A focal point of controversy shadowed by rituals and talk of spells

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A focal point of controversy shadowed by rituals and talk of spells
By Wasamon Audjarint
The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- IT HAD ALWAYS been there, repeatedly walked over by worshippers flocking to the equestrian statue of King Chulalongkorn a few metres away.

 

But the embedded plaque marking the Siamese Revolution in 1932 is a historic marker. The old brass piece had drawn love and dislike from different sides of the political spectrum in recent years – before its mysterious disappearance.

 

It was hailed as a symbolic start of democracy. But it drew disgruntlement from conservatives. There have always been ideological rows between populists and royalists over the  plaque. Yet, perhaps to make the most of it, ceremonies were also held there.

 

Pro-democracy people and student activists have performed a ceremony on June 24 in recent years to commemorate regime changes, with flowers adorning the plaque. However, in 2015, a group of people and monks were spotted doing a superstitious ritual to symbolically “remove” the plaque a few days before the anniversary nearly two years ago.

 

A woman was seen placing holy beads on the plaque; beside her was incense, flower garlands and a coconut, sacrificial items often seen in Thai rituals. A man was also seen praying.

 

The man held a banner that read: “Here is Thailand. Kings have developed democracy for Thai progress since 1892.” That was the year when King Chulalongkorn started administration reforms in a bid to modernise Siam at a time of colonialist threats.

 

The banner represented the so-called People’s New Peaceful Revolution Party led by former salesman Saman Sringam. Despite the name, Saman’s movement always has slammed Khana Ratsadon for staging the 1932 bloodless revolution against King Prajadhipok, shifting the regime from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.

 

The self-proclaimed Buddhist group blames the revolution for being dogmatic, an act leading to sin according to Buddhist belief, and eventually causing Thailand to have a “parliamentary dictatorship”– a phrase often used to slam powerful political blocs, notably that of the former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

The recent removal of the plaque, unsurprisingly, brought joy to Saman.

 

“We have proposed the removal for decades and did a removal ritual three times already,” he said on Facebook on Saturday. “It was a seed of a vicious regime that has engulfed Thailand with dictatorship for 85 years.”

 

He seemed to be very fond of the new plaque, whose engraved letters hail faith in the Buddhist trinity, the state, plus the monarch and one’s own family, as gates to national prosperity. Indeed, it had no |mention on the constitution like its |predecessor.

Saman, who was once convicted for sedition – for attempting to overthrow Gen Chatichai Choonhavan’s government – is not alone in condemning the old plaque.

 

Historian Thepmontri Limpaphayom posted on his Facebook page last October: “We’re looking for [the plaque’s] owner. If you’re not digging it out by December 30, 2016, my friends and I will consider it abandoned. We’ll either remove or nullify it.”

 

The former yellow-shirt activist has researched Thai history from Ayutthaya Kingdom politics to the popular uprising in 1973 but he seems to only be trusted by some spectators.

 

In short, it’s little wonder that attention focused on him soon after the plaque’s removal made headlines. Thepmontri dodged the accusation, but unlike Saman, he made no comment on the new plaque.

 

The new one is a mystery. There is uncertainty over where it came from, when it was installed and why it is there.

 

Some even suspect that pinkish red scribbles smeared over the top might be sacred spells, but no one really knows.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30312541

 

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