Thai students in UK spurn invite to have lunch with Phongthep
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A group of Thai students at the Oxford University in the United Kingdom has turned down an invitation to have lunch with Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana, reasoning that he and the government supported and passed the Amnesty Bill that violated
The students sent a letter to Phongthep on Sunday which was signed by Duangnapa Kovanich and Thaya Uthayaphas on behalf of the Thai students who opposed the Amnesty Bill. They were invited by the Office of Educational Affairs (UK) to have lunch with Phongthep on Saturday. The letter said: “Dear Mr Phongthep Thepkanjana, Deputy Prime Minister. Thai students at the University of Oxford who oppose the Amnesty Bill do not welcome your visit to Oxford.”
They said they opposed the amnesty bill which would have pardoned those who carried out unlawful acts of violent unrest between the year 2004 and August 8, 2013.
“We note that you, as a Deputy Prime Minister and a senior member of the current government, supported the passage of the bill at every stage of its parliamentary process. We consider that the current government’s conduct during the deliberations of the bill as well as its specific contents of the bill violate and contravene both the 2007 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand and the constitutional monarchy form of our democracy,” read the letter.
They said they could not accept the parliamentary manoeuvrings employed by the current government, which have undermined the integrity of the genuine democratic process.
“Contrary to the government’s tactics, we believe that a true democracy is not the same as majoritarianism, that the voice of the minority, political decency, and the rule of law must be upheld.”
The government including Phongthep and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra have failed to correct or show remorse for any of the injustice stated here and, moreover, have chosen to astonishingly ignored the protests of hundreds of thousands who opposed their actions, read the letter.
“Therefore, we, the Thai students at Oxford University who oppose the Amnesty Bill, do not wish to have any involvement with your coming visit to Oxford – an involvement which could be interpreted as lending support for the government and the bill,” said the letter.
However, they decided to refrain from holding any open protest against Phongthep’s visit for the sake of the Office of Educational Affairs (UK) and the Oxford Thai Society.
