#Newspaper
Thailand protests: Risking it all to challenge the monarchy
//A growing movement among students has been calling for political reform in Thailand.
//"The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship" and that "No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action".
//Thais are taught to respect, revere and love the monarchy, but also to fear the consequences of speaking about it.
//...have called for legal action against the student leaders, for an investigation into how they funded Monday's spectacularly-produced protest, and into which "dark hand" instigated the youngsters to come up with such outrageous demands.
//The student leader who read out the manifesto, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, has since stayed mostly on her campus, planning further rallies, and nervously watching the plain-clothes police who are now constantly monitoring her.
//the collapse of tourism has hit the economy very hard and drawn attention to one of the world's widest gaps between rich and poor.
//The decision earlier this year to dissolve a dynamic new political party, which had attracted the support of many younger voters, gave them the sense that the military-dominated political system was denying them a voice.
//That was compounded by the abduction and presumed murder of a Thai activist in Cambodia, blamed by some on elements close to the palace, and then by the dropping of all criminal charges against a member of one of Thailand's wealthiest families over the killing of a police officer in a hit-and-run incident eight years ago.
//On top of that, since the Covid-19 crisis started King Vajiralongkorn has spent nearly all his time living in a hotel in Germany, prompting a Twitter hashtag #มีกษัตริย์ไว้ทําไม #whydoweneedaking?, which was reposted more than a million times.
//He stressed that he wanted to reform, not overthrow, the constitutional monarchy.
//He focused in particular on the huge assets of the Crown Property Bureau, which, under the late King Bhumibol, had been notionally held in trust for the benefit of the Thai people, but have now been declared the personal property of the king, making him by far the wealthiest person in Thailand.
//Anon also questioned King Vajiralongkorn's decision to take personal command of all military units based in Bangkok
//"the three pillars of this country, nation, religion and monarchy, must be revered, not brought down to be played with like this. That's not the right way under a constitutional monarchy."
Full article: BBC, (14 Aug)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53770939
#Thailand #Monarchy #Students #Protest #politicalreform
Thailand protests: Risking it all to challenge the monarchy
//A growing movement among students has been calling for political reform in Thailand.
//"The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship" and that "No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action".
//Thais are taught to respect, revere and love the monarchy, but also to fear the consequences of speaking about it.
//...have called for legal action against the student leaders, for an investigation into how they funded Monday's spectacularly-produced protest, and into which "dark hand" instigated the youngsters to come up with such outrageous demands.
//The student leader who read out the manifesto, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, has since stayed mostly on her campus, planning further rallies, and nervously watching the plain-clothes police who are now constantly monitoring her.
//the collapse of tourism has hit the economy very hard and drawn attention to one of the world's widest gaps between rich and poor.
//The decision earlier this year to dissolve a dynamic new political party, which had attracted the support of many younger voters, gave them the sense that the military-dominated political system was denying them a voice.
//That was compounded by the abduction and presumed murder of a Thai activist in Cambodia, blamed by some on elements close to the palace, and then by the dropping of all criminal charges against a member of one of Thailand's wealthiest families over the killing of a police officer in a hit-and-run incident eight years ago.
//On top of that, since the Covid-19 crisis started King Vajiralongkorn has spent nearly all his time living in a hotel in Germany, prompting a Twitter hashtag #มีกษัตริย์ไว้ทําไม #whydoweneedaking?, which was reposted more than a million times.
//He stressed that he wanted to reform, not overthrow, the constitutional monarchy.
//He focused in particular on the huge assets of the Crown Property Bureau, which, under the late King Bhumibol, had been notionally held in trust for the benefit of the Thai people, but have now been declared the personal property of the king, making him by far the wealthiest person in Thailand.
//Anon also questioned King Vajiralongkorn's decision to take personal command of all military units based in Bangkok
//"the three pillars of this country, nation, religion and monarchy, must be revered, not brought down to be played with like this. That's not the right way under a constitutional monarchy."
Full article: BBC, (14 Aug)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53770939
#Thailand #Monarchy #Students #Protest #politicalreform
BBC News
Thailand protests: Risking it all to challenge the monarchy
In Thailand, criticising the royal family can mean secret trials and long prison sentences.