After the paranoid Thai military pressured students in northern Thailand to cancel a discussion during lunch session, students responded with distributing anti-junta leaflets in university’s restrooms.
Over 30 military officers came to Chiang Mai University on Tuesday afternoon to monitor an activity ‘Eating and Debating About Student Activities Under the Martial Law’, an event organized by students from Chiang Mai University of the northern province of Chiang Mai.
The activity which was supposed to take place at noon was eventually cancelled due to the pressure amounted from the military presence in the campus.
After the event was cancelled students reportedly distributed anti-junta fliers in the Student Association building’s restrooms. The messages of the fliers read, “No Coup”, “Stop intimidating students”, and “Dictator get out”.
Plain fliers with a message read "Dictator Get Out" in restroom of Student Association's Building of Chiang Mai University
According to the organizers of the event, the activity was meant to allow students space discuss and exchange ideas casually. However, a lot of military officer and police in and out of uniforms were seen in campus before the event was supposed to be held.
The cancelled event coincided with an activity to decorate Student Association’s Building of Chiang Mai University with the national and the King’s flags, which was allegedly planned by the university administrators to distract students from joining the anti-junta event.
In Bangkok at around 5pm, police in plain cloths and military officers also came to Srinakarin Wirot University in central Bangkok to find students who distributed anti-junta leaflets earlier.
On Tuesday morning, students from ‘Graft Liberty for Democracy’, a student activist group based in Srinakarin Wirot University in central Bangkok,distributed fliers to urge the junta to put an end to the imposition of the martial law and stop intimidating students.
According to Matichon, one member of the group stated that six months after the coup staged by the National Council for Peace and Order on 22 May, it is proven that the martial law does not solve the political problem in society which people have various different ideas. Therefore, the junta should reconsider this and remove the martial law as soon as possible.
Police (in plain cloths) and military officers at Srinakarin Wirot University in central Bangkok on 25 November evening (courtesy of Matichon)