Political protests in BKK tomorrow, 16 August??

[moontang]

Is there anything we farang need to know about this?  Time, place?  It can change a lot of bus routes for one thing..and might be best avoided for a plethora of other reasons.  

[lopburi3]

Sunday, August 16, 2020 at Democracy Monument, Ratchadamnoen Avenue, in Bangkok between 15:00 - 21:00 according to recent alert message.

[moontang]

17 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Sunday, August 16, 2020 at Democracy Monument, Ratchadamnoen Avenue, in Bangkok between 15:00 - 21:00 according to recent alert message.

Thanks, last time I went to KSR, I had to take a taxi home, because the busses weren't going by Democracy Monument.  Their rally dragged on until midnight.  I won't use the term "big" like the media, and in fact the ones I have seen have been quite small, but this one may be a bit more coordinated.  They were out at Nonthaburi Pier last night..interrupted my casual drinking and my random meetings with a nice lady I met over there.  When the bullhorn appears; I disappear (only to a different place).

[tribalfusion001]

Yes in BKK tomorrow and activist arrested. I think these could be the real deal with the general economic situation around the world and especially in Thailand.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/15/thailand-protests-police-arrest-student-activist-for-sedition

[moontang]

7 minutes ago, tribalfusion001 said:

Yes in BKK tomorrow and activist arrested. I think these could be the real deal with the general economic situation around the world and especially in Thailand.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/15/thailand-protests-police-arrest-student-activist-for-sedition

Telling the universities to control their students will likely increase attendance (at the protests).  As far as the global economy, look at the US housing and stock markets..red hot.  But yes, if you have never saved money, and work in a closed service job, you have troubles.  Everyone is a victim...sheesh.

[pixelaoffy]

If I was Thai I would be there 

[moontang]

Last nights protests were the most uninspired, funeral like gathering I have seen since my last visit to Sukhumvit.  At least encourage drinking, and have a few attractive ladies in your group..a little BBQ for sale never hurts, either.  I recall them selling drinks in front of a temple anniversary..and the whole thing was respectable and suitable for families..more likely to happen in Pyongyang, nowadays it seems.

[tribalfusion001]

16 minutes ago, moontang said:

Last nights protests were the most uninspired, funeral like gathering I have seen since my last visit to Sukhumvit.  At least encourage drinking, and have a few attractive ladies in your group..a little BBQ for sale never hurts, either.  I recall them selling drinks in front of a temple anniversary..and the whole thing was respectable and suitable for families..more likely to happen in Pyongyang, nowadays it seems.

I saw a student protest just after the last coup in 2014 outside Terminal 21 in BKK, managed to get a quick selfie when the army turned up and blocked the entrances to the mall and BTS. It was a pretty tame protest, the same 3 finger gesture mainly.

[nausea]

It's mainly a young Thai thing. You have to be into Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Japanese anime, or whatever, to get it; no wonder the powers that be are bemused, as are most ex-pats, I would imagine.

[tribalfusion001]

3 minutes ago, nausea said:

It's mainly a young Thai thing. You have to be into Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Japanese anime, or whatever, to get it; no wonder the powers that be are bemused, as are most ex-pats, I would imagine.

It's young people in lots of countries around the world, they have ideas to change the world and it's needs changing at present. Good on them for standing up for what they believe in.

[TooBigToFit]

24 minutes ago, moontang said:

Last nights protests were the most uninspired, funeral like gathering I have seen since my last visit to Sukhumvit.  At least encourage drinking, and have a few attractive ladies in your group..a little BBQ for sale never hurts, either.  I recall them selling drinks in front of a temple anniversary..and the whole thing was respectable and suitable for families..more likely to happen in Pyongyang, nowadays it seems.

Sorry Moontang but you really don't know what's going on. There were rallies in many places last night. You probably saw some odd group. Tomorrow's could be massive. People are angry. The protests at Thammasat on Monday was huge and the people were motivated. University has just started so the exams are not there now and many course are online so kids don't have to show up in class as much. There have been rallies all across the nation at high schools, colleges and universities. Plus Thais in general are ready for change. Try reading the alternative news sites and you get better coverage of the whole picture.

[TooBigToFit]

6 minutes ago, nausea said:

It's mainly a young Thai thing. You have to be into Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Japanese anime, or whatever, to get it; no wonder the powers that be are bemused, as are most ex-pats, I would imagine.

You either support the regime or know nothing about Thailand.

[nausea]

4 minutes ago, TooBigToFit said:

You either support the regime or know nothing about Thailand.

I agree, after living here for 10 years+, I know nothing, or almost nothing, about Thailand, layers of the onion and all that. You're a Hobbes supporter, I would guess.

[Disparate Dan]

16 minutes ago, TooBigToFit said:

There were rallies in many places last night. You probably saw some odd group. Tomorrow's could be massive. People are angry.

Agreed. It all looks pretty tame compared to [Europe in] 1968, say, but these kids don't have the freedoms we had then. Among them are a lot of very brave kids, just like in HKG. Anyone who ever talks to Thais knows what they are saying - and now it's openly discussed, on the streets, because the stranglehold the regime used to have on information has been loosened by the internet and now the people all know where, who and how much. I've seen this stuff for 25 years, but this time it's got an edge to it. Read the actual statement from Thammasat and you'll see things no-one would dare voice even in private a decade ago.

[TooBigToFit]

4 minutes ago, nausea said:

I agree, after living here for 10 years+, I know nothing, or almost nothing, about Thailand, layers of the onion and all that. You're a Hobbes supporter, I would guess.

Wow. You think you know it all. I've been here almost thirty years. What's that worth to you? But it's not about time. You need to open your eyes and talk to people, maybe you need to leave your circle of friends to see some other perspective. For my first 8 years, here I didn't pay much attention to things either and most of my Thai friends weren't into politics. Most of Thailand is not going to jump up and join a protest but enough people will eventually to make changes possible. Already the police are checking trains for students coming in from the countryside. The rallies only will get bigger. Thammasat's on Monday was surprisingly large and many more students will join in. 

[TooBigToFit]

You need to know what these kids were saying at the rallies. It wasn't everyday stuff and the crowds went wild. Thammasat's rally was filled not only with uni students but plenty of outsiders who came in, including vocational school people who were they to support the students. International press was there and embassy staff it seems including some from the German embassy. Police were doing the normal thing taking pictures and trying to figure out people. But the police are often on the side of the people despite their presence and duties. I've had my picture taken by them and talked to them. Many support the students but they have their jobs so their enforcement is often weak. Anyways, the regular police aren't the thugs when it comes to politics. This is not going away. On a side note, Parit aka Penguin is free on bail. I wonder if he will push it further and go tomorrow. They usually have twitter threads running with info on the protests. These two might be the ones getting more posts now but check the 'latest' list under the hastags for more recent stuff.  #เยาวชนปลดแอก   #WhatsHappeningInThailand

[tribalfusion001]

5 minutes ago, TooBigToFit said:

Wow. You think you know it all. I've been here almost thirty years. What's that worth to you? But it's not about time. You need to open your eyes and talk to people, maybe you need to leave your circle of friends to see some other perspective. For my first 8 years, here I didn't pay much attention to things either and most of my Thai friends weren't into politics. Most of Thailand is not going to jump up and join a protest but enough people will eventually to make changes possible. Already the police are checking trains for students coming in from the countryside. The rallies only will get bigger. Thammasat's on Monday was surprisingly large and many more students will join in. 

I've had some good political chats to Thais under 35, one of them works for SET in Ratchadapisek road and he had nothing good to say about this current regime. A lot of the younger educated Thais want their voice to be heard and their vote to count. They say us foreigners shouldn't talk about Thai politics or the one in Germany, but I'm interested in these subjects and I've had some interesting chats with Thais about this. If you just sit in expat bars or girly bars then you will never really understand what is going on, that's why when I'm in BKK I drink in Thai bars and talk to normal Thai people.

[nausea]

12 minutes ago, TooBigToFit said:

You need to open your eyes and talk to people

Err ... ?

[anchadian]

Protest to be held at Victory Monument tomorrow.

[anchadian]

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/amnesty-thailand-calls-for-immediate-release-of-protest-leader-penquin/

 

Amnesty International (AI) Thailand has called on the Thai police to release student protest leader Prit “Penquin” [sic] Chivarak immediately, after he was arrested on Friday on charges of inciting public unrest.

AI Thailand Director Ms. Niyanut Kotesarn said, in a statement issued on Friday, that the arrest of the Thammasat University student amounts to suppression of free expression and contravenes the Constitution.

She also demanded that all the charges against Prit, and two other activists under arrest, be dropped.

 

[tribalfusion001]

Notice how these threads don't get much attention but Richard Barrow gets over 400 comments.

[TooBigToFit]

Penguin was released a while ago. I guess he says he will be at the protest tomorrow. I just noticed a new hashtag they are using: #แท็กเพื่อนไปม็อบ It means something like 'tag friend go mob.' So they want people to invite others. The word 'mob' used by Thais isn't a negative word as it is in English. It seems to just mean a crowd or large group at the present time and mostly it seems to be used for protestors.

[TooBigToFit]

2 hours ago, tribalfusion001 said:

Notice how these threads don't get much attention but Richard Barrow gets over 400 comments.

There are a lot of connections the Richard Barrow story and this story about Thais fighting for freedom to speak and choose their own future as a nation. A lot of foreigners are often silent here just like Thais but it's for fear of having problems with the visa or their position at work. And there is probably a section of right wing Thais who see foreigners affirmations of the students protests and complaints about human rights in Thailand as a threat to their vision of Thailand. These folks often attack online or battle in the comments section using English. I noticed on Richard Barrow's twitter there were a couple of posts that seemed to show a little enjoyment of him facing this problem. One of the accounts was opened in 2011 but had very few actual tweets and almost no comments on other Twitter posts. Whoever it was came back to this account just to rub a comment in RB's face. It could be a foreigner but it just reminded me of the way some Thais are. Anyways, foreigners here aren't treated equally really so there's always fear that something will change and they all have problems staying. These days the xenophobes connected to the regime and royalists seem to be the ones triggered and looking to exploit the times. What was the saying a couple years ago on foreigners: bad guys out, good guys in or something like that?  Now, that seems to be the cry of the students and Thais sick of the endless abuse and corruption by the people in power. They wan them out and the people in. 

[MyTHaiMyKe]

Every Thai in Thailand should be there! No excuses not to be, most are not working!

[tribalfusion001]

2 minutes ago, MyTHaiMyKe said:

Every Thai in Thailand should be there! No excuses not to be, most are not working!

They should be, interesting what is going on in Belarus, another corrupt regime holding on to power.

[TooBigToFit]

3 minutes ago, MyTHaiMyKe said:

Every Thai in Thailand should be there! No excuses not to be, most are not working!

It would be nice enough if the mainstream TV channels gave coverage if the protest does turn out to be big. They could literally be shooting people in the streets and Thai TV will be playing soap operas as if nothing is happening. That's the sad truth.

[sammieuk1]

Taxi for Prayut Prawit and Anutin and one for the watches please ????

[TooBigToFit]

Something from Twitter to help people prepare, 'Mob Tips'

 

 

[tribalfusion001]

6 minutes ago, TooBigToFit said:

It would be nice enough if the mainstream TV channels gave coverage if the protest does turn out to be big. They could literally be shooting people in the streets and Thai TV will be playing soap operas as if nothing is happening. That's the sad truth.

If you control the media, you control the narrative. These movements are driven by social media, not the mainstream outlets. It was the same with the BLM, social media driven protests and spread worldwide.

 

Your protest image above I've seen similar with antifa and BLM in the UK, standard protest kit and advice 555. I'm glad the Thais are picking up on the art of protest.

[TooBigToFit]

They've had a chance to learn a lot by watching how others around the world resist. Another one from #แท็กเพื่อนไปม็อบ  on Protest preparation