By Kongpob Areerat |
<p>In November 2014, a transgender student activist was arrested and briefly detained for flashing a three-fingered salute at the ‘Hunger Games 3’ movie premiere in central Bangkok as a symbolic protest against the junta. Since then, she has become one of the best-known figures in the political movement against the junta. Prachatai talked to her about why she chose to stand against the regime despite all the risks that this entailed.</p>
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<div>A group of five students from Khon Kaen University in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen on Saturday held a symbolic activity at the university to mourn the court’s decision to convict a student theatre activist whose education and future were jeopardized after he was found guilty last week for starring in a play judged to constitute lèse majesté. </div>
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<div>The activity was held during the 12th Art Lane, held to exhibit the dissertations of members of the final year undergraduates of Khon Kaen’s Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, where Patiwat S., aka Bank,
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By The Isaan Record |
<p><em>This week, Patiwat S. was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for lèse majesté because of his role in the play, “The Wolf Bride.” Patiwat is the most recent student to have been imprisoned under the law, and has been an advocate for Isaan peoples’ rights and democracy for years.</em></p>
<p>On Monday, the criminal court sentenced Khon Kaen University student Patiwat S. and activist Pornthip M. to five years in jail for their involvement in a satirical play that was deemed “damaging to the monarchy.” The court reduced the sentence by half for their admission of guilt.</p>
<p>Military officers intimidated and threatened to detain two anti-junta student activists while the police visited the dormitory of one of the two. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/category/natchacha-kongudom">Natchacha Kongudom</a>, an anti-junta student activist from Bangkok University, told Prachatai on Friday that military officers threatened to send her to an ‘attitude adjustment camp’ at a seminar she attended on Wednesday. Later in the evening, several police officers came to her dormitory to search for her, but she was absent.</p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-30f11374-917c-1f94-8036-e9cedeedc97c">An anti-coup student activist group from Thammasat University has condemned the charge against a student activist, who will be the first student tried in a military court. </span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-4f3e28af-7187-f576-b35f-6d582b085b45">No anti-coup student activist participated in the junta’s national reform forum organized to collect students’ opinions on reform; they say that they do not want to be part of the apparatus of the military government. </span></p>
By Kongpob Areerat |
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<p>The junta has invited student organizations from leading universities nationwide to voice opinions in a national reform forum while ironically continuing to abuse its power under martial law to intimidate and monitor student activists.</p>
<p>According to the League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy, an anti-coup student group based at Thammasat University, the junta has sent invitations to the rectors of several leading universities to invite student councils to join a national reform forum.</p>
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<div><span>High ranking military officer followed and “requested” to see a female member of Khon Kaen student activist group and continue to monitor the activities and whereabouts of the group members closely after the arrest of the five student activists flashing three-fingered in mid november.</span></div>
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<div>The student activist told Prachatai that the continuous intimidation from the authority stir up fear and greatly affected their studies during examination period.
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<div>The military claimed that Khon Kaen three-fingered activists were hired by local politicians to discredit the junta leader and urged students not to use emotion to follow the anti-coup after several groups of student activists join hands in denouncing the junta’s martial law.</div>
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<div>Maj Gen Kampanat Ruddit, the deputy Army Chief-of-Staff said on Monday that five Khon Kaen students from Dao Din group, who were arrested for waving three fingers and wearing t-shirts with the message reads ‘No Coup’ during Prayuth’s, the head of the junta, visit in the northern province of
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<div><span>Khon Kaen student activists arrested for <a href="http://prachatai.org/english/node/4506">giving three-fingered salute at the head of the junta</a> reported intimidations they received after their release to the United Nations officers in Bangkok.
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<div>Eight student activists, including a student who was arrested for giving the anti-coup three-fingered salute at the Hunger Games 3 premiere last week, were arrested after they distributed anti-coup leaflets at Thammasat University, Tha Prachan campus. </div>
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<div>Most of the students are from the League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy. Natchacha Kongudom, a Bangkok University student who was arrested on Thursday, also joined them.</div>
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<div>At press time, the police had taken them to police stations.
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<div>A planned seminar held by student activists from Burapha University in the eastern province of Chonburi, were forced canceled after about five to six police and military officers </div>
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<div>About six military and police officers at 1.30pm stormed in the Burapha University in the eastern province of Chonburi and coerced the university not to allow a seminar, held by students activists, to be cancelled. </div>
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<div>The military claimed they were “not comfortable” with the activity. </div>
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<div>The event is named “Rights, Freedo
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