A bold demand: Reform the monarchy
“I want the monarchy to adapt itself because society won’t return to how it once was,” says activist and lawyer Anon Nampa as he calls for monarchial reform and amendments to the constitution.
“I want the monarchy to adapt itself because society won’t return to how it once was,” says activist and lawyer Anon Nampa as he calls for monarchial reform and amendments to the constitution.
Attapon Buapat, one of the prominent faces of the rallies and an organizer with the “Khon Kaen’s Had Enough” group talks about the birth of the movement, funding of the protests, the growing harassment by the authorities, and his hopes for change.
Activists and civil society groups in the Northeast have launched a campaign to draft a new constitution as youth protesters across the country are calling for democratic change.
Youth protests against the government are on the rise again in the Northeast and across the country. Patawee Chotanan observed a protest in Ubon Ratchathani and made eight interesting observations.
In this final part of our series on the tenth anniversary of the political violence of 2010 and its aftermath, we want to capture some of the comments and feedback we received from readers and contributors.
Political scientist Chaiyan Rajchagool reflects on some of the lessons of the struggle of the Red Shirts and the fatal crackdown in 2010. [VIDEO]
The bloody crackdown on protesters in 2010 is seared into the mind of Thanat Thammakaew. For the writer, known by his pen name Phu Kradat, the traumatic events became a political awakening and a source of inspiration for his writing.
“Back in 2010, I thought the protests were taking us close to a change towards a democratic system, where everyone would be under the constitution.” “But it didn’t turn out like that. We lost. We failed,” says Thanat Thammakaew, who is known by his pen name Phu Kradat. The prolific Isaan writer reflects on the Red Shirt movement.
Linguist Saowanee T. Alexander talks about the evolution of the term “red buffaloes” that has been used to insult Red Shirts and supporters of Pheu Thai Party. But many now have reclaimed the term to describe themselves, partly shifting its derogatory meaning.