outside the venue that Abhisit visited and to present him with a letter. They held placards with messages that used Abhisit’s own words to protest. University security guards reportedly seized some of their placards and lecturer Weerasak Krueathep snatched others away and scuffled with the students.

The university and the lecturer should be ashamed of this attempt to prevent free speech by university students. More importantly, if Abhisit was really in favor of free speech and was a political liberal, then he’d speak out against such repressive actions.

Update 1: Readers will find the commentary by Suranand Vejjajiva of some use in contextualizing this case. He comments on recent actions against students who are seen as siding with the opposition. The weight of repression is indeed becoming great.

Update 2: Prachatai has a follow-up story, showing the double standards of yellow shirts on academic and political freedom.