Crowds gathered in central Bangkok to show support for the 14 embattled anti-junta activists detained amid heavy presence of police and military officers in and out of uniforms.
On Friday evening, 3 July 2015, a large crowd gathered on the pedestrian bridge in front of Bangkok Art and Culture Center (BACC) in central Bangkok in an event called “Post Its for Freedom” to support the 14 embattled anti-junta activists who have been detained since last week, 26 June 2015.
The event was organised by Resistant Citizen group, an anti-junta activist group, and New Democracy Movement (NDM), an anti-coup group which the 14 activists are members of.
The “Post Its for Freedom” activity started at 6 pm and ended at around 8 pm. Prior to the event, police officers erected iron fences to barricade half the area of the skywalk, restricting the space able to be used by both activists and passerby.
At the event, Sirawit Serithiwat, an anti-junta student activist from the Resistant Citizen, passed out post-its to gathered supporters and encouraged everyone to write messages on them before posting them on a wall set up along the BTS skywalk, from the MBK shopping mall to Siam Center.
Throughout the event at least a hundred police stood in the restricted zone, photographing activists. Plainclothes officers also entered the activists’ zone to photograph the activists closer. The event organizer told supporters to not interfere with the police’s actions.
Sirawit, amidst the throngs of people, told Prachatai that he hopes this activity will encourage the public to take the cause of the jailed 14 activists to heart.
One of the jailed activists’ wives, Thiraphimol Serirangsan, was also helping out at the event. Her husband is Pornchai Yuanyi, also known as Sam, one of the jailed NDM leaders,
“Before Sam went to to protest on the day of his arrest, he told me ‘I’m doing it for you, for our child, and for democracy,” said Thiraphimol, who met Pornchai when they were both in Chulalongkorn’s Political Science Faculty, and they have a baby together.
As the event went on, many supporters, members of the public, and passerby left encouraging Post It notes. Many of them are in foreign languages, perhaps to call for international help in freeing the activists.
At around 7 pm activists commenced singing songs to rouse the public, including a Thai version of “Do You Hear the People Sing?” Activists also chanted “Free the students! Free our friends!” and spoke short speeches calling for a return to democracy.
Activists also gave out flyers about their next activity which will be staged on 6 July. The “Wings of Freedom” event will be held at Thammasat’s Tha Prachan Campus.
At 7:16 pm, Sombat Boonngam-anong, aka Nuling or the Polka Dot Editor, arrived on the scene amid a hoopla of media, and posted a Post It of his own.
Sombat said he was just having a meal at MBK Center when he heard about the event and decided to participate. “My Post It just has the number 14 within a sun,” he said.
“Hold fast and stand firm in your beliefs,” he says when asked what he would like to say to the jailed activists.
Other event participants included Wiboon Bunpattararaksa, the father of Jatupat Bunpattararaksa, one of the jailed activists. Wiboon states that the students are acting as role models for society, who should realize the gravity of the students being jailed wrongfully.
“At a time like this, we cannot do much, but this activity is better than nothing. The Post Its reflect what we’re feeling and facing, and when others see it they will realize it too,” said the father.
Wiboon states that the NCPO are afraid of revolution, and the student protest shook the junta at the judicial level.
On his Post It, Wiboon writes “You did the right thing, son.”
Thanongsak Patpongpaibul, one of the participants, said that he had been involved in the NDM ever since the coup. Under a junta, unlike a democracy, there is no system of checks and balances, he said.
Another Post It-er, Panisara Panmuni from the Kuakarun College of Nursing, said that she was here because she “does not accept the authoritarian regime” and will “not surrender to this unlawfulness.”
A freelance academic in religious philosophy, Wichak Panich, expressed his views of support.
“Those 14 students did ignited the fundamental spark found in everyone. The common people do not possees power in terms of forces or arms, but this[Post It activity] shows the power of the people who are suppressed and want political participation. [Activity participants] have surpassed the fear of the above by participating, and thus reclaim the country.”
Wichak goes on to say that there is no shortcut to democracy. Thais must continuously work to solve the corruption problems which exist in democracy instead of destroying a democratic system altogether. People must be made aware that the junta has never done anything for them and will continue to leave them powerless if allowed, said Wichak.
On his Post It, Wichak wrote, “We want political participation.”
Sunai Phasuk, a researcher from the Human Rights Watch (HRW), also came to observe the event on Friday evening.
