Student protest will grow unless their voices are heard

Student struggles for democracy sharply declined after the May 1992 uprising to topple the military backed government of General Suchinda Kraprayoon. On that occasion, students under the umbrella of the Student Federation of Thailand (SFT), together with the urban middle class – mostly from the October 1973 generation – then joined street demonstrations to call for real democracy.

The students and the May 1992 movement managed to push politics out of military control and helped to get elected governments installed, until the 2006 coup which ended the Thaksin Shinawatra administration.

Thai students became confused over their ‘roles’ during the Thaksin regime. Most ignored politics, some believing that the elected government was democratic enough for Thailand, while many joined the bandwagon of a conservative elite to restore a military role and later to bring Thaksin down.

Leaders of the Student Federation of Thailand took the stage with the yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy, calling for a military coup to topple what they dubbed Thaksin’s corrupt regime. The SFT has lost its student leadership legitimacy since then, as many students felt uncomfortable with the overthrow of an elected government. Many sets of new leaders in the SFT failed in attempts to restore their legitimacy as pro-democracy student activists.

After the coup in 2006, the student movement became disorganised and invisible, while many of its members have been soul-searching to reposition themselves in the tough political struggle over the past years. Many refrained from joining any sides, no matter which colour they declared themselves to be. Some student groups joined the pro-poor red shirts, while many others joined the elitism of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee.

Many students, notably from Chulalongkorn and Mahidol universities, followed their teachers and masters to join the counter-democracy movement calling for military intervention in the politics.

However, other groups of students, from Thammasat, Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai universities, began to bolster their pro-democracy ideals again as they saw their lecturers and academics parade in support of the military coup to topple the elected government.

A group from Thammasat strongly opposed their rector and some lecturers who took political positions in the military regime as members of the National Legislative Assembly and the National Reform Council. Their activities attracted public and junta attention from time to time, but still in a low-key way.

The most noticeable student activity took place in Khon Kaen when five 

student activists performed three finger gestures in front of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha during his first trip to the Northeast. The group is no new face among activists, but has belonged to movements in support of the poor in the region for years. Calling themselves the Dao Din, they had disassociated from any political organisation but championed for the poor affected by develop?ment projects and investment.

The three-finger salute was used for the first time in Bangkok a few days after the May 22 coup by a group of activists opposed to the takeover. The symbol, as seen in the movie ‘The Hunger Games’, could be interpreted in many ways – but it was catchy among youngsters and students who wanted to show their disagreement with the coup.

A group of Thammasat students exploited the new release of ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay part I’ movie last week to mobilise support for their colleagues in the campus, booking 160 seats at a theatre in the capital. The authorities then helped to ignite their disapproval of the military by forcing the film off the screen last Thursday. Three students from other universities were arrested in Siam Paragon for showing the three fingers.

It’s unlikely the junta understands that its tough action against student activists will stimulate even greater growth of a student movement. And as suppression continues, all students will unite.