Young and Disenfranchised in Thailand: Talking to Thalugaz (Part 2)
The outcomes of Thailand's May 14 elections are essentially pre-determined, or rather, controlled. Thalugaz, an anarchist pro-democracy, anti-government group, kindly shared some thoughts and replies.
Part 1 of the interview with Thalugaz can be found here.
What should the role of the military be in the country?
It is an example of an invisible hand. They have the power to intervene in politics at any time. By using the power of the sovereign of the king. That raises suspicions that the king was involved in the coup and meddling in politics.
Military coups are often justified in this country. They claim to be guardians to come and solve the problems of the country. But they've done this a dozen times already. We haven't really seen it solve the root cause. Today we still face injustice, we still face the inequality and enormous corruption.
Soldiers should do their duty as soldiers. But in this country they try to steal other people's careers. as in the time of calamity they come out flood or wildfire. Where is the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Unit?
They exist. There are agencies that are responsible for dealing with these matters. But shockingly, the budget and manpower they have is very small compared to the disasters this country has to face. Much of the budget was transferred to the military. When wildfires occur, people have to post on social networks looking for volunteers to fight forest fires. So what are government agencies doing?
We have hundreds of thousands of conscripts in this country. Soldiers deployed are free labor of higher rank soldiers. This country should reform the military.
A soldier with gun at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok during martial law. (images provided by Thalugaz)
Can you talk about how you perceive police in Thailand, given the recent scandals?
When we say A.C.A.B or "All Cops Are Bastards" I want people to pay attention to the police system first and foremost. Why the system create who become an outlaw and an agent of injustice. The power in their hands (police) was sweet. They became above the law and use what they have to benefit themselves.
When they put on police uniforms, they represent state power. People automatically respect them. And that was the vulnerability that led many among them to use that power for their own gain. or threaten people.
But actually, we shouldn't just talk about "police", we should also talk about the military and the army. If you see the rot in the police system, the corruption in the military system is much more than that.
What do you feel about the use of Section 112? Without going into to many details – do you think the fabric of Thailand is being threatened by discourse over this subject, as some claim?
It exists to prevent people from talking about the other side of the monarchy. You can only compliment them. You may have heard rumors that Thai kings possess huge wealth. So how do we know the facts? since we can't get them to disclose those assets. We criticize the budget they can't use at all.
Article 112 of the Criminal Code can be used by anyone. It's clearly a problem. It is used as a political attack by the right wing. like this picture It was sued by a lawsuit claiming that the painter was defamatory to the king.
It is not easy for people in society to understand how the lèse-majesté law or Article 112 threatens people's freedom. Because people in society are obsessed with fog of fear of talking about another aspect of the monarchy. Angles that the state never presents and attack that they are distorted stories. (despite the overwhelming evidence)
There is a news program about the royal family (ข่าวในพระราชสำนัก) every 8 p.m. that for decades or maybe half a century. It is propaganda co-operated by right-wing political powers. And people's trying to challenge those authority by talking about them on the other side has only been in the past few decades. And of course, many people were silenced by Section 112.
Photos sued by the political right-wing and accused of lese-majeste law
In the unlikely scenario where the pro-democracy movement manages to secure the most votes in the election, and appoint the prime minister, do you think there will be a military coup?
One of the 250 senators appointed by the junta said that "Even if the pro-democracy support party gets 10 million votes, they won't allow it to win the election," meaning they will use their own vote to vote for the former junta's to be prime minister again. What is this nonsense in a country that dares to call itself a democracy?
The above is only the first step. Although the party that supports democracy will be in the government. But we cannot be sure that they will not be overthrown in the future. The rules were written by those people. People who have always dominated the political destiny of this country. People are just pawns in the board to deceive when there is an election. Just having an election doesn't mean this country is a democracy.
If Thalugaz (in a scenario), was in government in Bangkok – what would your policy towards the Deep South insurgency be?
It could just be a hypothetical event. We never expected any political power or a role in parliament. We want to be just ordinary people.
But we have an ethnically aligned mentality or many minorities group. They should have the right to self-government. They do not want to be oppressed by the Thai state trying to swallow their identity.
In the past, many rebels have been suppressed as they try to resist central governments that extort their taxes. Like many other countries around the world, minorities are oppressed.
What do you think about the war in Myanmar and the Thai government’s policy towards it? What would your policy be on Myanmar?
It is a war that many people cannot avoid. We all have to oppose war. But in the real world, that's what you have to face when you're oppressed by armed people. People representing the state. The choice is to escape and continue to be oppressed or fight for your own freedom.
The military-dominated Thai government has never taken a clear stance on the situation in Myanmar. They pretended not to know what had happened. Pushing immigrants not to enter Thailand, it's like you see next door is on fire and doing nothing. In addition to spraying water to extinguish your own fence to prevent a fire from spreading into your house.
I think we should at least have sanctions policy against the military junta of Burma. It's not right to ignore what happened and claim that Myanmar is our neighbor. Neighbors who are killing their own family and we still ignore it?
Do you see the conservatives, the old guard, losing their grip on Thailand and its youth?
The political spectrum of this country is quite complex. But to be clear, it is Politics in this country is still in the hands of the political right. They still have influence. There are supporters of both the military and capitalist monopolies. I think it will take time to change these things.
And if we talking about the political spectrum in this country It's extremely complicated. You cannot assume that conservatives are the same group as royalists who harm and threaten others who do not love the monarchy. They are more politically right-wing and prefer authoritarianism.
The same goes for the political left that is stereotyped by the right as either socialist or communist. But it's not correct. Most people on the left-wing are ideologically inclined towards what is known as "social democracy". Common in scandinavian politics or as we call it a welfare state country.
And the fact that the entire political right-wing continues to play a role in this country's politics. It was because among them there were many capitalists, bureaucrats, and supporters. They were like the aristocracy system of the past. They also have a controlling influence over the "Buddhist" religion. If you study the religion of this country in detail, you will discover that Buddhism has a strong influence in Thai politics. Although this country does not describe itself as a religious state. But it tries to escape from what is known as the secular state.
Buddhism in this country is used by the political right-wing as a political tool in the fight against the political left-wing. such as during the Cold War, a monk once said that killing a communist is not a sin. He claimed that communism would destroy Thailand's core institutions. And communism is not part of the Thai people. not counted as human So killing communists is not a sin.
This was supported by the right-wing government of the time. which I rarely refer to them as "conservative"
What is, in your view, stopping Thailand from progress?
"Political indifference of the majority of the population."
The elite has made politics in this country viewed as abhorrent. Cause most people to ignore it, and they will easily gain power with minimal opposition.
A lack of political awareness makes people uninterested in what they deserve. What are their taxes spent on? And if it's spent on something that's inappropriate, how are they going to check it? And how to make it properly used to develop this country.
“Political indifference of Thai people will lead society to disaster” - Bam Orawan, political activist who hunger strike 52 days to protest the justice system.
As the youth of Thailand – what do you hope for the country? How do you want to live?
I want to see a country where people can follow their dreams. A country that does not require hard work but earns very little wages compared to the cost of living. A country where children don't have to grow up to be just doctors in order to be prominent in society. A country that respects differences of opinion.