Documenting Thailand's pro-democracy movement
Angana Narula
Since the 2014 coup d’etat, Thailand has been ruled by a military junta. This is not an entirely new phenomenon for Thai people: there have been 18 coups, 23 military governments and 9 military-dominated governments in Thailand since 1933. I was too young to fully grasp the tension, anxiety and fear that surrounded the military takeover of 2006 - although I remember very clearly that I was happy to have a couple of days off from school. I also remember that things were never quite the same after that. Society was concretely divided between pro-royalists and anti-royalists, red shirts and yellow shirts, pro-Thaksin and anti-Thaksin; violent riots seized Bangkok every couple of years, some even forcing my loved ones to evacuate their homes.
For me, 2014 marked a turning point as a Thai citizen, as I finally came to terms with the fact that the country I grew up in would always be shrouded in instability and turmoil. I was in a supermarket the day news broke that the army had seized power, news which I heard through an employee’s cell phone on loudspeaker. 2020 was the longest I had been home in 5 years.
Discontent with delayed and corrupt elections, military and monarchy intervening in politics, and numerous human rights violations, Thailand’s pro-democracy movement re-emerged in full force during 2020. Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, a prominent pro-democracy activist, spoke to our team in September as part of our This Week in Human Rights News segment. He explained that Covid-19 played a major role in galvanising the movement, as many individuals began connecting with each other online and “engaging more with the suffering of others.”
The pro-democracy movement calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and a new administration, constitutional reform, and the end to continuous arrests of human rights activists exercising their right to free speech and peaceful protest. There have been numerous attempts by activists to make their voices heard since 2014, but the movement has grown in scale since the 2019 ‘election’. Protestors argue that the government has put in place a process that would keep Prayut Chan-o-cha in power for decades.
Though I had been following the movement’s fractured progress since 2018 and despite news of disagreements within the group, as is common with any large movement, what captured my attention during these protests was both the tactics pursued and the group’s perseverance because for years, citizens have been banned from political gatherings with over five people.
‘Flash mob’, October 20, 2020. Protestors arrived at their closest BTS (skytrain) stations at 17.50 - 10 minutes before the national anthem is scheduled to play everyday at 18.00. Singing the national anthem, they held up the three-finger salute and then quickly dispersed.
2020 protest tactics were unlike anything the country has ever seen before. Protest sites were never the same, with locations announced 45 minutes to an hour before the ‘mob’ intended to meet every evening; these methods are a purposeful choice in order to outsmart authorities and avoid violent confrontation. Protestors have also openly criticised the monarchy, an act which has been both a cultural taboo and illegal since 1908.
On October 16, Thai police bombarded protestors with water tanks tampered with blue ink in order to identify participants for eventual arrest and detainment. The following day, almost a million people nation-wide took to the streets in support of the movement. On October 19, the government ordered censorship of independent news outlets such as Prachatai and The Standard, as well as the ban of the protest group’s social media account. Public transport was also suspended in an attempt to quell the protests.
October 21, 2020. Protestors are beginning to gather in front of Victory Monument before their march to a Government House, which is barricaded by police and barbed wire.
Those at the front of the march hold hands and listen to instructions from the safety wardens. To protect themselves from police violence, they are prepared with helmets and wear face masks to protect their identity.
Protestors raise their hands in a three-finger salute. Borrowed from The Hunger Games, this gesture represents authoritarian resistance as well as their three key demands. This symbol of resistance has become increasingly popular within Asia’s military regimes including Myanmar.
A young girl marches alongside a group of her friends, wearing her school uniform. Her sign reads: “homework later, I’m here to destroy the dictator.”
On October 26, 2020, protestors gathered at Samyan station and headed towards the German Embassy on Lumpini Road, accusing the current King of interfering with Thai politics and demanding he make a permanent return to Thailand from Germany to implement a system of constitutional monarchy that is both genuine and democratic. King Maha Vajiralongkorn has spent a lot of time overseas and spent most of 2020 in Munich, Germany.
Camped out on Sala Daeng bridge, I captured the group’s march towards the German Embassy on Lumpini Road. The intersection and streets were gradually barricaded by police. A hoard of motorbikes arrived at the scene first, blaring their horns for almost a minute at full volume with some drivers holding up the three-finger salute.
The crowd of protestors arrived next on foot, with those at the front protected with masks and helmets while those at the back raised their flashlights in unison. Cars and pickup trucks were present with an emergency supply of helmets and with large speakers to motivate the crowd.
October 26, 2020. Organisers and safety wardens are the first to arrive at Sala Daeng, where I am camped out above on a bridge in order to capture the group’s march towards the German Embassy.
The crowd arrives at Sala Daeng intersection.
With the main roads now completely sealed off from cars and pedestrians, a protestor raises his hand in a three-finger salute.
A second wave of Covid-19 in Thailand quelled the pro-democracy movement until the end of February 2021, when the resurgence which was met with intimidation and excessive force by the Thai police. At the time of writing this piece, the three demands have yet to be met.