Parents claim intimidation by Thai official

[webfact]

Parents claim intimidation
KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE PARENTS of one of the anti-coup activists arrested in June claim they have been told by an official to "take their son out of school" to stop him from "mingling" with his friends and participating in anti-junta activities.

Roi Et Governor Somsak Changtrakul has denied making such suggestions.

Chalermsak and Neeranuch Soontararak, parents of Apiwat or "Noi", a member of the Dao Din group and the New Democracy Movement (NDM), said last week that soldiers and state officials, including the governor, offered their son a job as a defence corps volunteer in exchange for him dropping out of the university in Khon Kaen, where he and his Dao Din friends flock together to stage social and political activities.

"The governor told us to encourage our son to quit school and he said he would take care of him. He invited our son for a meal at his official residence and offered him the volunteer job," Apiwat's mother said.

Her son did not take up the offer, she said.

"They have been visiting us very frequently after there was a legal case in which our son and his friends held up a protest banner against the junta," she said.

She was referring to the arrest of the 14 students for protesting against the coup. They were detained for 12 days from late June to early July.

"They asked how we raised our son," the parents said.

"They have called us often, asking about our son's whereabouts and what he's doing," she said.

The governor insisted that all he did was invite the family for a meal at his residence and offered Noi an internship at the Damrongdhama Centre, a complaint centre set up by the junta, to fulfil his wish to work for the people and society.

However, Chalermsak, who is a schoolteacher, stuck with their account of what had transpired.

The governor and his men made an offer for his son to leave school right away and become a defence volunteer leader to campaign against illegal logging in the province, he said.

More than 40 soldiers and state officials have also visited him at his workplace. The students as well as his colleagues were panic-stricken, he said.

"It affects my job because when they visit me at school I have to leave the class I'm teaching and talk to them. It is quite troublesome for me," he said.

The two also said their neighbours are questioning what they have done and why the soldiers have to visit the neighbourhood so often.

Some of the 14 students arrested for violating the National Council for Peace and Order's order and Article 116 prohibiting sedition have posted on Facebook how they have been stalked by security officials.

Chonthicha Jangrew posted on Facebook on Wednesday that some plainclothes officials attended the ordination of Suwitcha "Best" Pitankkorn, one of those detained, and took photos of the ceremony.

"You are unforgivingly intimidating our personal space," she wrote.

Panupong "Nice" Sritananuwat, another NDM member, also complained on Facebook on Thursday that some police had visited his home, talked to him and took photos.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Parents-claim-intimidation-30265761.html


-- The Nation 2015-08-03

[Briggsy]

Very interesting article.

[hanuman2543]

The methods which are used to intimidate people who dare to have and voice a different opinion reminds me of North Korea. Really sad times for freedom in the "Land of the free".

[bangkokfrog]

This is sickening. Now we have "green-shirts" emulating the actions of "brown-shirts" from another time and place.

[steven100]

babies ....... cry cry babies !

[robblok]

Bit extreme, they did deserve some attention as they asked for it by protesting. They should not expect that to have no consequences. They choose it they got it. But by now it seems enough to me, this should stop. Unless of course they start all over again and then its warranted now its not.

[Fat Haggis]

babies ....... cry cry babies !

The biggest cry babies in the country wear a uniform, and are supposed to protect it, but they keep feeling butt hurt all the time.

The General is "irked" about the Suthep situation, asking people " I urge you not to cause an issue,".

Sounds like a big baby to me!!

If there is substance to these claims, then it shows exactly how paranoid this junta are becoming, so paranoid, they've wheeled out their pitbull to stir up some more trouble.

[Seastallion]

No matter what side of the political divide you stand, Chalermsak and Neeranuch Soontararak (the parents) should be congratulated for not buckling under intimidation.

People here may not realise just how hard it is....peer pressure at work and from the neighbours is a powerful force in Thailand. And that force is at play on top of the direct intimidation from officials. It all mounts up.

I hope the parents stand strong, and I wish I could send them some encouraging words.

[Ulic]

Quit school, we will look after you, here is a volunteer job.

[metisdead]

An offensive post has been removed as well as a reply.

[Gandtee]

Thought police?

[baboon]

babies ....... cry cry babies !

That speaks volumes about your general character and intelligence...

[Hayduke]

The methods which are used to intimidate people who dare to have and voice a different opinion reminds me of North Korea. Really sad times for freedom in the "Land of the free".

Likewise reminiscent of a more influential country with a similar playbook. One readily available and slightly easier to translate.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Hayduke

[Srikcir]

Maybe the military will "offer" to conscript all the students into the Army.

Assign them all to different army posts away from Bangkok.

No more visibility or public access.

[Baerboxer]

The methods which are used to intimidate people who dare to have and voice a different opinion reminds me of North Korea. Really sad times for freedom in the "Land of the free".

How long did you spend in North Korea? Must have been a tremendous but perhaps traumatic experience.

[Baerboxer]

Maybe the military will "offer" to conscript all the students into the Army.

Assign them all to different army posts away from Bangkok.

No more visibility or public access.

Not an acceptable reaction in a modern society. But I guess better than making them disappear, shooting them or bombing them.

Differences in intimidation and dealing with critics are noted.

Any news on the missing HR lawyer, environmental activists or finding those guilty of extra judicial executions?

[Baerboxer]

No matter what side of the political divide you stand, Chalermsak and Neeranuch Soontararak (the parents) should be congratulated for not buckling under intimidation.

People here may not realise just how hard it is....peer pressure at work and from the neighbours is a powerful force in Thailand. And that force is at play on top of the direct intimidation from officials. It all mounts up.

I hope the parents stand strong, and I wish I could send them some encouraging words.

Peer pressure and the underlying threat of reprisals for non compliance is a characteristic of immature society. Think how factory owners and landlords used to force workers to go to church and accept their religious and moral codes in 17th, 18th and 19th century Europe; even the early 20th century. The carnage of WW1 was needed to bring real changes.

Here, people are intimidated to vote for whichever political party controls that area - may be one of the big two; maybe a more local big cheese with his own party, whose votes he'll sell off to the highest bidder. Vote against the peer pressure, or even abstain will result in consequences, which everyone knows. This seems widespread in the provinces.

With all these stories, it's hard to know what the reality is, given the propensity for all to lie whenever it suits. In such a situation it's easy to accept which version fits to your own pre-defined view and agenda.

[Baerboxer]

babies ....... cry cry babies !

The biggest cry babies in the country wear a uniform, and are supposed to protect it, but they keep feeling butt hurt all the time.

The General is "irked" about the Suthep situation, asking people " I urge you not to cause an issue,".

Sounds like a big baby to me!!

If there is substance to these claims, then it shows exactly how paranoid this junta are becoming, so paranoid, they've wheeled out their pitbull to stir up some more trouble.

Suthep, illegal fishing practices, trafficking, HR violations, non compliance with laws - from not wearing crash hats or bothering to register SIM cards to turning a blind eye to the activities of the rich and elite.

The PM has a lot to go at! Corrupt ineffective inefficient and mercenary police with a somewhat less than robust justice system won't help.

So he's either going to have to take all the bulls by the horn or he'll fail and drift back into just letting things be, just like all those previous.

What he can't do is continue to allow the law and rules to be applied differently to different segments of society based on wealth, family and politics.

[Tomtomtom69]

The methods which are used to intimidate people who dare to have and voice a different opinion reminds me of North Korea. Really sad times for freedom in the "Land of the free".

Ironically that closed-off neighbor of Thailand known as Myanmar, which was a paranoid, insular nation for some 50 years, which didn't allow you to enter or exit overland due to ongoing insurgencies mostly being played out on the doorstep of it's neighbors, Thailand, China and India prior to 2013 is now regarded as being more open than Thailand. It is now possible to give an opinion (within certain boundaries) with less risk of being jailed than in Thailand.

Apparently press freedom is also better. One look at some of their news websites confirms the style of reporting being more critical than anything coming out of Thailand lately.

[Jimlove]

MO´s similar to STASI and Securitate - dispicable people thats behind this ... Sad sad times for thai people until they man up and get rid of this kind of government ...

[hanuman2543]

The methods which are used to intimidate people who dare to have and voice a different opinion reminds me of North Korea. Really sad times for freedom in the "Land of the free".

How long did you spend in North Korea? Must have been a tremendous but perhaps traumatic experience.

Never heard of the internet, newspapers, documentaries etc as a source of information?

It is common there to punish the whole family.

Edited August 3, 2015 by hanuman2543

[Emster23]

What's the point of being an official if you are not allowed to intimidate the populace? Other than a fat pile of money....

[NickJ]

What they need are some state of the art re-education camps and a dozen or two work/boot camps. They could outsource the manpower needed from the old Blackwater organization.

[Somtamnication]

Scary stuff. Reminds me of when I grew up in South America back in the 70s. Like a time machine!

[hanuman2543]

No matter what side of the political divide you stand, Chalermsak and Neeranuch Soontararak (the parents) should be congratulated for not buckling under intimidation.

People here may not realise just how hard it is....peer pressure at work and from the neighbours is a powerful force in Thailand. And that force is at play on top of the direct intimidation from officials. It all mounts up.

I hope the parents stand strong, and I wish I could send them some encouraging words.

Peer pressure and the underlying threat of reprisals for non compliance is a characteristic of immature society. Think how factory owners and landlords used to force workers to go to church and accept their religious and moral codes in 17th, 18th and 19th century Europe; even the early 20th century. The carnage of WW1 was needed to bring real changes.

Here, people are intimidated to vote for whichever political party controls that area - may be one of the big two; maybe a more local big cheese with his own party, whose votes he'll sell off to the highest bidder. Vote against the peer pressure, or even abstain will result in consequences, which everyone knows. This seems widespread in the provinces.

With all these stories, it's hard to know what the reality is, given the propensity for all to lie whenever it suits. In such a situation it's easy to accept which version fits to your own pre-defined view and agenda.

Did you live back then? You must be really old. Edited August 3, 2015 by hanuman2543

[billd766]

The methods which are used to intimidate people who dare to have and voice a different opinion reminds me of North Korea. Really sad times for freedom in the "Land of the free".

Ironically that closed-off neighbor of Thailand known as Myanmar, which was a paranoid, insular nation for some 50 years, which didn't allow you to enter or exit overland due to ongoing insurgencies mostly being played out on the doorstep of it's neighbors, Thailand, China and India prior to 2013 is now regarded as being more open than Thailand. It is now possible to give an opinion (within certain boundaries) with less risk of being jailed than in Thailand.

Apparently press freedom is also better. One look at some of their news websites confirms the style of reporting being more critical than anything coming out of Thailand lately.

Really? Have you spoken to many Rohingyas lately to ask them what they think about freedom in Myanmar?

[lildragon]

Christ almighty. How will the junta cope when the inevitable happens and 14 swells to 140, then to 1400, then to 140,000 and so on. Go and Harass all their families?

Even you must hardcore of sycophants have to admit this is getting ridiculous now. Why not let these students have a group and stage like Suthep's group hmm? I would like one GOOD reason why these students shouldn't also have a voice but that thug is.

[roamer]

The methods which are used to intimidate people who dare to have and voice a different opinion reminds me of North Korea. Really sad times for freedom in the "Land of the free".

North Korea ? No. Not yet. But very much along the lines of the former East Germany. And this is the "visible" part of the intimidation. In East Germany the reason for students not to get involved with dissent or voice criticism of the state was how your family were affected, loss of jobs, failure to get into Uni, a long list. That has already been happening here. Dissent here is crippled by those fears. What if you are a civil servant here and your son/daughter gets involved in a protest, do you seriously think for one moment that your boss won't be taking you aside to have a quiet conversation ?

When many people are afraid to voice dissent is the time when all sensible people should start to fear for the future.

[SOTIRIOS]

...the governor.....speaking for whom....???

...let's see what his response to these allegations is....

[SOTIRIOS]

...the governor.....speaking for whom....???

...let's see what his response to these allegations is....