Thammasat bans Sept 19 rally

Students leaders flash the three fingers salute against dictatorship during a media conference on Wednesday at Thammasat University announcing a major anti-government rally on Tha Prachan campus. Photo by WICHAN CHAROENKIATPAKUL
Students leaders flash the three fingers salute against dictatorship during a media conference on Wednesday at Thammasat University announcing a major anti-government rally on Tha Prachan campus. Photo by WICHAN CHAROENKIATPAKUL

Thammasat University on Thursday denied permission for an anti-government rally at its Tha Phra Chan campus scheduled for Sept 19.

The university said that the organiser had yet to comply with its guidelines on holding political activities on campus.

The rejection came a day after Parit Chiwarak, a core member of the students' Free Youth group, unveiled details of the "Sept 19: Return power to civilians" rally while a group of alumni stepped up calls for the university administrators to ban the event.

The university's guidelines, which were issued on Sept 3, were designed to promote learning about civil rights, liberties and responsibility while obeying the law and the constitution and taking into account the safety of the students, according to a statement by the university.


However, Mr Parit, also known as Penguin, was defiant after the university issued the statement. He posted a Facebook message saying that the rally would go ahead anyway.

"Although executives of Thammasat University will not allow the venue at Tha Prachan to be used for the gathering, we will still hold it at Thammasat because Thammasat belongs to the people, not to some dictators' lackeys," he wrote.

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Vocabulary

  • alumni: the former male and female students of a school, college or university - ศิษย์เก่า
  • civil rights: the basic rights that all people in a society should have, for example the right to be treated fairly by the law, the right to express their ideas, and the right to practise their religion - สิทธิของพลเมือง
  • civilians (noun): people who are not members of the police or armed forces or government agencies - พลเรือน
  • comply (verb): to obey a rule, law, agreement, etc. or do what someone asks you to do - ปฏิบัติตาม (กฎหมาย, ข้อเสนอ, ข้อตกลง etc.)
  • constitution: the set of laws and basic principles that a country in governed by - รัฐธรรมนูญ
  • defiant: refusing to obey a person or rule; refusing to accept that something is true - แสดงการท้าทาย, ไม่ยอมทำตาม, ไม่เชื่อฟัง
  • dictator: someone who uses force to take and keep power in a country - จอมเผด็จการ
  • guidelines: official instructions or advice about how to do something - สิ่งที่ช่วยแนะแนวทางให้ปฏิบัติ
  • lackey: a person who is treated like a servant or who behaves like one - ขี้ข้า, ผู้ติดตาม
  • liberty: the freedom to live as you wish or go where you want - อิสรภาพ, สิทธิขั้นพื้นฐาน
  • rejection: when someone refuses to accept, use or believe someone or something - การปฏิเสธ

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