NEWS
FRACTURES IN THE SKY THAILAND’S YOUTH CRITICIZE A PREVIOUSLY UNTOUCHABLE INSTITUTION
By Yumei Lin
T
ear gas and water cannons barraging a wall of umbrellas and inflatable rubber duckies is a common sight on Bangkok streets these days. These past few months, Thailand has been consumed by some of the largest protests in the nation’s history. Activists are demanding three key things: the current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s resignation, the rewriting of the constitution with a popularly elected drafting committee, and monarchy reform. Protests are not uncommon in Thailand. Generally, the political split comes down to
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two groups: the red shirts and yellow shirts. The red shirts are generally associated with the more pro-democratic groups in the country, and have roots in the supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who ruled from 2001 to 2006. In contrast, the yellow shirts tend to be supporters of the monarchy. To outsiders, and even to some members of the Thai citizenry, the 2020 protests might seem like they came out of nowhere. However, several events this year have increased frustration among young people.
In February, an opposition party popular with the younger generation called Future Forward was disbanded due to an alleged violation of finance rules. While there were youth-led protests as a result, they were brought to an abrupt halt by the COVID-19 lockdown. In July, a prominent exiled Thai pro-democracy activist named Wanchalearm Satsaksit disappeared in Cambodia, further escalating existing tensions. The current protests have deep roots in Thai history. The 2014 coup d’état marked the 13th coup in the country since the