Photo: The Sun Shines (prachatai)
Tantawan 'Tawan' Tuatulanon, a 20-year-old woman, has been advocating for a reform of the monarchy in Thailand for many years. The documentary below shows how she is followed and prosecuted by the police and the judiciary.
Tawan ('Sun'), as she is called, calls for reform of the monarchy, in particular for the abolition of Article 112, the lèse-majeste article.
On March 5, she filmed a royal motorcade questioning the priorities of the police and the king, as farmers protesting in the area at the time were forced to move to clear the route. Earlier, on February 8, she conducted an opinion poll on royal columns in Siam Paragon in central Bangkok.
In the evening of March 5, the police arrested her. Two days later, she was released on bail of 100.000 baht under certain conditions.
Nang Loeng police station asked the court in late March to revoke her bail because she allegedly violated her bail conditions by entering an area where a royal motorcade was due to pass on March 17, and by posting comments on her Facebook page about royal columns and about being harassed by the police.
On April 20, the police arrested her and she is still in custody. She went on a hunger strike to protest her arrest.
Between November 24, 2020 and April 22, 2022, 188 people have been charged with lèse-majesté, including 15 minors.
The documentary 'The Sun Shines':
More information:
In his birthday speech on the evening of December 4, 2005, the late King Bhumibol said the following:
“Currently, I must also be criticized. I am not afraid if the criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know. Because if you say the king cannot be criticized, it means that the king is not human. If the king can do no wrong, it is akin to looking down upon him because the king is not being treated as a human being. But the king can do wrong.”
King Bhumibol opposed the application of lèse-majesté article 112 of the Penal Code.
Huge respect for this fearless and courageous woman.
That article 112 has the sole purpose of maintaining the established order; the order of elite and uniforms together to control the rest of the country. It fits the picture that you see in almost all of Asia; you have to look for press and other freedoms with a light.
Neighboring Cambodia has similar legislation and when that law had to be signed, the king reported sick, went to China for treatment and had the prime minister sign it. Incidentally, a European monarch also did this because he had conscientious objections to a law passed by parliament.
I wouldn't recognize her from the photo above the article, Khaosod English wrote about her hunger strike at the end of April and used a, uhm, more striking photo, in which Tawan sets a large playing card King/King on fire with a lighter.
See: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=5412621622090059&id=536126593072944
In Thai her name is ทานตะวัน “ตะวัน” ตัวตุลานนท์. In Dutch phonetics: Thaan-tà-wan “Tà-wan” Tuwa-tula-non. Her first name is Sunflower, nickname Sun, last name is letterlick “self/embodiment justice satisfaction” say Justice-satisfaction. Nice name right?
More youth speak up:
There are a few other young combative ladies who made it into the media with public and provocative surveys (eg tax money & royal family). These include Supitcha “Maynu” Chailom , Benjamaporn “Ploy” Nivas, and “Baipor” Nutthanit, a member of the Thaluwang (ทะลุวัง) group. Various charges are pending against all of them and some of them (Baipor) are in pre-trial detention for violating bail conditions. Ploy protested against this, by shaving his head in front of the prison and giving the three-finger gesture. For completeness, their names in Thai: สุพิชฌาย์ “เมนู” ชัยลอม, เบญจมาภรณ์ “พลอย” นิวาส and ใบปอ ณัฐนิช.
https://prachatai.com/english/node/9798
But not all youth dislike or criticize 112 and the house. This week, for example, I saw similar images of the young people who support the monarchy, the Thai Rak-saa (ไทยรักษา) asked the audience if they think it can be preserved forever:
https://prachatai.com/journal/2022/05/98522
Another protest group, Bad Students (you may know from the resistance to the uniforms and hairstyle rules), shared the instructions of a school that knows how it should be done.. Points deducted for students who don't follow the rules! For example, students who do not sing along (loudly enough) with the royal anthem or anthem receive a 5-point deduction and students who participate in “subversive activities against the state, religion or monarchy” are deducted 50 points from the grade for good behavior (grades range from 0 to 100). . If you participate in things like these ladies as an exemplary student, you will lose half your score in no time. Good students listen obediently, respect authority and are not rebellious…
See: https://www.facebook.com/KhaosodEnglish/posts/375256091313572