Protests in Thailand.

 Subscribing to a Google news feed keeps me informed about happenings in Thailand. In some recent conversations it's become apparent that not everyone is aware of the ongoing protests there. This reprint from The Guardian is a good introduction to those protests.

"A student-led protest movement has shaken Thailand over the past five months. Young people have taken to the streets to call for a true democracy, and have risked jail to shatter a taboo that has long prevented frank, public discussion of the monarchy. Their protests, attended by tens of thousands, present one of the boldest challenges that the Thai royal family has faced in living memory.

Demonstrators say they are not calling for the monarchy to be abolished, but for it to be reformed, accountable to the people and not above the law. They have also called for the prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army general who came to power in a 2014 coup, to stand down, and for changes to the constitution to make the political system more democratic.

Few topics have been left untouched by the movement. At Saturday’s rally, organised by Bad Student, a group that represents school pupils, protesters called not only for monarchy and government reform, but also an overhaul of the education system.

The students want investment in schools, and an end to the military influence and rigid hierarchies that continue to dominate classrooms, stifling freedom of expression. Bad Students has shone a spotlight on abusive behaviour by teachers – from the use of humiliating punishments such as cutting students’ hair if it is considered inappropriate, to the continued use of corporal punishment, despite it being banned. The group has also campaigned for greater protections for female and LGBT students. Yesterday, one student, dressed in school uniform and her mouth taped shut, held a sign that read: “I have been sexually abused by teachers. School is not a safe place I have been sexually assaulted by teachers. “Authoritarianism doesn’t only manifest through the manipulation of elections, it is exercised in everyday life,” said Janjira Sombatpoonsiri, assistant professor of political science at Thammasat University. Students say they want room for freedom of thought, and a curriculum that allows for different interpretations of Thailand’s past. “History always mentions the good side of Thailand – changing the story, framing others, admiring someone in the sky,” said a speaker at yesterday’s rally, referring to the king."

Takk for alt,

Al