The group of students who protested in Bangkok on Friday against the military coup of May 22, 2014, must stop doing so or face severe punishment, NCPO spokesman Col Winthai Suvaree said.
A total of thirty-eight students were arrested during the demonstration outside the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Videos of the crackdown on the peacefully demonstrating students are circulating on social media
Some were steam blasted with a taser or dragged by the hair. Many have been kicked and beaten in the genitals. Journalists also had to pay for it, including a photographer from Bangkok Post. A foreign freelance journalist was even hit by a car while filming.
Winthai denied yesterday that the authorities had used force and threatened legal action against people who spread false information.
Prime Minister Prayut said he did not intend to use Article 44 against the students and understood that they are interested in politics. But demonstrations are not allowed.
The Lawyers for Human Rights does not understand that the Thai government uses so much violence against unarmed demonstrators: "The harsh approach and the arbitrary detention of demonstrators instill fear among the population".
The demonstrators were released without charge, but were required to sign a statement pledging to refrain from all political activity.
No right to demonstrations.
Brutal crackdown on demonstrations.
Violence against journalists (including from Bangkok Post)
Foreign journalist/filmmaker hit by car.
Use of tasers (electro-shock weapons)
Deliberately kicking protesters' genitals
Thai government denies use of force.
Social Media shows the opposite.
Arrested students released without charge, but only after signing to refrain from political activities!
Threatening legal action against people who spread “false information”. But it is precisely Prayut and his who are spreading false information. The truth is violated daily by the government.
Prayut pledges not to use Article 44. Is not necessary. He has enough resources to crush any opposition.
My advice is: “Prayut, keep it up. Don't be fooled by a few students or journalists. Not even the United Nations. Not even by the many foreign governments. Not by human rights organizations. Keep thinking you're right. Long live Thailand”.
All the ingredients for a total dictatorship are there. No free speech. No press freedom. No demonstration right. Arbitrary arrests. Political justice. No separation of powers. All power in one hand. Too many people are blind, including expats. Long live Thailand.
The current situation shows that Thailand is slowly but surely slipping away. But yes, an early Greek philosopher once said: “every nation gets its leader as it is due.”
Well said, Frans Nico! In the beginning, Prayut was embraced by almost all expats and many Thais. I assure you that after this first year many of these people have lost their eyes.
Prayut is digging his own grave. Yesterday a big headline in the daily newspaper Thai Rath with a quote from Prayut: 'Thai don't use their brains enough.' That in response to the criticism of the junta. The only thing the Thais are allowed to do is to kneel respectfully.
Thailand, land of lords and slaves
where the best people gave their lives
in a sadly lost battle
for freedom and justice
when can they bury their chains?
And what I find so interesting is that some Thailandlandblog readers keep repeating how great things are going in Thailand since Prayuth is in charge. We are simply kept stupid by this regime. Towards a dictatorship.
Yes, a tip of the veil lifted.
How wonderful he is Prayuth. According to many. How quiet it has become in Thailand
A victory for Thailand that Prayuth says many expats
Will they begin to understand that it's not going to work out with that Prayuth
Hence only 3 comments
We will all suffer the consequences.
Soon Thailand will no longer be the country of your dreams. No longer the country where you wanted to live
Then you will hear them again the one you don't hear now
French Nico
I don't know if it's true that every nation gets what they deserve
The people want different. They do their best but if that is always crushed with brute force
Make it an almost impossible task.
I witnessed a popular uprising 40 years ago, many killed.
What has changed. NOTHING
People are not seeing blind. It suits them well. They'll benefit from it
It is so nice and quiet in Thailand.
Beware of what's to come
The underlying idea of “every people gets its leader that is due to it” is that a people must decide for itself who its leader is. If the people do not want a leader, then that same people must send away that unwanted “leader”. Not good, then bad. But if a people does not do that, then that is a choice of that people. There are examples enough.
Of course, a people does not just stand up against a (self-proclaimed) “leader”. To do this, a lot of water must first flow through the Chao Phraya. And if that does happen, it could easily lead to a civil war. There are also many examples of this. Then the Chao Phraya can be colored by blood. But it is up to the people whether it will come to this or whether it will be a velvet revolution.
I still believe that the problems in Thailand can only be solved peacefully by an elected leader who enjoys the respect of all residents and the well-being of all Thais without regard to persons. A leader who brings about reconciliation. Thailand has no other way. The political contradictions and corruption are too great for that. Another Greek saying is: "No bread and circuses for the people" and the people are satisfied. Well, a start is fighting poverty and giving the executive (police and civil servants) a normal salary. Then levy a reasonable tax on the rich to combat poverty. I am convinced that such a leader will get all the support needed to get Thailand back on its feet. Whether that will ever come to that and whether it can be done peacefully remains to be seen. We must not give up hope. But a “leader” who derives his power from weapons is not a leader who will get the people behind him.
For me, Prayuth may stay in power for a long time. The Thai themselves attach little importance to democracy. The only thing that bothers them is that they can no longer do friendly politics. As the Buddha once said, everything around us is a mirror image of our own idea.
What is the value of a democracy if they do violence to their own people?
Thanks to Prayuth there is discipline. Those who do not want to hear must feel.
My family here in Bangkok is half red and yellow. The discussions go on and on.
I remain in favor of a strong leader. Because without him, Bangkok will be set ablaze sooner or later.
A good leader derives his authority from trust.
Prayut derives his authority from guns and violence.
If you review political history from the 70s, you can indeed say that the people have those leaders that they deserve, see response @Frans Nico.
Also ask yourself why the prosperity of the 80s could not continue.
And also see how the popularly elected prime ministers, and not only in this century, managed to handle their mandates. To quote again words from @Frans Nico: How much water does it take to flow through the Chao Praya? There are many examples to be mentioned, he continues, but I say: there is mainly a drought, with the excuse that awareness has not even been going on for half a century.
If you keep up with the Thai news, the following problems stand out recently:
1- a warning from CITES to combat the trade in (smuggled) ivory by now;
2- a relegation to the Tier 3 list of the US TIP report because Thailand is doing too little against human trafficking in general;
3- problems with illegal fishermen and fishing boats in Indonesian waters;
4- measures taken by international aviation inspections because Thailand does not fully comply with aviation safety requirements;
5- the discovery of refugee camps and death graves along the border with Malaysia, the direct involvement of Thai officials of all walks of life in the creation of those camps, and the way in which Thailand has dealt with the immense Rohingya problem both in recent years and in recent years. nowadays;
6- senior officials of the various ministries who are transferred to inactive posts due to suspicion of corruption; and last but not least:
7- Scandals involving drug involvement, financial mismanagement, and lavish ways of life among venerable members of the monasticism.
In an article in The Nation last month, I read that the Thai government has been busy trying to smooth out Thailand's tarnished image. Prayut often lost his temper, faced with denials, indifference, and involvement of the military, police, and civil service in various scandals.
But are all these problems the product of one year of Prayut? Are they legacies of previous cabinets? Or is it the nonchalance of laws and regulations, not least of all towards their enforcement, that has permeated society through and through since time immemorial? Where high to low and vice versa has part and part in it? Personal gain, power, money, feudalism, elitist status quo, and above all: opportunism in many ways in all walks of life. Also with the people!
Another question: would points 1 to 5 have been put on hold if it hadn't been for all that international supervision? Had people kept looking away, obscured, left unmentioned? Or were the issues addressed? If so, why not so much sooner? And why is it that problems can only be identified after international warnings?
And if you look at points 6 and 7 in this way: then you can say that this is an iceberg tip.
How is it possible that scandals involving police, army and government participation keep repeating themselves? Year in, year out: yesterday, today, tomorrow. Where is the outrage about all this, and where is the accountability? What lessons, then, must be learned in order for change to take place for the better?
You can engage in political and economic reform measures in all kinds of ways, trying to shape the structure of Thai society for the better, but at the same time you have to work hard in all areas and sectors on the mentality, (on how people relate to towards each other and the realities, to each other's attitude and willingness to change.) When mentality changes, one also gets the leader one deserves, because that is the expression. If nothing changes in the mentality, everything will remain the same, including the type of leadership and a flowing river.
soi,
The topic is student protests. It is they who want to think independently and critically and bring about a change in mentality. Many others want to do the same, but are unable or dare not express themselves at the moment. In my opinion, there has already been a major change in ideas in the past 15 years. People want more control.
Prayut is an old school man. He stands for the old ideas: gratitude, obedience and conformity. He protects and supports the old elite. He cannot stand criticism or other points of view.
As long as Prayut and his associates are in power, little will change for the better in Thailand. The reform process, however well-intentioned, is only the mask behind which a pursuit of naked power is hidden.
Of course it concerns the student protest of last Friday, and of course the violence used is very condemnable and regrettable. But let's not make things bigger than they are: it was about a small group of students, and not about student protests. For that I refer to the events of March last in neighboring Myanmar, for example, which student protests generated worldwide attention and support. And very violently ended. Or the weeks-long student protests in Hong Kong dated September 14 and following. Can be learned from this!
Although Thailand has had many scandalous and bloody suppressed student protests in its recent history, I miss outrage about the police action, and I miss expressions of solidarity towards the students from sections of TH society. There is more than just an old elite. How is it possible that those emotions remain so untouched? So is the outrage about how boat people are treated? Although this is not the topic. It's all mentality issues. Which I worry about. Other than just about the value of euro and bath, as some accuse us pensioners. But that's not the topic either.
What I hear most about the current political-social-economic situation in Thailand is: 'tong od thon'. 'tongue' is must and 'od thon' is to endure, endure, tolerate. They explain it this way: 'We are like a woman who is often beaten by her husband but we cannot run away. That is why we must endure it'. When I ask 'but why can't you run away?' they make a shooting motion with their hand.
How long? I do not know either.
Dear Soi, I agree with Tino. It is fear that keeps people from rebelling. That is also Prayut's whole aim to crush opposition. This is also the case in North Korea, Myanmar and Eastern Europe in the last century. But at a certain point the will to get rid of a regime prevails and the fear falls away.
To return to the student protests. We also know this in the Netherlands, although there it was not primarily about politics but about participation at the universities. We probably still remember the occupation of the Maagdenhuis in the seventies. In the end, too little changed and that was repeated this year. The equation is that dissatisfaction starts small but can grow into large protests. You can't dismiss a small demonstration as something unimportant. It is a first expression of dissatisfaction. You can't make that bigger than it is.
I have a lot of respect for students who are often the first to revolt, even if it starts small. We must learn to listen to young people who are not burdened with old ideas and who have a fresh perspective on today's society.
Hopefully the moderator will allow me to post this comment, but given the topic I think it's appropriate.
1- I am not in favor of comparing NL or EU events and achievements 1 on 1 with or sticking to situations in TH. Limp, always! Backgrounds, circumstances and developments are always different.
2- I was there in the 2015s when we were involved in democratization processes, including in higher education. The indication that in XNUMX it had to be done at the Maagdenhuis gives the TH citizen little courage in terms of time span.
3- Student protests in BKK take place in a very grim atmosphere and are very politically charged. “Maagdenhuis” took place in an extremely playful atmosphere, which later manifested itself in provo, white bicycle plans and Kralingse Bos.
4- The power of numbers: then consider the 2 examples I gave earlier, all the more so because one of them concerned a neighboring country, not completely free of military and repressive tendencies, I thought. And the other one: wasn't it also aimed at some massive political bloc?
As long as Prayuth leaves the beer bars and a-gogos intact, the 'massage' parlors and does not touch the beer and the ratio € to baht does not become too unfavorable, then nothing is wrong. 😉