Win or lose, a protest is a process of trial and error. To put it simply, it is disruption, innovation, or something in between, just the way the now-defunct but shape-shifting Future Forward Party was in 2019 because it is born out of a spirit, not a person or a party. If the student-led demonstration goes down in history for demanding the boldest political reform, including the role of the monarchy, its resurrection last week proves that the pro-democracy movement is coming of age.
While some poo yai dismiss the younger generation, an emblem of revolutionary change, with a nonchalant shrug, others have cast doubt over their calls for the ouster of the premier, charter rewrite and monarchy reform to varying degrees. Like it or not, the government's crackdown has ended street protests. Demonstrators are facing a dilemma in which silence is the price they have to pay for conditional freedom. More than 1,800 people have faced charges since the mass rally took place in July 2020, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.
However, protesters have made some progress in pushing for their progressive agenda. Monarchy reform is no longer a cultural taboo. It has received wider media coverage, though self-censorship remains. In the aftermath of economic crisis, the royal budget has been cut. Conservative values are challenged on all fronts, including at universities. Last year, Chulalongkorn University became the subject of heated debate over its traditional coronet parade.
As I say, a protest is an expression of an undying will for change. On Aug 10, thousands of people gathered at the largest rally in two years at Thammasat University's Rangsit campus to mark the second anniversary of the pro-democracy movement, which took place on the same date and at the same venue. But protesters have matured, reaffirming not only their commitment, but outlining a strategy to achieve their goals.
In the evening, civil society groups took the stage to address a wide range of issues from education to labour. As the night wore on, other leaders, all of whom are not the first generation of core protesters, now hamstrung by charges, vowed to take their successes, especially the gubernatorial election in Bangkok, further. Students announced that the upcoming national election should be seen as "a political operation".
"This election is not the end of our fight, but the beginning and the first milestone democracy supporters must reach to achieve the goal of designing a democratic society where people truly enjoy equal rights, freedom and equality," one of them read a statement. "In the next rally, we will unveil a plan to secure a poll victory and other steps to attain our three goals."
It demonstrates the organic, wild nature of the youth movement. Two years ago, their 10-point monarchy reform smashed the plate of glass like thunder, unleashing a storm of protests across the country for months, but young demonstrators have been met with tear gas, rubber bullets and jail terms in the name of law and order. Now, they have formulated a plan apparently to reach out to a wider audience following the victory of Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, whose practical working style seems to leave behind political differences.
Achieving democracy is not an overnight phenomenon, but an ideological work that will take time to galvanise wider public support. Panusaya "Rung" Sithijirawattanakul, a core protester who has been freed on bail, asked Chadchart's opinion on the lese majeste law at the ratsadon protester's flea market on May 29. From the manager's point of view, he must take a step-by-step approach rather than scrap it outright to avoid being pushed to the other end of the spectrum.
"I waited for eight years since the coup [in 2014], but we must have a strategy. It is not relevant to what we are talking about, but revenge is a dish best served cold. Time is on our side. Scrapping the lese majeste law is not easy, but at least for now, don't use it as a political tool," he said.
Although their goals remain the same, I noticed a change of strategy to expand the support base by tapping into the so-called moderate spectrum and even those who live in the provinces. A student leader, who is wearing an electronic monitoring device, argued that inequality issues come down to centralisation, which dates back to King Chulalongkorn's internal colonial practice.
But it is a matter of time before the political crisis, conceptualised in Antonio Gramsci's idea of interregnum where the old are dying, but the new cannot be born, shall come to pass. Morbid symptoms are exhibited in the form of last-ditch efforts, especially letting incapable old men full of hubris run the country.
Thana Boonlert is a feature writer for the Life section of the Bangkok Post.