The Time Bomb Of The Thai Youth Demonstration Movement Demands The Prime Minister To Resign Because He Is Judged As Undemocratic

Illustrations (Pixabay / Logga Wiggler)

JAKARTA - Thousands of students in Thailand are making movements to the streets. They demanded Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who had only served for a year to resign. The reason is that under his control, the government is considered to be running undemocratically.

Massive demonstrations amid the COVID-19 pandemic have been rolling since Saturday, July 18th. According to CNN, around 3,000 people gathered at the Bangkok Democracy Monument to call for the dissolution of parliament, rewrite the constitution and encourage the authorities to stop intimidating activists.

The protests also extended to small towns across the country. They are determined to continue carrying out the same action with more masses in the coming days.

This movement is arguably a ticking bomb that has been accumulated since the political upheaval that occurred after the 2014 military coup. The masses have been annoyed because the sweet promises to restore democracy were only empty words. On the other hand, what people get is the suppression of civil rights, including the issue of freedom of expression.

In the 2019 Election, for example, the hopes of the youths emerged when new pro-democracy parties began to emerge. But they were thwarted by a military drafted constitution, which authorized generals to retain power through the senate. So that they can still be in power even though they are not elected as PM.

For example, the Phak Anakot Mai (Future Forward Part) Party. This political vehicle, known as the pro-democracy party, won the third highest number of votes in the 2019 elections. However, the party was dissolved in February by the authorities.

The incident then sparked the anger of the youth. They took to the streets, protesting the dissolution which was deemed undemocratic.

Many Thai youths feel Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's government has failed to fulfill its promise of restoring democracy. Apart from that, Prayut is also seen as not doing much in an effort to improve economic prospects.

Meanwhile old faces have remained in the Thai political world for many years. Society grew increasingly frustrated that attempts to reform the power structure ultimately failed.

Future threats

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political expert and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said the student movement was erupting because its future was threatened. "If you listen to them, one word that is always included is: the future," he said.

"They have no future. These young people have for the past 20 years lived under Thai politics and survived two military coups, but at the same time Thailand is not going anywhere," Pongsudhirak said.

Apart from politics that are too driven by the military, another problem of concern is the monarchy system. At the demonstration held last Saturday, demonstrators insinuated the existence of a monarchy by walking on tiptoe on a line.

In Thailand, those who criticize the royal family face prison terms. The existing complaints against the regime can only be kept private. The recklessness of some of the protesters as they are now, shows that the level of their disappointment with the Thai regime is now unstoppable.

One of the triggers for this movement was the disappearance of a young pro-democracy activist, Wanchalearm Satsaksit. He was previously known to have lived in Cambodia after fleeing the 2014 coup.

Wanchalearm, affiliated with the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, is known as the "Red Shirt." The group is a supporter of Thaksin Shinawatra, a former Thai prime minister who was ousted in a 2006 coup. His younger brother, Yingluck Shinawatra, was removed from power before the 2014 coup. When the military took over, many Red Shirt and anti - royal activists fled to Cambodia.

In addition, Wanchalearm was one of the most outspoken critics of the government. Even though he is in Cambodia, he still actively criticizes the Thai government. The day before his disappearance, he reportedly posted an anti-government video on Facebook. The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the European Parliament have asked the Cambodian and Thai authorities to carry out further investigations.