TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – A number of graduates and graduates at Thammasat University in Thailand posed with cardboard pictures of well-known monarch critics on Saturday in protest against King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn who presided over the graduation ceremony.
Demonstrations led by youths and students began in July, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and urging reforms to restrict the king’s power. Criticizing the king and members of the Thai Government is taboo, and can be severely punished by law read majesty.
Thai television PBS quoted a source as saying only about half of the 9,600 Thammasat University graduates this year attended the graduation ceremony. Last year, according to PBS, only 10 percent did not attend the ceremony graduation.
The Royal Thai Palace has not commented since the protests began. Prayuth warned students on Friday not to interfere with the graduation ceremony in Thammasat, which has long been seen as a center of radicalism criticizing the monarchy.
A student stands next to a cardboard image of Somsak Jeamteerasakul, an exiled Thai academic, before the graduation ceremony, which is boycotted by some students because of the presence of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, October 31, 2020. [REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha]
The students put up body-sized cardboard strips of historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul and former diplomat Pavin Chachavalpongpun, two prominent critics of the monarchy who are currently in self-exile.
“I chose to take a picture with Somsak because I respect him and I don’t think he deserves whatever happened to him for telling the truth and boldly criticizing the monarchy publicly,” said a 23-year-old student, who gave his name as Marut, as quoted by Reuters, 31 October 2020.
The university did not respond to a request for comment on the stunt.
Taking pictures during graduation and graduation ceremonies is a kind of ritual in Thailand. Many families display gold-framed photographs of graduates receiving titles from kings, a practice that began centuries ago to strengthen royal ties to the middle class.
This year’s protests have severely challenged the Palace’s prestige since the 1932 uprising that ended absolute monarchy.
A week-long government crackdown in mid-October, with a protest ban and the arrests of many protest leaders, backfired when it sparked larger demonstrations.
Three of the most notorious protest leaders were arrested again overnight after the expiration of detention limits. The photo of one of them being carried unconscious from the police car sparked the anger of the protesters.
Thai human rights advocates say they believe Panupong “Mike Rayong” Jadnok, 24, has been strangled by police. Police spokesman Kissana Phatanacharoen said the activist’s arrest Thai reform is in accordance with the procedure.
Source:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-thailand-protests/thai-students-pose-with-dissidents-in-graduation-protest-idUKKBN27G09Z
– .
