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Royalists use liberal university’s grounds to declare stance against protesters

PoliticsOct 21. 2020Photo by Wanchai Kraisornkhajit 

By The Nation

A royalist group gathered in Ramkhamhaeng University’s Huamark campus on Wednesday to announce that it wanted to protect the monarchy from groups that are allegedly inciting people without presenting facts.

The network demands action on the following points:

• People who behaved inappropriately during the royal motorcade on October 14 must be condemned.

• People who spurred this behaviour must be taken to account.

• Anti-government protesters must stop causing conflicts among people.

The group said that though it does not intend to interfere with the pro-democracy movement, it does not agree with the protesters’ viewpoint and believes they are violating the law as well as people’s rights and liberties.

The network is also inviting other royalists to swear their loyalty to the monarchy at an event in the university’s Huamark campus on October 31 from 4pm onwards.

However, Ramkhamhaeng University students have long been known for their anti-establishment views and have often participated in pro-democracy protests.

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Students, MPs turn to court for action against emergency rule

PoliticsOct 21. 2020Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha 

By THE NATION

Six law students from Chulalongkorn and Thammasat universities filed a complaint with the Bangkok Civil Court on Wednesday, demanding that the government lift the “severe” state of emergency, which has been in effect from last week.

The students also asked for court injunction from strong measures under the emergency decree. 

The students’ court complaint against the government has also won the backing of law organisations such as Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, the EnLAW organisation, the Human Rights Lawyers Association, the Muslim Attorney Centre, Legal Rights and Environmental Protection Association, the Cross Cultural Foundation, the Union for Civil Liberty and Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw).

On Tuesday, Pheu Thai MPs Cholnan Srikaew and Jirayu Houngsub filed a lawsuit against the prime minister for declaring a state of emergency, which they said was unjustified. 

Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha

Cholnon said they want the court to order a revocation of the two emergency decrees issued on October 15 and 16, as well as grant protection to pro-democracy protesters. 

The hearing for this case has been scheduled for Thursday. 

Meanwhile, former Democrat MP Watchara Petchthong and former judge Kasem Suphasit are also seeking legal action against Prayut for “unlawfully implementing the state of emergency”.

Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha

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Wordplay gives ongoing rallies a humorous slant

PoliticsOct 21. 2020

By THE NATION

Despite rising tensions and intensifying protests, pro-democracy activists have found humour in the situation and come up with funny slang terms to describe people or the state of affairs.

For instance, monks and novice monks in their orange robes are referred to as “carrot” and “baby carrot”, “broccoli” describes soldiers thanks to their green uniforms, police in khaki uniform are “mocha” and riot police in darker khaki are “oliang” or black Thai iced coffee.

Meanwhile celebrities who change their stance have earned the moniker “look chup”, referring to the brightly coloured Thai sweet, while food vendors are called “CIA” because they usually get to the protest sites ahead of protesters.

People spying on the protesters have been named “Natasha Romanoff” after the Marvel comic character, Thanathorn Juangroogruangkit’s blue raincoat has earned him the nickname “Doraemon”, while the yellow-shirt royalists are merely referred to as “minions”.

The most often used word at this protest and previous rallies is “kaeng” or “curry” in Thai, which when uttered in a different tone can also mean “tease”. This word is often used to describe police when they are “annoyed” by protesters.

Meanwhile, the word “kaeng mor yai” or big pot of curry is used to describe big incidents in which the police are tricked by protesters, and “kaeng thae pho” is a play on words describing the youths’ tactics to avoid police.

The Free Youth group and its ally United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration have also renamed the government intelligence agency (known in Thai as “Nuay Khao Klong”) as “Nuay Khao Kaeng” or the agency of mischievous news, and use the new name to preface the announcement of protest sites.

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Chiang Mai University speaks up for freedom of press

PoliticsOct 21. 2020

By THE NATION

Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Mass Communications issued a statement on Tuesday urging the government to be open to opinions from all sides and to respect the freedom of press.

The statement was published after the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission and Digital Economy and Society Ministry decided to suspend some media operations, claiming that they were a risk to national security. 

The faculty is calling for:

• The government to communicate with people openly and be open to opinions from all sides. It should also stop exercising its powers to block people and media from presenting their political views. 

• Each side should hold peaceful discussions to solve the ongoing problems. Communication that intensifies hatred among people must be stopped.

• Government agencies should ensure media’s rights and freedom is being respected, and should present themselves when media operations are being interrupted unfairly. 

On Tuesday, the court ordered the closure of Voice TV’s Facebook page for allegedly violating the state of emergency and the Computer Crimes Act. 

Voice TV responded by saying that Facebook was an open space for people to learn facts from every aspect, which is a great contribution to society. It also said that the people behind this action should take responsibility and be just.

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Protesters spring ‘big surprise’ with mass rendition of national anthem

PoliticsOct 20. 2020Supporters of the pro-democracy movement sing the national anthem while giving three-finger salutes against dictatorship. Photo by Wanchai Kraisornkhajit 

By THE NATION

The pro-democracy movement surprised police and its own supporters this evening (Tuesday) by announcing that no rallies would be held today, instead organising a mass rendition of the national anthem at railway stations.

Free Youth and its ally, the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, announced via Facebook and other channels that a big rally will be organised tomorrow (Wednesday).

However, some protesters in Bangkok and other provinces decided to hold their own demonstrations.

Instead of rallying on Tuesday, the protest movement asked supporters to gather at BTS Skytrain and MRT metro stations to sing the national anthem at 6pm.

The move wrongfooted metropolitan police.

Bangkok’s deputy police chief Piya Tawichai said 1,860 officers had been on standby to deal with the “big surprise” protesters had promised at Tuesday’s rally.

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Man held over attack on Bang Na police booth insists he was drunk

PoliticsOct 20. 2020

By THE NATION

A suspect who reportedly flung a traffic cone at a Bang Na intersection police box during the Sunday rally denied he had been hired by anyone to cause trouble, saying he was drunk that evening.

The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Prawit Somrat, was tracked down to his home near the intersection early on Tuesday. He is the second person to be detained for allegedly attacking the traffic booth.

During interrogation, Prawit said he was drunk before joining the flash mob on Sunday, pointing out that he was not the only person who flung things at the booth after traffic police turned off the streetlights.

Prawit now faces charges of damaging state assets, violating the emergency decree and participating in an illegal gathering.

Before being sent to Phra Khanong Criminal Court with the other suspect, Prawit told the press that he wanted to apologise to the protesters.

He said he worked as a contractor, and insisted he had not been hired by anyone to cause trouble at the protest site, adding that he was drunk.

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Move Forward offers guidelines on dealing with political unrest

PoliticsOct 20. 2020Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward Party leader 

By The Nation

The Move Forward Party is offering the government a list of steps it can take to tackle the ongoing political unrest, including removing the state of emergency and having the prime minister resign.

The party said the decision to use violence against unarmed protesters violated international regulations and putting the capital under “severe” state of emergency threatened the general public.

It added that instead the government should be focusing on reviving the crippled economy.

Move Forward said the following steps should be taken to stop further damages to society and economy:

• Prime Minister General Chan-o-cha must lift the state of emergency and release innocent people who were arrested.

• He must resign from the position of prime minister.

• A new prime minister must be elected without the influence of senators.

• Parliament must hold an extraordinary session to consider charter amendments, including the establishment of a Constitution Drafting Assembly elected by the people, removing senators’ influence in electing a prime minister and legal reforms that reflect the true demands of the people.

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Sudarat to challenge emergency decree in court

PoliticsOct 20. 2020Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan 

By The Nation

Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan has decided to move the court for revoking the state of emergency declared by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Sudarat, a former minister and former chairwoman of Pheu Thai Party’s strategic committee, posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday that the premier was “the source of the problem”, by seizing power from the people in a coup and transferring power to the military by writing a charter to support it.

“Other politicians and I have followed the situation with concern and tried to prevent the government from applying their power. We had a discussion yesterday and agreed that we should use the right in the court to protect the protesters,” she said.

Pheu Thai MPs Cholnan Srikaew and Jirayu Houngsub went to the Civil Court to sue the prime minister for declaring a state of emergency, which they deemed unjustified.

Cholnan said that they would demand the court to revoke the two emergency decrees issued on October 15 and 16 and grant protection to the pro-democracy protesters.

Former Democrat MP Watchara Petchthong and former judge Kasem Suphasit also sought legal action against Prayut for what they call “unlawfully implementing the state of emergency”.

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Protest leaders ‘Penguin’, Panusaya win appeal for release

PoliticsOct 20. 2020

By THE NATION

The Appeal Court on Monday granted bail to anti-government protest leaders Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul and Natchanon Pirote, overturning an earlier decision.

The court said bail surety was set at Bt200,000 each and all three had agreed to the release conditions.

The three protestors were arrested after participating in rallies at Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus over a period from July 27 to August 10. They were charged with sedition, holding an illegal gathering that risked spreading disease, violation of the Computer Crimes Act, and using an amplifier without permission.

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Protesters gather at Kaset intersection, Klong Prem prison, Nonthaburi MRT station

PoliticsOct 19. 2020Protestors at Kaset Intersection hold up their cellphones for a demonstration dubbed ‘switch on the light to expel dictatorship’. Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha 

By THE NATION

Pro-democracy protestors began gathering in Bangkok’s Kaset intersection near Kasetsart University on Monday afternoon after the Free Youth movement announced the new location on Facebook.

The Kaset Intersection rally ended peacefully at 7.15pm. Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha

Protesters reportedly started stopping traffic at the intersection by putting up plastic barriers at about 4.30pm.

Traffic is jammed as the number of protesters swells beyond 1,000 at Kaset Intersection in Bangkok on Monday. More protestors were seen joining the rally. Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha

The other two protest sites in Greater Bangkok were the Klong Prem Central Prison and the MRT station near the Public Health Ministry complex in Nonthaburi. 

Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha

Protesters also simultaneously started gathering in Nakhon Pathom, Buri Ram, Maha Sarakham, Khon Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani, Lamphun, Phetchaburi, Chiang Mai, and Songkhla provinces.

Photo by Korbphuk Phromrekha

Bangkok’s Skytrain and MRT services had not been suspended as of press time.

The crowd of pro-democracy protesters steadily grows on Monday evening at Bangkok’s Kaset intersection in Bang Khen district. The intersection is near Kasetsart University.