No one benefits as old regime drags out its end

Standing together in a space demarcated as a forbidden area, two actors began to spread red paint over their bodies and create flags out of ropes and twigs. When they ran wild and cried out “Long live the people!” the message could not be clearer. Performed by the Layyim Theatre group, the gig was a part of the rally held by the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD) to commemorate the first year of the movement. It was held in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre on Sunday.

For the first time, protester leaders declared in the poster that they are entering “the interregnum” or transitional period between old and new world. The public assembly featured an exhibition of parody artwork and a collection of photographs documenting their journey. Little white books listing their requests in monarchy reform speeches were handed out in an exchange for a donation. Participants were allowed to express their feelings on white cloth and paper.

Political activist Somyot Pruksakasemsuk envisioned the “brave new world” in his speech praising four political prisoners — Parit Chiwarak, Arnon Nampa, Panupong Jadnok, and Jatupat Boonpattararaksa. The former editor of Red Power Magazine who served a seven-year sentence for lese majeste, recounted the historical development of politics since the Siamese Revolution in 1932. He said democracy has been undermined by coups.

“We no longer want traditional society. We want democracy where absolute power belongs to ratsadon (people). This country is ours. We want equality whereby everybody can open their eyes and mouths. No social class division. We want fraternity. It is our desire, but it has seen backlash,” said Somyot, once a core member of the red-shirt group, the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra political camp.

Many points can be made about their utopia. As far as I am concerned, the old world represents the dominant ideology of nationalism that intensified in the political conflict between the red shirts and the yellow shirts leading up to two putsches in 2006 and 2014. On the other hand, the new world, for them, represents the budding of “popular nationalism” where the imagined nation is characterised by liberty, equality, and fraternity.

For them, “interregnum” will necessitate the dragging out of a waning power. The military will tighten its grip through proxies and other mechanisms in responding to existential threats from progressive parties and protesters. The ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) can be a textbook example of power transfer. After Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha removed two cabinet ministers, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon appointed Wit Devahastin na Ayudhya as chairman of PPRP’s strategic committee. If he becomes the next PPRP leader, he will be entitled to prime ministerial candidacy.

PPRP members have started to leak rumours that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha will establish his own party for the next election and comrades from his days in the army will be brought in to maintain the bastion of nationalism.

However, history has taught us that this model never lasts. Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn formed the Saha Prachatai Party to stay in power, but many problems, including negotiations for benefits, forced him to stage a self-coup in 1971. He abolished the constitution, parliament, parties and public gatherings, but it eventually culminated in the political uprising of Oct 14, 1973. The heavy crackdown on protesters turned out to be self-defeating to the military. After coups and crackdowns, the appetite for democracy always grows stronger.

According to Mob Data Thailand — a data resource co-developed by Amnesty International and the civic group iLaw — there were over 1,800 protests from July last year to September this year. The figure is not discouraging judging by their bold start — with a handful of university students and newbie anti-junta protesters who dared to make bold demands such as the ouster of the premier, charter rewrite, and monarchy reform.

After one year, none of their demands have been met. Yet the movement has snowballed into varied forms of resistance including car mobs and mini-riots at Din Daeng intersection over the past few months. Regardless of their model, they faced a similar end: a tough state crackdown. While some youths have been arrested, others have dreamt of migration for a better future. In the wake of a likely brain drain, what is left here but a generation of despair?

Signs of the dying order could not be clearer when Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam dismissed the possibility that the premier would face an eight-year limit on his term under the charter. The question is who will benefit from the regime dragging out its power; definitely not the people.