'Peaceful demonstrations are part of democracy'
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SINCE veteran politician Suthep Thaugsuban left monkhood to lead a new civil-based foundation to campaign for major reform on Tuesday, all eyes are on his moves.
He repeatedly vowed to campaign for reform during the press conference last week, but on condition that it would come before an election. This brought on feelings of deja vu and raised concerns mass street protests.
Suthep seemed to realise public concerns, insisting that new rallies would not resort to any violence, or window breaking. Instead, the group would issue a letter or statement opposing the government’s reform plans, if they went against its goals.
For some political observers, the transformation of Suthep’s group is seen as a new challenge towards a more peaceful means of political expression. But others have not yet ruled out the possibility of a rally, despite the leverage of his new foundation.
Satit Wongnongtaey, the foundation’s vice chair, is among those who have not yet ruled out the possibility of a demonstration, despite the transition of his group from the People’s Democratic Reform Committee to the People’s Democratic Reform Foundation.
“Can you name one country in this world that has no demonstrations?” Satit said in response to a question. “After everything, can we stop taking to the streets?”
A political demonstration is a fundamental right in a democratic country, he said, adding that it is “people voicing issues to the government” so they are tackled.
“We can’t deny we need this. This is the reality,” he said, without confirming if this would be part of the foundations’ future strategy.
Red-shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan said political demands could be made through many other ways like submitting a letter or issuing a statement. No one wants to take to the streets if these means are successful. However, a demonstration is a demonstration, and sometimes it’s necessary, he said.
“Admit it, nobody wants to come out to the streets,” he said. “It’s not fun. We have to sit under the sun and the rain and face lawsuits. But sometimes we do it because there are no other options. It’s not easy. If things could be settled through dialogue, everyone would opt for that,” he said.
There will always be demonstrations, but non-violence is the strength that would protect protesters from being attacked, he added.
Sombat Boonngamanong, a prominent pro-democracy activist also known as Bor Kor Lai Jud or Nuling, is optimistic about rallies, saying they are a form of expression.
Rallies are absolutely normal in a democratic society, provided they don’t lead to the ouster of a democratically elected government and are not used as a means to access power.
The public should not reject a political rally, but it should be justified.
The protest culture has been bad in the past years, which makes rallies difficult to control. People were confrontational and many carried weapons.
“Leaders are very important. If you see leaders are being violent, you have to take them down,” he said.
A demonstration should not be prolonged as it could heighten tensions and protesters could resort to violence in a bid to reach a settlement.
Using new media to campaign or voice opinions is not a bad idea, if we would like to avoid violence.
“If we look at a demonstration as a means to communicate, new media could do the exact same job,” he said.
The Internet could substitute for street protests because it could amplify people’s voices, he said.
Non-violence advocates like Gothom Arya and General Ekkachai Srivilas also believe that demonstrating is a “way of democracy”. Ekkachai, who is vice chairman of the reconciliation committee under the National Reform Council, said it is a democratic way of expressing one’s opinions.
Demonstrations can be kept free of violence now that the new assembly law has been passed. The new law would help a lot in improving aggressive demonstrations as it stipulates the rights a demonstrator has as well as the duties he has to be responsible for.
“But this is just a trial. It won’t work 100 per cent of the time. But at least now we have a mechanism to prevent violence in demonstrations,” he said.
Gothom, of Mahidol University’s Research Centre for Peace Building, said rallies should continue to take place and they are not a bad thing. Rather, it is a fundamental freedom – freedom of expression. He agreed that the assembly law would contain violence in political rallies, although it was a bit too strict.
Protests would be acceptable only if they came in the form of non-violent actions, for example, symbolic actions. “When other measures don’t work, people march on the streets.”
