Task of redefining nationalism in Thailand

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Task of redefining nationalism in Thailand

Sunday, 07 November 2021 | Makhan Saikia

‘Abolish (code) 112; Abolish fear; Abolish indifference; Abolish hopelessness’, echo across Thailand as young protesters are venting their ire on the Chan-o-cha government and the royalty

Thailand, the land of the elephants, situated at the centre of Indo-Chinese peninsula is engulfed by a chain of fierce protests. The most heartening aspect of the demonstrations is that most of the protests are led by young people who are demanding the repeal of draconian laws, reform of the Thai monarchy and the military government in the country. These protests began in early 2020. The first phase of the anti-government rising started in February 2020, the second phase continued from July to December 2020, the third phase from February to April 2021 and the current phase i.e. the fourth phase, since June 2021.

Thousands of protesters were out on the road last week, demanding the repeal of the notorious Section 112 (Thailand’s Lèse-majesté), an infamous law that criminalises the criticism of the king. Article 112 of the Criminal Code of Thailand says that anyone who “defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen or the heir-apparent or the regent” will be punished with a jail term between 3 and 15 years. Further, this criminal code has been made more forceful in all the successive constitutions of the country since its inception in 1908. In 1976, the code gave way for more prohibition or restrictions in dealing with the royalty. The code today says: “The king shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the king to any sort of accusation or action”.

The Lèse-majesté  in Thailand has increasingly become a terror. There is nothing that clearly explains the highly prohibitive criminal code. There is no definition of insult to monarchy in the code which strengthens the authorities to book anyone under the law. Even the UN reports say that those arrested on the charges of Lèse-majesté  can be denied bail and such victims normally languish in the jail for long before the real trial begins. Unfortunately, most of such trials are held in close doors and sometimes in military courts. Therefore, the rights of the defendants are extremely limited in such trials.

However, the anger against the Chan-o-cha government and the royalty are on the rise. The three-finger salute of the blockbuster “Hunger Games” movies are gaining popularity among the young protesters in the country. Interestingly, the May 2014 Thai coup took place in between the release of these movies and the salute was adopted by the protesters. But what this salute means for the anti-government protesters? The three-finger salute indicates the value of freedom, liberty and fraternity in the country. Therefore, the demonstrators are trying to display that they are not the object of tyranny and abuse. Many of them say that they want to fight till the last breath.

The fight is between the Red Shirts, the anti-government protesters, and the pro-government ones, who are widely recognised with Yellow Shirts. Initially, the Red Shirts were the supporters of the deposed billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was overthrown in a military coup on September 19, 2006. Since then he has been living in self-imposed exile except for a brief visit to Thailand in 2008. In fact, the Red Shirts compose mainly of rural workers outside the city of Bangkok.

However, this movement has gradually embraced the students, Leftists, and a section of businessmen who see the status quo as attempts by the military and the urban elite to control the Thai political system.

Finally, for the Red Shirts, these elites are a serious threat to the country’s fragile democracy. This movement was launched to oppose the coup of 2006 that overthrew Thaksin from power. And this also had helped later to install Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 2011 to 2014. She became the first female PM of the country, but she was also removed by an army coup in 2014. Therefore, the elitist Yellow Shirts and the Red Shirts are on a long-drawn battle that largely displays the big divide in Thai politics.

The Amnesty International is collecting signatures for an international petition to release the arrested activists who have been detained under the Lèse-majesté . The group called People’s Revolutionary Alliance is trying to bring all the protesting groups under one umbrella. But this is very difficult exercise as they are under strict surveillance of the security agents.

Across Thailand, the young protesters are just airing: “Abolish 112; Abolish fear; Abolish indifference; Abolish hopelessness”. Once it used to be a big taboo to call for reforms of the royalty. But today, the youngsters are coming out boldly against the lavish monarch Maha Vajiralongkorn, who is widely considered an absentee king across Thailand, unlike his late father and revered king Bhumibol Adulyadej. What irked most of the young people in the country is nothing but the extravagant lifestyle, financial squander and raging controversies around the King. In fact, the Thai monarchy is highly regarded across the country. It is the symbol of Constitutional monarchy. Today the Thai king is known as the monarch of Thailand. Earlier, the king was named as the King of Siam, the old name of Thailand. Further, the name Siam was changed into Thailand on June 23, 1939.

The Thai king is regarded as an avatar of God, probably Lord Rama. As of today, King Vajiralongkorn is known as the Rama X. A man who represents the centuries old Chakri Dynasty is expected to be people-friendly and think about the welfare and development of the country. But what has been observed is his total disregard for democracy. Rather he has offered his full support to the Government of former Army General Prayut Chan-o-cha cum Prime Minister since 2014. Interestingly, Chan-o-cha won the general elections in 2019 and became a civilian Prime Minister since then. But deep inside, he is an army man under the guise of a popularly elected leader.

The road ahead is dark for Thailand. The democracy supporters, the Red Shirts, are going to encounter heavy handed pressure and brutality from the Chan-o-cha regime. And certainly, the King is maintaining his symbolic silence. He is giving full power to the Army-backed Chan-o-cha administration to rein in the protesters, particularly anyone who is criticizing or defaming the royalty in public. Whatsoever, it may be, the common Thais are at their worst.

The Army is ruling the country through both their proxies, cronies and with their civilian avatars. But it is certain that the civilian movement will continue. The youngsters are not on a relenting mood. The Chan-o-cha and the royalty must read the writing on the walls carefully.

(Dr Makhan Saikia has taught political science and international relations for over a decade in institutions of national and international repute after specialisation in globalisation and governance from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. He is the chief editor of the Journal of Global Studies, an international research journal)

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