The student-led protests of 2020

University students began to play a leading role in Thai politics again after the military coup of 22 May 2014, in which a junta led by Army commander General Prayut Chan-ocha seized power. With political groups disbanded, students were the only group capable of staging protests against the coup. [4] Initially, the number of students involved was small; it included only those who were highly politically motivated. [5] However, after experiencing suppression on the part of the military junta, as well as certain behaviour on the part of members of the royal family, more students began to get involved with politics, primarily “online.” [6]

Students only began to stage protests after the Constitutional Court dissolved the Future Forward Party on 21 February 2020. The party had appealed to them as the party of the younger generation, and a majority of them voted for it in the 24 March 2019 election with hopes that it would bring positive change. But their hope was shattered after the Phalang Pracharat Party – the military junta in disguise – formed a government despite coming in second place in the polls. The Constitutional Court ruling was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” and eventually led Thai students to protest “offline.” [7]

The Students Union of Thailand (SUT) was the first student group to stage a protest. It hung a banner with a defiant statement at Thammasat University right after the Constitutional Court ruling was released. It then held a gathering at the university the following day which, according to its leader, was “the first time that students [were] interested in politics.” [8] Then students at other universities came forward. The gatherings spread like “wildfire” across the country and totalled at least 70 protests, before halting in mid-March 2020, primarily because of the spread of COVID-19. [9]

After a hiatus, students resumed the gatherings following the arrest of two youths for their protest against the prime minister. On 18 July 2020, the SUT and a group called “Free Youth” gathered at the Democracy Monument to make three demands – an end to threats against critics of the government, the dissolution of parliament, and a new constitution. The gathering drew more than 2,000 participants despite a ban on gatherings under the Emergency Decree to curb the pandemic. Importantly, it was the first time that students staged protests outside campuses; “holding gatherings inside universities lacks people’s participation; we want people to participate”, the SUT’s leader said. [10]

Given that “various groups wanted to take part in the gatherings and the number of demands was increasing”, [11] “Free Youth” and the SUT together with other groups then formed a group called “Free People” and held a gathering on 16 August 2020. In addition to the previous three demands, the group added two new ones: no coup and no “national government”. And it voiced one “dream”: democracy with the monarchy under the constitution. [12] Later, on 19 September 2020, the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD) held a gathering at Sanam Luang, which, said a UFTD leader, “[was] the biggest gathering ever held.” [13] Then students in cooperation with other groups formed a “People’s Party” and staged a gathering on 14 October 2020 at the Democracy Monument to demand the resignation of the prime minister, the drafting of a new constitution, and reform of the monarchy. In addition to these major gatherings in Bangkok, others were held in provinces across the country. It is estimated that between July and December 2020, there were 385 protests in 62 provinces by 112 groups, something “completely unprecedented in Thai political history.” [14]

Their unprecedented nature notwithstanding, the student-led protests were in decline by the end of the year in the face of the second wave of COVID-19, the prosecution of protest leaders, and violent measures taken to crack down on protests. [15] It was not until the emergence of “thalu fa” that the protests began to be vigorous again.

Thalu Fa

On 16 February 2021, “People”—as the “People’s Party” was renamed in accordance with a “no-leader strategy”—held an activity called “Walk through the Sky” or “doen thalu fa”, at the Thao Suranari Monument in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. The goal was to walk 247.5 kilometers from the monument to Bangkok to demand the release of protest leaders. The march reached Bangkok on 7 March 2021. Then, on 13 March 2021, UNME of Anarchy [16] along with the UFTD and other groups under the name “People” held the second “Walk through the Sky” marching from the Democracy Monument to the Government House to set up the “Thalu Fa Village” nearby. However, on 28 March 2021, police cracked down on the village and arrested protesters for violating the Emergency Decree and the Communicable Disease Act.

After the crackdown, UNME of Anarchy continued to hold activities but now under the name Thalu Fa because, said its leader, “people began to know Thalu Fa and to get confused.” [17] Initially, Thalu Fa joined activities held by other groups. But after the number of infection cases had rose sharply and measures to curb the pandemic had increased people’s suffering, they decided to take the lead. As one of its leaders put it, “We thought the situation was unbearable and the government had failed miserably. It was also at a time when other groups were tired and were taking a break. So it looked like Thalu Fa was spearheading [the protests].” [18]

Thalu Fa gave first priority to ousting the prime minister, followed by drafting a new constitution and reforming the monarchy. Thinking that a conventional style of protest like delivering speeches on stage was “no longer effective and boring”, [19] they initiated “symbolic activities” in which everyone could participate. They vowed to take the lead while other groups were not able to hold gatherings on their own. When leading groups “recover”, they “will step back and play a supporting role.” [20]

In addition to Thalu Fa, there is the other group that stages protests in parallel. Initially, this group was part of Thalu Fa as well as previous student groups. But after student groups deployed a “no-leader strategy”, focused on marching to strategic places, and the resultant confrontation with the authorities, this group came to life under the name “Thalu Gas”.

Thalu Gas

August 2021 saw a surge in protest activities. On the one hand, Red Shirt leaders and activists initiated new activities to support student protests. On 1 August 2021, the prominent Red Shirt Sombat Bunngamanong held a “car mob” in Bangkok to call for the resignation of the prime minister. Given his reputation and the novelty of the activity, hundreds of cars and motorcycles joined his demonstration. This “success” led Red Shirt leader Nattawut Saikua to hold a second “car mob” on 15 August 2021. Nattawut’s popularity among Red Shirt supporters drew to this event hundreds of cars and motorcycles, many decorated with Red Shirt symbols. At the same time, major student groups resumed their protests. On 7 August 2021, Free Youth held a gathering. Initially, they planned to gather at the Democracy Monument and march to the Grand Palace. But, after police blocked streets with containers and occupied the area near the monument, they changed the meeting point to the Victory Monument and made the prime minister’s residence the march’s destination. Then, on 10 August 2021, the UFTD, following Sombat’s initiative, held a third “car mob” to visit strategic places. In addition, Thalu Fa continued its protests. On 11, 13, and 16 August 2021, it called demonstrators to the Victory Monument and led them to the prime minister’s residence to demand his resignation.

Although these protests drew smaller numbers of people than those of 2020, they gave birth to a new group of protesters. These protesters joined “car mobs” and marches like other protesters, but they kept protesting even after protest leaders had terminated the demonstrations. For example, a group of protesters gathered around Din Daeng Intersection even though Sombat had announced the termination of his “car mob.” Police fired water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse these protesters, who fought back with marbles, bottles and slingshots. The clash lasted until 10 p.m. before the protesters retreated. Likewise, a group of protesters left Nattawut’s “car mob” for the Din Daeng Intersection to clash with crowd control police. They kept battling the police even after Nattawut arrived to call them back.

This also happened with student-led protests. Concerned with the situation at Din Daeng Triangle, a spot near the intersection of the same name where protesters were clashing with police, the Free Youth terminated their protest and asked protesters to go home. However, many protesters kept clashing with police into the night. [21] This was also true of Thalu Fa’s marches. In all three marches to the prime minister’s residence during which the protesters clashed with crowd control police, many protesters kept fighting even after Thalu Fa had terminated the marches.

In addition, these same protesters have been staging protests on their own since late August. For example, on 17 August, a group of protesters clashed with crowd control police at Din Daeng Intersection while Thalu Fa was holding a protest in front of the headquarters of the National Police Office. Likewise, the following day, a group of protesters clashed with crowd control police at Din Daeng Intersection once again while Thalu Fa was holding a “symbolic activity” at the Democracy Monument. [22] Importantly, these demonstrators clashed with crowd control police at Din Daeng Intersection on 20 and 21 August 2021 although neither Thalu Fa nor other groups were holding protests on these days.

The clashes took place from evening until late in the night. The protesters, mostly youth who came by motorcycles, burnt tires and threw marbles, bottles and giant firecrackers and fired slingshots and fireworks at crowd control police who were stationed inside the Royal Thai Army Band Department compound. Police responded with tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. Where the protesters did not retreat, police would advance to disperse and arrest them.

Initially, these protesters were called “independent mobs”. But they emerged from Thalu Fa or “had Thalu Fa as their idol” said a woman whom Thalu Gas protesters called “Mom”, [23] and “fans proposed Thalu Gas, when I asked what these protesters should be named”, said the “People” Facebook page administrator. [24] They were then called Thalu Gas for the first time on that Facebook page and have generally been known by that name since then.

Behind the gas

Thalu Gas is generally perceived as a group of vocational students or youths of lower-class backgrounds often associated with violence and not concerned with politics. However, youths of other classes are also part of Thalu Gas, and the reasons that they have joined the protests are much more complex than their “aggressive behaviour” or “pleasure in crime”, as often alleged by police. “Gun”, for example, obtained an associate’s degree from a vocational college. However, he is not from a low-income family. His father is a police captain and his mother is from a family of civil servants. [25] Likewise, “Fah” is a vocational student, but his father is a police lieutenant and his mother is not from a low-income family. [26]

These two youths [27] are different from “Hom”, who exemplifies a typical Thalu Gas protester. “Hom” was born in Bangkok, but his household registration is in Roi Et in the Northeast; his Bangkok house has no household registration document. His mother divorced his father when he was in grade three, and she raised him with what she earned as a food vendor. He dropped out of school in grade eight and used his grade six primary-school certificate in applying for employment. He became unemployed after the department store where he worked was closed as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. [28]

Most of these youths began to join the protests after the “no-leader strategy” was employed and marches became a dominant form of demonstrations. “Karn” said he had been interested in politics since he was young because his father was a Red Shirt supporter. He began to join the protests early this year when REDEM took the lead and clashed with police. [29] Likewise, “Gun” began to join the protests when Free Youth held a march to the prime minister’s resident and clashed with police. [30]

The main reason these youths joined the Thalu Gas protests was injustice. They thought that the government had abused power and used laws and weapons against protesters unjustly, so they joined the protesters to help them fight back. [31] In addition, these protesters link the injustice the protesters faced with the undemocratic way in which the government came into power. They therefore want to “take democracy back.” [32] Their reasons reveal that they do not lack “abstract thinking”, as generally perceived. Moreover, judging from government- and monarchy-related statements sprayed around Din Daeng Intersection, it is obvious that they are also concerned about the “structural dimensions” of the problems.

The other main reason for their participation in the Thalu Gas protests is the failure of the government in dealing with COVID-19. Case number and death toll have risen sharply since April 2021, and there have been delays and corruption in the vaccination roll out. The “economic lockdown” only worsened the situation. It was the poor who suffered the most, and it was the reason why many joined the protests. As “Hom” put it, “Someone’s parents died from COVID because of Prayut’s administration. I used to be a product consultant in a department store. But it was closed because of the government’s policy on COVID. I have been unemployed for six months because of the government. So I joined the protests.” [33]

It should be noted that although these youths joined the protests for the aforementioned reasons, they were later deeply motivated by the emotions that they experienced during the clashes. It is anger that keeps the Thalu Gas protesters fighting. [34]

Given the violent police measures that they witnessed and experienced, whether or not the ways that they clashed with police are “non-violent” is not their major concern. For example, on 18 August 2021, Thalu Fa held a “symbolic activity” at the Democracy Monument, and some organizers said on the microphone that the protest happening at Din Daeng Intersection was not “non-violent” and asked the protesters there to stop. However, a Thalu Gas protester who at the time was at the Democracy Monument did not agree and left for the Din Daeng Intersection once he knew that there was a clash there because “I wanted to strike back at the police because they use violence first. I don’t care whether the strike is non-violent.” [35]

Thalu Gas protesters demand the resignation of the prime minister because they consider him “the centre of all evils.” One protester said that he was very bad; no word could represent him. [36] Another one said he wanted justice and democracy back and would stop when “Prayut resigns.” [37] However, yet another Thalu Gas protester said that he would not stop until “I get justice back and the country has equality, not just Prayut’s resignation.” [38] It is indeed unlikely that the “battle” will end any time soon.

Conclusion

Din Daeng Intersection has seemed to be under control since the night of 7 October 2021. Hundreds of police have been deployed in the area to prevent gatherings and unrest. There have been no youths on motorcycles hanging around, let alone any throwing giant firecrackers at the police. Residents no longer have to put up with tear gas that police fire on the protesters or to deal with night-time searches of their homes. Calm seems to prevail in the area.

However, grievance and wrath have not gone away. Sounds of giant firecrackers are still heard sporadically and tires have been burnt in some nights. Groups of motorcycles pass around, with the riders shouting at the police. All this signals that Thalu Gas will probably come back to Din Daeng Intersection and stage protests as soon as the police have withdrawn.

This is simply because its members are suffering most in the current crisis. It is unlikely that Din Daeng Intersection or Thailand as a whole will find “peace” if the protesters’ demands are not properly accommodated.

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Anusorn Unno

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