Arnon named one of ‘Time 100 Next’ emerging leaders
Time magazine has named prominent Thai human-rights lawyer Arnon Nampa among its influential “Time 100 Next” list of emerging leaders who are shaping the future. Arnon is also one of the core leaders of the youth-led pro-democracy anti-government movement.
Time’s Charlie Campbell wrote: “Arnon has energised young Thais with his demands to strip political power from the historically sacrosanct royal family and shred the military-drafted constitution. As a result, he has been arrested three times in recent months and charged with sedition. But as Covid-19 continues to impact Thailand’s tourism-reliant economy, more young people are joining demonstrations that are already the biggest since the 2014 coup d’état, which experts say is pressuring the military-led government into a corner.”
Arnon told Time late last year that “people are sick and tired of living under a repressive regime”.
Arnon, along with three leaders of the pro-democracy movement – Parit Chiwarak, Somyos Prueksakasemsuk and Patiwat Saraiyam – is now being held at Bangkok Remand Prison in Chatuchak district.
The other individuals who have made the Time list include Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin; singer Dua Lipa; actor and former American footballer John David Washington; actor Regé-Jean Page; ‘Demon Slayer’ manga author Koyoharu Gotouge; and Amanda Gorman, the first person to be named a National Youth Poet Laureate.