Raining on the parade

The political satire that features in the parade ahead of the annual football match between the country’s oldest universities usually merits nothing more than passing mention. But Saturday’s 70th edition has been met with widespread and heated debate.
A main source of controversy over this year’s parade ahead of the match between Chulalongkorn and Thammasat students was the heavy-handed approach taken by the authorities. The day before the event, it was reported that authorities had banned all references to politics from the parade.
On the day itself, police and military personnel manned the gates of the venue, Supachalasai National Stadium, in order to vet the banners to be displayed during the parade. Messages considered offensive were halted at the stadium entrance. The heavy presence of police and military security at the gates was in stark contrast to the scene in previous years.
Despite the tight security, students managed to smuggle in banners and papier-mache figures that poked fun at powerful figures, including the prime minister. The parade was dotted with political messages, the content of which was widely reported. The parade has inspired endless debate on television and in the social media and newspaper columns.
It remains unclear whether the police and military security who cracked down at the stadium were acting on direct orders from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), or whether their supervisors acted independently in a bid to please their bosses. Whatever the reason, it is the NCPO and the government of Prayut Chan-o-cha that have born the brunt of criticism over the incident.
The messages paraded on Saturday mainly displayed the students’ hopes and wishes for a better society. They called for the return of democracy and voiced their opposition to dictatorship. Some of the floats in the parade targeted government policies with mocking satire.
Observers have noted that the parades were far more critical during the 1970s, when the country was under the dictatorial rule of Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachornalthough.
What we witnessed at Supachalasai Stadium on Saturday was an over-reaction by the authorities. 
Going after the student activists and censoring campus activities will only compound that error of judgement and risk further eroding public support that the government and the NCPO has enjoyed since the coup.
The authorities should instead focus their attention on political groups and potential troublemakers who are genuinely capable of inciting violence and obstructing efforts towards national reconciliation and reform. University students who criticise the government in light-hearted traditions and campus activities are no threat to national security.
In fact, in voicing their dissatisfaction via creative and non-violent means, they deserve support both from the authorities and the rest of society. Their activities are helping to encourage healthy and peaceful debate in an otherwise dangerously polarised society.
Thailand needs more of their like – citizens who are brave enough to stand up and express their views in a peaceful manner on the direction our nation should take. Independent thought is in short supply right now, with many of us still under the sway of political rhetoric aimed at benefiting certain groups.
In contrast, the spirit we witnessed at Saturday’s parade is what will help this country achieve real reform and sustainable democracy.