Disappearing democracy

By Phatarawadee Phataranawik 
The Nation Weekend

 

The Nation

 

Rights activists suspect a hidden agenda as another historic symbol of freedom is stealthily removed

 

The Constitution Defence Monument that stood for decades in Bangkok’s Laksi district was wrapped up at the tail end the year and soon after taken away in the dead of night. It occupied what is now a construction site for a new Skytrain line, so it might be presumed that it had to be taken out of the way.

 

But some historians and pro-democracy activists and folks on Facebook are sceptical and worried. 

 

And no one in authority seems to know who took the monument away, where it is or where it might reappear.

 

This was the second symbol of Thai democracy to vanish mysteriously in two years. 

 

In April 2017, a small plaque commemorating the 1932 revolution that ended absolute monarchy, which was embedded in the asphalt at the Royal Plaza, was replaced with one lauding the monarchy. There was no advance announcement and no explanation afterward.

 

In November 2014, six months after the military coup, a monument in Buri Ram commemorating the Kingdom’s first constitution was pulled down, ostensibly because it was blocking traffic. It was destroyed, but eventually a replica replaced it.

 

“Removing these symbols of democracy is like erasing our political history,” says Chatri Prakitnonthakarn, a conservationist and architect who lectures at Silpakorn University on the history of Thai architecture.

 

The Constitution Defence Monument, he told The Nation Weekend, was “very important” in terms of modern Thai political history. “It commemorated the government’s victory over a pro-monarchist rebellion 80 years ago.”

 

Prince Bowordet led that failed revolt in 1933, seeking to restore the absolute monarchy replaced the year before by constitutional democracy.

 

 

Who was behind it?

 

The monument was erected in 1936, and on December 27, 2018, it was removed in the middle of the night as young pro-democracy activist Karn Pongpraphapan and a friend streamed the event on Facebook Live. 

 

Soldiers were on duty, but it was not clear who was doing the heavy lifting or who they were working for.

 

Karn and his friend were arrested for recording the incident and claimed the police officer told them they were threatening “national security”. They were soon released without charge, but their photos and video were erased.

 

No one at the agencies involved in the Skytrain extension – the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Mass Transit Railway, Culture Ministry’s Fine Arts Department or Transport Ministry’s Department of Highways – seems to know what’s happening with the monument. 

 

“The MRT wasn’t involved in the monument’s removal and doesn’t know where it is,” says MRT Governor Kapapong Sirikantaramas, who oversees the railway construction project.

 

Fine Arts Department director Anan Chochote says he knows nothing about the removal either, or about any plans to relocate it. 

 

The monument, while little known even among Bangkok residents, was caught in the spotlight in 2010 when the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) used it as a base for red-shirt demonstrations against the then-government. 

 

Subsequent UDD gatherings were held at other pro-democracy monuments upcountry, including in Buri Ram and Khon Kaen.

 

Chatri notes that Siam under absolute monarchy erected monuments to the kings and various Hindu gods embraced by local Buddhism.

 

 

Dedicated to the public

 

“This was the first monument erected after the 1934 revolution and it was dedicated to ordinary people,” he says. 

 

“The base of the monument features a bas-relief depicting a farming family. It’s important that such importance is attached to ordinary people.”

 

Chatri hopes the government will carefully conserve the monument, wherever it is and wherever it might end up.

 

“It was designed as a site-specific monument. The authorities involved should put it back in its original location and redesign the MRT car park instead. And the MRT should have a new plaque made that better explains its historical significance.

 

“If they can’t put it back where it was, they should install it inside Wat Phrasrimahathat Bang Khen, which is nearby. And if they don’t have another site for it, the Fine Arts Department should do conservation work on it and display it in a museum so that the younger generation can learn about this important moment in modern Thai political history.”

 

Chatri also hopes that the government in future will consult academics and arrange public hearings to gauge public opinion before taking any action over historic sites. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30361637

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-01-05

Scouse Lee would be outraged at this destruction to a monument ????

12 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Crushed under the jackboot of fascism.

And the bulk of the Thais - nearly 70 million of them - seem just to say: 'Mai ben rai. What soap is on TV tonight? Oh, let's take a selfie of me and my meal. But oh look - there is a General coming along, a Government Grown-Up - let's all get down on our knees and wai  and show that we are good, obedient Thais!'

 

 

 

24 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The monument was erected in 1936, and on December 27, 2018, it was removed in the middle of the night

Removing symbols of democracy in the wee dark hours hoping no one will notice is a disgraceful action. I am mightily surprised that none of the campaigning parties is holding actions such as this, and the earlier disappearing 1932 plaque up to the light and proclaiming the obvious. The Junta does not like, want, or seem willing to permit Thailand to have democracy in the future, and obviously wishes to remove all trace of its existence in the past. This is clear evidence of what Prayut and friends represent.

These are only symbols. For all their faults, democracy was extinguished when the Shinawatras were booted out.

Now I wonder who could possibly be behind the removal of that monument which honours the ordinary Thais (not the big elites, the select and Special Ones of Thailand)? Hm, a real head-scratcher, that one. Who could it be?

 

Of course I would not dare say on a public Thai forum ....!  Of course I have no idea ....

 

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

These are only symbols. For all their faults, democracy was extinguished when the Shinawatras were booted out.

But symbols are mighty important in any culture.

 

This one got caught-literally-by the road map..

Yet so quick to condem, fine and publicly humiliate some tourists for graffiti on a wall...the good news is we have a temple and a mall on every corner

3 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Removing symbols of democracy in the wee dark hours hoping no one will notice is a disgraceful action. I am mightily surprised that none of the campaigning parties is holding actions such as this, and the earlier disappearing 1932 plaque up to the light and proclaiming the obvious. The Junta does not like, want, or seem willing to permit Thailand to have democracy in the future, and obviously wishes to remove all trace of its existence in the past. This is clear evidence of what Prayut and friends represent.

Yes all true but........as lock down continues as it has in many ways these last few years....You just know at some future point when it is truly <deleted> folks will say....

 

wow never saw that coming or never thought it would get this bad...wish I had planned for this.

 

2 hours ago, meechai said:

Yes all true but........as lock down continues as it has in many ways these last few years....You just know at some future point when it is truly <deleted> folks will say....wow never saw that coming...wish I had planned for this.

 

I hate to say this, as I love Thailand and the ordinary Thai people - but if I had known many, many years ago what was going to happen inside this beautiful country, I would never have come to live here. And now I have duties and responsibilities that hold me here.

It's so, so sad.

 

 

35 minutes ago, Eligius said:

Of course I have no idea ....

 

you  could  run  a  country  with  that  kind of  talent.................oh  wait??

2 hours ago, Eligius said:

I hate to say this, as I love Thailand and the ordinary Thai people - but if I had known many, many years ago what was going to happen inside this beautiful country, I would never have come to live here. And now I have duties and responsibilities that hold me here.

It's so, so sad.

 

 

Never give up...As you say duties & responsibility but that also means keep an eye open & always look at alternatives,wonder about "what if's" plan possible scenarios etc. You can still do so. Never too late till it is absolutely too late.

 

I was lucky years ago when I first came folks warned me to always have an option/alternative as I am always just a guest & goalposts can be moved.

 

 

 

Must admit, I have been doing a fair bit of planning over the past 10 years sensing this sort of stuff was coming along.

It is going to get worse overall for the Thais and as a foreigner with options it is your duty to yourself to make sure you don't get dragged down as well.

Sorry if that sounds harsh but the Thailand of today compared to the one I first saw almost 30 years ago is a much harsher place.

2 minutes ago, meechai said:

Never give up...As you say duties & responsibility but that also means keep an eye open & always look at alternatives,wonder about "what if's" plan possible scenarios etc. You can still do so. Never too late till it is absolutely too late.

 

I was lucky years ago when I first came folks warned me to always have an option/alternative as I am always just a guest & goalposts can be moved.

 

 

 

Yep.

 

 

Why are the steps in the two photos different?

Demoray is but a dirty word,  take Oz as an example,  besides having a group of <deleted> elected, it has about as much in common with democray as China, all government departments are linked , they can spy on you at anytime,  check your bank or tax records without your knowledge, they know when you leave the country and return and filling in all the forms for the pension , you'd think you've spent all your working life defrauding the government, Democracy what's that. 

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Chatri also hopes that the government in future will consult academics and arrange public hearings to gauge public opinion before taking any action over historic sites. 

This is the way historical sites are treated in a "truly democratic" country.

 

Since nobody will fess up about what happened to this monument, it should be reported as a theft (get Big Joke on the case).

5 minutes ago, chainarong said:

Demoray is but a dirty word,  take Oz as an example,  besides having a group of <deleted> elected, it has about as much in common with democray as China, all government departments are linked , they can spy on you at anytime,  check your bank or tax records without your knowledge, they know when you leave the country and return and filling in all the forms for the pension , you'd think you've spent all your working life defrauding the government, Democracy what's that. 

Thank God I live in a democratic country.Australia is number one.

 

Go fill in your TM 30 and do your 90 days report whilst enjoying your latest copy of "Der Boot'

10 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

Why are the steps in the two photos different?

Very observant, good point you make. Could it be from a different angle.

Like you, I await the answer.

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

These are only symbols. For all their faults, democracy was extinguished when the Shinawatras were booted out.

Sorry you got that wrong, it was the other way around.

11 minutes ago, chainarong said:

Demoray is but a dirty word,  take Oz as an example,  besides having a group of <deleted> elected, it has about as much in common with democray as China, all government departments are linked , they can spy on you at anytime,  check your bank or tax records without your knowledge, they know when you leave the country and return and filling in all the forms for the pension , you'd think you've spent all your working life defrauding the government, Democracy what's that. 

When in reality, especially in Australia because it's geographically disadvantaged, all past governments should have devoted much more time and clever resources to building a stronger broader and much more robust economy. 

22 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

Why are the steps in the two photos different?

1st Photo is a closeup and you don't see the steps on Photo 2 which is taken from further away.
In Photo 2 the steps in Photo 1 are just bricks and rubble in the middle.

18 minutes ago, neeray said:

This is the way historical sites are treated in a "truly democratic" country.

 

Since nobody will fess up about what happened to this monument, it should be reported as a theft (get Big Joke on the case).

So they should have built the new skytrain around it??

1 minute ago, Youlike said:

So they should have built the new skytrain around it??

Very expensive this removal of monuments.

 

713 trillion baht worth of skytrain aimed directly at the modest little thing..

 

Give the planners a bow.

I know I shouldn't care because this is not my country but what is going on is absolutely appalling. Straight out of the playbook of ISIS.

1 hour ago, Eligius said:

And the bulk of the Thais - nearly 70 million of them - seem just to say: 'Mai ben rai. What soap is on TV tonight? Oh, let's take a selfie of me and my meal. But oh look - there is a General coming along, a Government Grown-Up - let's all get down on our knees and wai  and show that we are good, obedient Thais!'

 

 

 

 

It is not the bulk of any population that plans or starts revolutions or civil wars.

 

They get drawn in, willingly or unwillingly, later.

 

The pathway and the key events that led to the "moment" will seem obvious, clear, predictable and inevitable..........but only at some time in the future, when the history is written.

 

It will be judged to have occurred at exactly the time that it "should have".

 

It will have not taken into account the demands of an enthusiastic, chattering, foreign, "audience".

 

Who will have most definitely not been kept "in the loop".

 

 

24 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Very expensive this removal of monuments.

 

713 trillion baht worth of skytrain aimed directly at the modest little thing..

 

Give the planners a bow.

It's not really in the path of the Sky Train which you can see in the photos.

12 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

Amazing.

Just now, monkfish said:

It's not really in the path of the Sky Train which you can see in the photos.

I know..I was being sarcastic.