Thailand cracks down on protest leaders

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Aug 10, 2021: At least 10 pro-democracy activists have been arrested in Thailand as anti-government rallies resume a year after protests that challenged the country’s all-powerful monarchy.

Prominent protest leader and human rights lawyer Anon Nampa was one of the first to turn himself in on Monday afternoon.

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, police came to his office to pressurize him to drop charges against him for violating the defamation laws around the kingdom.

Within hours, several other activists were arrested. The arrests came as protesters returned to the streets over the weekend, demanding the resignation of the prime minister and reforms of the monarchy.

“Another round of state pressure against the democracy movement has resumed, especially as the Thai monarchy speaks of reform,” said Srikan Charonseri, a human rights lawyer for the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

He added that nine other leading activists were also taken to jail and all their bail applications, including those of Anun, were rejected on Monday evening. Srikan added that the rejection of bail showed that other key leaders could “face the same fate”.

The situation is deteriorating rapidly, says Sunai Fask, a researcher at Thailand’s Human Rights Watch.

“Thai authorities have become more and more aggressive as pro-democracy movements have taken to the streets to protest, using public frustrations over Prime Minister Prayuth’s catastrophic response to the COVID19 crisis,” Sunai said.

“The Thai state now seems to have zero tolerance for dissenting voices. One year after the uprising of youth-led democracy, the possibility of compromise or reconciliation is now fading. Thailand is descending into new chaos.

The new arrests come at a time when the democracy movement is gaining momentum for the first time in 2021.

Despite the rapidly deteriorating COVID-19 outbreak – with record cases and deaths being reported every day in Thailand – thousands of protesters are returning to the streets to demand the same.

Protesters are still demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former general. But they are also reiterating their demands for palace reform, a move that thwarts the Thai monarch’s authority.

When students first demanded reforms to the monarchy last year, they broke a long-standing taboo in a country where the monarchy has long been a highly respected institution in which the king is almost like God. The royal family is also protected by strict royal defamation laws, which carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

But the death of the revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2013 and the accession of his now 69-year- old son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has prompted new discussions over the role of the royal family in public life.

Some Thais feel the palace has too much political power and private wealth.

The college campus erupted in March last year, with an anti-government movement turning in a massive street presence that closed key parts of the capital in July.

In response to public criticism at the palace, the royal family’s PR machine organized several public events where the royal family could have the opportunity to greet the royal family. It was the first time in decades that the royal family had taken to the streets to meet their supporters.

But experts say it will take longer than protests to change the political tide. Critics say the Thai military-backed establishment has strong ties to the royal palace. Proponents of the monarchy, or “yellow shirts”, are urging the military to protect the monarchy at all costs, even if it means undermining democratic principles.

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