[Apologies to readers. This post should have been sent to publication a couple of days ago. Better late than never….]
Thai PBS reports that “August 24 has portents of becoming judgement day as leaders of many youth movements are planning major protests if Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha holds on to power he seized eight years ago.”
There’s plenty of stories and reports on the royalist-militarist efforts to (again) manipulate law and constitution to have Gen Prayuth stay in power. That said, there are significant elements in the this coalition that is unhappy to continue with the unpopular and thick general.
The linked report refers to a “seminar at Thammasat University’s Pridi Banomyong International College on August 15,” where “student activists said that many groups are holding their breath to see how the establishment elite would decide Prayut’s political future.” They are, one said, “… keeping their hopes alive for change.”
The panel wanted Gen Prayuth gone and an election. As Parit Chiwarak put it: “An election is the best solution to ease peacefully mounting social tensions…. But the powers that be seem to be employing all kinds of legal tactics to delay the election and thus creating more frustrations and grievances among people who want to see some changes in the politics.”
Parit, like other youthful protesters who came together in 2020,demanding the general go. He stayed. They were jailed in large numbers.
They also “shocked the nation when they first called for radical changes in the hierarchical Thai society and reforms to the monarchy.”
Meanwhile, the government has done all in its power to undermine the youthful movements. The number of political prisoners in Thailand has risen sharply to more than 2,000 over the past few years.
The regime has tried to digitally erase those demands. Parit said: “Access to a video clip on YouTube of the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, uploaded since 2020 when they jump-started their call for reform of the monarchy, has been blocked in Thailand as the government wants to delete public memory…”. He now faces more than 40 charges.
Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon said she “had been prosecuted on some 10 charges and has been under surveillance of the authorities all the time.” But she remains resolute: “We want to set a new standard for our society, to have democracy in essence and to see that power really belongs to the people…”.
Kanokrat Lertchoosakul, a Chulalongkorn University academic is cited. She “explained that the current youthful movement articulated the vision of the 1932 Revolution, calling themselves People’s Party, since they see the revolution 90 years ago as an ‘unfinished political mission’.” Getting rid of Prayuth is one small step in achieving the political mission.