How would you feel if you were allowed just to think, but not to express what you think in public -- either verbally, by gesture or in writing?
Honestly, I'm not bothered if what I have in mind is something strictly personal or naughty, because I do not want to express it openly or to share with others anyway.
But if what I have in mind has something to do with my community, the environment around me, the ruling government or a law which affects me, and I feel that they are not right and I am told to just shut up, then I would feel very frustrated and angry.
As a journalist, if I am not allowed to write about what I feel is terribly wrong, politically incorrect or morally wrong, then it is pointless to continue doing the job.
A clampdown has already been imposed by the junta at Thai PBS television, perhaps as an example, a warning, for the other stations. There's a Thai saying, "Killing a chicken to show to the monkey”. It just remains to be seen whether the axe will fall on the printed media too.
But that is exactly what Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan wants – think whatever you like, but do not express it publicly. Just obey the leader, be good boys and girls for the daddy figure, just for one year – no more, no less (or so they say).
Students gather in a symbolic anti-coup protest, showing the three-finger salute, outside the movie theatre at the Paragon shopping complex, Bangkok (Bangkok Post photo)
It appears the junta leaders of the National Council for Peace and Order are becoming paranoid, as manifested in their reactions to several incidents of freedom of expression lately.
A talk featuring outspoken scholar Sulak Sivaraksa at the Alliance Francaise cultural centre is abruptly cancelled, a man raising a three-finger salute in front of a theatre temporarily detained for "attitude adjustment", and the showing of the movie "Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" at the Scala and Lido theatres cancelled because some dissident students planned a symbolic protest there.
A protest march against the government’s land reform programme is stopped and an activist detained temporarily, again for "attitude adjustment".
The junta leaders have the mistaken opinion that all free expressionists are their enemies, despite the fact that many are trying to help the poor, as in the case of the land reform issue, or the people in general.
Meanwhile, the government's real enemies have gone underground, waiting patiently for their time to come, to strike back and, perhaps, to avenge.
Putting a lid on a kettle of boiling water results in pressure building up in the kettle and, in the end, the kettle will burst, spilling out the hot water. The junta may be succeeding in stopping people from expressing their views, gagging free expression, but that will only lead to a build up of dissent, like the increasing pressure in a kettle with its lid on.
It is understandable that the junta has a fixed timetable and a mission to fulfill within the limited timeframe – that is a reform blueprint for the country, a new reformist constitution. But the same outcome can be achieved without the need for heavy handed tactics to silence criticism, especially constructive criticism.
The junta has subjected several dissidents who openly voiced their criticism to "attitude adjustment", without realising that they, too, need to make some adjustments, so that both sides can meet halfway – that is the middle-path approach.