A Very Quiet Riot

Last night about 20 Chulalongkorn and Thammasat university students, led by political science lecturer Giles Ungpakorn, held a peaceful protest against the coup, on the steps of Siam Discovery Center. Most of them wore all-black clothing or sported black armbands. Mr Ungpakorn and a handful of students spoke with the media types peppering them with questions. The majority silently held up placards with messages such as "No to Thaksin, no to Coup" and, in Thai, "It's not reform, it's a coup!"

Journo types outnumbered the brave protesters at about five-to-one. TV camera crews jostled with photojournalists,who were tripping over reporters scribbling notes and getting bonked in the head by wayward boom mikes. Several students had donned kerchiefs or face masks to obscure their facial features, which proved a wise move as a dour policeman was lurking among the media, taking his own snaps which will, no doubt, end up in dossiers to keep track of which Thai citizens might continue to challenge authority. I tried to snap him doing it but never managed to time it right.

On one hand, it's a good sign that the military allowed the protest to take place. The new regime's penchant for censoring news led me to expect them either to prevent the demonstration or to clamp down violently on it. Thank goodness, neither happened. But...the powers-that-be have blocked the students' website, 19sept.org, and Mr Ungpakorn said that a military officer called him yesterday to "request" that he cancel the group's plans.

The protesters asked for the Council for Democratic Reform under Consitutional Monarchy (CDRM), led by Gen Sonthi, to: 1. Take soldiers out of Bangkok, 2. Reinstate the 1997 constitution, and 3. Lift the ban on media criticising the coup and political situation. They made clear that though they do not like Mr. Thaksin's administration, they don't believe a military coup can solve the problem.

I had headed over there expecting to see thousands of motosai taxi drivers and rice farmers marching on behalf of Mr Thaksin. I had forgotten, however, that once a certain revered person had given official blessing to the coup, it quelled nearly all potential opposition. To disagree with the military leaders' actions is one thing; to disagree with actions endorsed by a "certain person" is a horse of an entirely different colour. People go to jail for being perceived as disagreeing with or criticising this "certain person" in even ambiguous situations. The "certain person" in question probably isn't a fan of imprisoning others on such matters, but many fellows in authority keep the threat of it alive in order to keep subjects in line.

That's why yesterday's tiny band of protesters are very brave. They love the King as much as any Thai does, and surely they feel compassion for his having to make the agonising decision between continuing to preside over a corrupt, dysfunctional, caretaker-run democracy or to allow a coup-based, temporarily (?) military-run regime seek reform. But these 20 people risked injury and/or arrest in order to stand up for what they believe is right.

Sadly, I overheard several reporters griping as they left the hour-long event that they had no story, their lead story had gone up in smoke, wah wah wah. What, it's only a story if people get hurt? It's only worth covering if people get beaten up or arrested? To me, considering the circumstances described above, even if only one solitary person had turned up to bear a placard, there would be a story: somebody was brave enough in uncertain times to declare her beliefs in public. The protest's small number reminds me of the last man standing in Tiannanmen Square, who faced a column of tanks until the absolute last possible moment. Extraordinary times can bring out the extraordinary in all of us, no?

Comments

[Bron]

Thanks, my brave friend, for reporting on this latest turn in a coup which seems to have defied everyone's expectations (in a positive way, I should add).