Children targeted

Amnesty International is at odds with the Economist Intelligence Unit’s recent democracy ranking of Thailand.

AI has released a new report on child rights to protest in Thailand. It’s press release begins:

Thai authorities have arrested, prosecuted, surveilled and intimidated child protesters for taking part in unprecedented mass demonstrations, Amnesty International said today, as it called for charges to be dropped and an end to any harassment discouraging children from joining protests.

Again, we can only question how the EIU came up with its bizarre claims on political participation.

The AI media release continues to note:

To date, nearly 300 under-18s have faced criminal charges, with some at risk of years in prison after being accused of sedition or insulting the monarchy, the first time that lèse majesté cases were known to have been brought against children in Thailand. The majority were accused of violating rules around mass public gatherings set out in a pandemic-related Emergency Decree that has since been lifted.

The report details the tactics used by the authoritarian regime:

Amnesty International documented a variety of tactics used to suppress the right to protest. Authorities routinely monitored or surveilled pro-democracy child protesters; directly intimidated children from ethnic minority groups for taking part in public assemblies; and asked unnecessary and invasive questions during background checks, such as whether the individual had relationships with someone of the same sex…. In some cases, authorities misused official powers under the Child Protection Act to wrongly prevent children from taking part in protests…. [AI] also documented authorities putting pressure on parents to discourage or prevent children from participating in protests. This provoked family tensions which, in two cases … resulted in domestic violence against child protesters.

Startlingly, the news release also documents that “[t]hree young protesters, aged 14, 15, and 16 at the time, were shot with firearms – allegedly by members of the public – outside Din Daeng Police Station in Bangkok on August 16, 2021.” Others were shot with rubber bullets during protests.

None of this sounds much like the quite surreal EIU report.

AI has called “for the Thai government to drop all criminal proceedings against peaceful child protesters; end all forms of intimidation and surveillance; and repeal or amend laws used to curb children’s right to protest to ensure they are in line with international human rights laws and standards.”

We’d guess there’s little chance of this without getting rid of the corrupt monarchy-military regime.

Protest III

The anti-APEC/pro-democracy/anti-Prayuth protests and the violent police response is getting lots of social media attention. Here are some of the more startling videos and photos. Several are from Andrew MacGregor Marshall who’s efforts are appreciated:

Among the items most discussed are the photos of a man apparently shot in the eye by police:

Another set of photos and clips include a monk fighting with police and the rough treatment he received:

Meanwhile, at an event with the Chinese leader at APEC, Gen Prayuth seemed lost, bowing to another of his senior leaders and then not knowing where he was or where he was going:

Protest II

Here’s several more links to the Anti-Prayuth/APEC demonstrations:

Bangkok Post, 18 Nov 2022: “Police fire rubber bullets at protesters“

The Nation, 18 Nov 2022: “Ratsadon protesters fume over arrest of leader after being blocked from marching to QSNCC“

Clipped from Bangkok Post

Bangkok Post, 18 Nov 2022: “Police under fire for assault at anti-Apec rally“

Thai Newsroom, 18 Nov 2022: “5 injured as police fire tear gas, rubber bullets at protesters” (plenty of pictures)

Clipped from The Nation

Thai Newsroom, 18 Nov 2022: “Move Forward MP slams Prayut govt for using force against anti-Apec protesters“

Thai PBS, 18 Nov 2022: “Protesters disperse from Bangkok’s Lan Khon Mueang Town Square“

Bangkok Post, 19 Nov 2022: “Rubber bullets used to quash rally, 25 cuffed“

Clipped from Thai Newsroom

Thai PBS, 18 Nov 2022: “At least 25 protesters arrested, others injured in clashes in Bangkok”

Thai Newsroom, 18 Nov 2022: “Chadchart regrets Apec protesters got injured, trying to help detainees“

The Nation, 19 Nov 2022: “Arnon threatens police with legal action over assault on protesters“

Clipped from Thai PBS

The Nation, 19 Nov 2022: “Police chief warns media to stay away from protest clashes” (as might be expected from the regime’s despots)

Thai Enquirer, 19 Nov 2022: “Opinion – APEC leaders fail to raise their voice for democracy despite violence used by authorities against protesters“

Thai Newsroom, 19 Nov 2022: “PM could face legal action over quelling anti-Apec protesters: Academic“

Bangkok Post, 19 Nov 2022: “23 of 25 detained protesters get bail“

Protest I

In some ways, the control of space for APEC feels like a royal cavalcade. In proximity to the venue, people are blocked, including from all overhead bridges and walkways. Skytrain wasn’t permitted to stop at Asoke.The inconvenience has caused much grumbling.

Here’s links to the Anti-Prayuth/APEC demonstrations:

Thai PBS, 16 November 2022: “Protesters may try to get closer to APEC meeting venue in Bangkok“

Clipped from Prachatai

Bangkok Post, 17 November 2022: “Apec road pass card registration continues“

Thai Newsroom: 17 November 2022: “Protesters hold ritual curse ceremony at City Hall square“

Bangkok Post: “Protesters confront riot-control police“

Prachatai, 17 November 2022: “Opposition to APEC 2022“

Clipped from Thai Newsroom

The Nation, 17 November 2022: “Protesters rally during Apec week, demand Prayut dissolve Parliament“

Thai Newsroom: 17 November 2022: “Protesters stopped from marching to QSNCC“

Thai Newsroom: 17 November 2022: “Protesters back off from marching to QSNCC to submit letter to foreign leaders“

Bangkok Post, 18 November 2022: “23,000 CCTVs added for Apec meet“

Recent writing on protest, monarchy, and law

PPT wants to draw attention to two recent works by academics that should get some attention.

The first is “Thai Youth Movements in Comparison: White Ribbons in 2020 and Din Daeng in 2021” by Chulalongkorn University political scientist Kanokrat Lertchoosakul. One reason for reading it is that it is from New Mandala. Once once mighty source of debate on Thailand, New Mandala has dropped off in recent years and is all too tame these days. Another reason for reading it  is that the article offers consideration of different political strategies that include a move away from non-violent protest. While we wonder about the (middle-class academic) notion of “the power of individuals to create change,” the discussion offers a nuanced account. It concludes: “In spite of differences in socio-economic status, political demands and protest strategies, the two groups have several features in common. They are politically active citizens and stand in support of political freedom and social justice.”

The second work is harder to access. A pricey new book, with an altogether too fancy title, is available. Constitutional Bricolage. Thailand’s Sacred Monarchy vs. The Rule of Law is by Eugénie Mérieau who is an Associate Professor of Public Law at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. An extract from the book is available. The publisher’s blurb states:

This book analyses the unique constitutional system in operation in Thailand as a continuous process of bricolage between various Western constitutional models and Buddhist doctrines of Kingship. Reflecting on the category of ‘constitutional monarchy’ and its relationship with notions of the rule of law, it investigates the hybridised semi-authoritarian, semi-liberal monarchy that exists in Thailand.

By studying constitutional texts and political practices in light of local legal doctrine, the book shows that the monarch’s affirmation of extraordinary prerogative powers strongly rests on wider doctrinal claims about constitutionalism and the rule of law. This finding challenges commonly accepted assertions about Thailand, arguing that the King’s political role is not the remnant of the ‘unfinished’ borrowing of Western constitutionalism, general disregard for the law, or cultural preference for ‘charismatic authority’, as generally thought.

Drawing on materials and sources not previously available in English, this important work provides a comprehensive and critical account of the Thai ‘mixed constitutional monarchy’ from the late 19th century to the present day.

Based on this, the extract and the table of contents, this looks like a serious piece of scholarship.

Updated: Protest continues

We posted on Sunday’s protest, but we also missed several stories about protest that might be of interest to readers, all from the last few days in October:

Harvard Political Review: “Why Thailand’s Young People Are Angry”

Yahoo!: “Thailand protests fade but the hardcore battle on”

Aljazeera: “Battlefield Din Daeng: The Thai protesters with ‘nothing to lose’”

And then there’s this, also from Aljazeera:

Update: The Bangkok Post reports on police trying to stop “pro-democracy supporters who had gathered at the Din Daeng police station in Bangkok on Friday to hold a candlelit vigil for a young protester who died a day earlier.” This was for the 15 year-old boy who “had been in a coma since August, caused by a gunshot wound that left a bullet lodged close to his brain.” Some claims are that he was shot by regime agents. The police add to those claims by stifling memorials. Fifty of them, with “riot shields cleared out about 100 protesters who had gathered at the station, where activists had gathered to lay flowers and candles on Friday.” Hopeless, merciless regime lapdogs.

Police vs. the people

The regime’s political “strategy” for controlling anti-government and monarchy reform movements involves repression and arrests, with the latter involving jail time.

Police Maj Gen Jirasan Kaewsangek, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, recently stated that “since July 2020, 683 anti-government protests have been held in Bangkok, and 366 of the cases are still under investigation.” Independent sources have the figure topping 800. Not a few of them are children.

Many scores of these protesters are being kept in detention.

The regime couples these mass arrests with targeted harassment of those they think are leaders. Thai Enquirer reports that the most recent student leader to face “a flurry of legal charges for his political activism” is Hudsawat ‘Bike’ Rattanakachen, 22, a critic studying political science at Ubon Ratchathani University. He is “facing multiple charges from the police including the violation of the Emergency Situations Act and violation of the Communicable Disease Act.”

He says: “I think the government charged me because they want to slow down the pace of our movement and make things more difficult…”.

The impact for him and others facing charges is that become entangled in time-consuming legal actions and responses.

He went on to explain that the regime “is raising the bar when it comes to suppressing regional movements like his in Ubon Ratchathani. He fears the authorities are increasing their level of surveillance.”

Academic Titipol Phakdeewanich “agrees that the state is exercising a dangerous campaign of legal harassment, one that clearly violates the rights of students.” He added that “there are a significant number of cases like this where ordinary people, villagers, rural people, people defined by the government as opposition, have told me stories that they’ve been monitored or followed as well…”.

Titipol observes that the regime “hang these cases over them indefinitely as a way to control students…”.

Hudsawat explains the sad fact that “we live in a society where the process of law or justice in Thailand is not normal,” adding, “anyone can be accused of having a different opinion from the government’s and then it’s decided that they pose a security threat to the state.”

Another facing charges is Sitanun Satsaksit, the sister of missing activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit. She’s now “charged with violation of the Emergency Decree for giving a speech at a protest on 5 September 2021 at the Asoke Intersection.”

She’s one of a dozen now “charged with violation of the Emergency Decree for participating in the same protest…”. Her case is tragic:

Sitanun said that she feels hopeless that not only are the Thai authorities not helping her find her brother and bring the perpetrators to justice, they are also trying to silence her by filing charges against her, even though she is fighting for the rights of her brother and other victims of enforced disappearance.

She adds:

Is it such a threat to national security that I join the campaign for the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance bill that you have to file charges to silence a victim? I am just calling for justice for someone in my family, but the government sees me as an enemy….

The regime protects the monarchy and its own position for fear that even individual protesters can bring the whole corrupt system down. Both police and military are now little more than the regime’s political police. THe enemies are the people, democracy, and proposer representation.

Call for 112 repeal

Prachatai has a long report on a 9 October rally by the gender equality activist group Feminist’s Liberation Front Thailand, continuing the wide-ranging calls for democracy and equality and “for the resignation of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, constitutional amendments, and monarchy reform to create a democracy for all.”

We recommend reading the whole account. As readers would expect, we were particularly struck by the ongoing emphasis on lese majeste. Here’s some snips:

Clipped from Prachatai

Thanapat, a member of the activist group Thalufah, gave a speech on the repeal of Section 112, or the royal defamation law, while dressed in a red Thai Chitralada dress. He said that there is a right and freedom to dress as one chooses, and therefore the government has no right to dictate how people dress.

Thanapat said that many people are currently imprisoned on royal defamation charges, even though what they said was criticism of the monarchy, especially when it comes to using the national budget. He asked whether what these people said was wrong, since they spoke out because they want national budget to be used for the benefit of the people. He also said that he believes that if everyone joins in the fight, then Section 112 will be repealed in the future, not just amended.

“When you want to stay in this country, on the same land as the citizens, then you have to listen to the citizens’ voice, both those who dissent and those who love you. Don’t pick and choose. Don’t lock up just dissenters. I don’t see people who stage coups locked up too,” Thanapat said.

Thanapat noted that the late King Bhumibol once said that the monarchy can be criticized, but one has to point out where the monarchy went wrong, meaning that people should be able to criticize the monarchy since the King said so himself.* He added that those who criticize the monarchy are using information and facts, which is good for the monarchy. However, Section 112 has been used not only to silence critics, but has also been used by those with a personal conflict or who wish to bully someone else, such as the case where an older sibling filed charges against their own younger sibling.

Thanapat said that it has now become apparent that using royal defamation charges against critics does more harm than good, and the best way out is to repeal the law.

“I want to see Thailand able to criticize everyone in good faith, for everyone to have the same law to be able to protect themselves , not one person above others, because we are a democracy,” Thanapat said.

*PPT believes this is a misunderstanding of the dead king’s speech, which was a criticism of then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Protests and protesters

There’s been a flurry of articles and video about recent protests and the tactics used.

Prachatai has a story focusing on Thalufah. It “organised a protest on 25 September, with 4 demands: the unconditional resignation of PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha; a new constitution; monarchy reform; and reform of the judicial system to ensure the right to bail of detained activists.” It has several pictures of the protesters tactics, showing young men and women standing up to the police.

The Guardian had a story on protest too. Focused on working class kids or as the report prefers, “mostly students from vocational colleges and poorer neighbourhoods…”. Some of the quotes are revealing:

[Chai]: “We don’t have a choice, we have to come out; my family is suffering…”.

Chai’s mother and father, a food seller and an electrician respectively, have both lost work because of the pandemic. Chai says he has also been forced to give up his part-time job because his college course has been moved online and now doesn’t finish until later in the day. He is training to be an electrician, but is on the brink of dropping out. One of his friends, who leans in to talk, has already done so. They are struggling to learn from home, and say there has been no support to cover the internet costs….

At Din Daeng, protesters say they have run out of patience. “It’s as if they look at us not like a citizen, it’s as if they see us as slaves,” says Chai’s friend, who is 17….

Police violence won’t deter him [Chai], or his friends. “It will even spark us to go out, we will get even more angry,” he says. “It’s going to be like this until Prayuth gets out.”

A SCMP video is worth viewing too:

With 3 updates: Students vs. the rotten system

In recent posts, here and here, PPT has mentioned the increasingly aggressive tactics adopted by the regime’s police in confronting mostly young protesters. The police now face determined protesters.

The South China Morning Post reports that police face thousands of protesters – “young, angry and desperate for radical change – [who] come out to oppose a state they have lost all faith in.” Some are as young as 12. These protests are now daily and have a degree of predictability:

Protesters, some armed with paint bombs – the more hardcore among them, sling-shots and glass bottles – retreated then returned, a daily dance on Bangkok’s streets which is now threatening to spill out of control.

Protests now almost inevitably end in tear gas, broken bottles and rubber bullets.

The protesters speak to power and call for change: “No one in power has heard us, no one listens to us, they only intimidate and suppress…. So we will keep coming back.”

Their targets are not just the regime, but the rotten system: “… deepening inequality in a country where a tight-knit establishment of tycoons, military and monarchy dominate the economy and politics.” The quoted protester – aged 16 – says: “Inequality comes from these structural issues, everything is tied up here by monopolies of business and power…”. Her observation is testament to the alienation felt by many in the young generation.

Academic Kanokrat Lertchoosakul observes that:

This generation are a totally different species of political, active citizens that we have never seen before in Thailand…. They are a generation with mass awareness of their political rights and have superior analytical skills to their elders.

Prachatai provides another example of youth activism, reporting on the Bad Student activist group that has “launched a strike campaign to protest against the continuous use of online classes during outbreaks of Covid-19, which has been detrimental to students’ mental health and deprived many of an education.”

They are “demanding that the government provide students, education professionals, and members of the public with high efficacy vaccines as soon as possible so that the education system and the economy can continue.” They also want the Ministry of Education to “reduce tuition fees or impose a tuition fee moratorium, and provide whatever welfare is needed by students and their parents to keep young people in school.”

The group encouraged students “to stop attending [online] classes between 6 – 10 September 2021…” and the brief boycott was quite successful.

Bad Students have also joined the ongoing demonstrations and were there almost from the very beginning, saying: “We don’t want this rotten education system. We don’t want this stinking Minister. But we want our future back, and even better, is an education system that truly improves us…”.

Meanwhile, Thai PBS reports on students and other protesters still held without bail, including “seven core leaders of the anti-government Ratsadon group, who have been held on remand for about a month.” These detainees include Parit Chiwarak, Arnon Nampa, Panupong Jadnok, and Jatuphat Boonpattararaksa.

As the SCMP says, “Thailand is on a precipice … its politics once more a tinderbox of anger.”

Update 1: Sorry, we should have noted that the SCMP article was from August whereas the photos are more recent.

Update 2: Three stories at the Bangkok Post add to the analysis of the present moment in protest. In one story, police have said they will bring numerous criminal charges protesters. A second story says that police data is that 509 protesters have been arrested and a further 250 are being sought since the rallies began in July. That story also carries an important quote from Thalugas, welcoming the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration and the Thalufah group as rally “witnesses at the rally by young demonstrators in Din Daeng that evening.” Thalugas “said they should not be left to fight alone.” A third story is about a member of the older generation of protesters, Sombat Boonngamanong. He says: “We are at a crucial moment in democracy development…. This is a time when the ruling authoritarian establishment is trying to suppress the young, democratic generation.” His view is that “the nature of social movements has changed — because more people, especially younger generations, respect democratic values…. They do not tolerate authori­tarianism.”

Update 3: Prachatai reports on arrests in recent clashes. It has also produced a video on Bad Students: