Coup leaders must be held accountable, say activists

On the 9th anniversary of the 22 May 2014 military coup, activists put up a banner in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) calling for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), leaders of the 2014 military coup, to be held accountable.

Activists putting up the banner on the overpass.

The labour rights network Workers’ Union and other activists put up the banner on the overpass linking the BACC to the Pathumwan Skywalk calling for the prosecution of coup leaders Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, NCPO advisor Gen Anupong Paochinda and the rest of the NCPO for staging the coup.

Activist Tantawan Tuatulanon joined the event. She said that, although a military coup can happen in Thailand at any time, what can prevent that is the people’s awareness of their own rights, and that people come together to oppose it.

“I want to communicate with many of the people for them to know that they shouldn’t be afraid to come out and fight what is not just. They should be very aware of their own rights and very aware of their own power, because the people really are powerful. If we join forces and come out to fight injustice together in large numbers, I believe that we will absolutely win,” Tantawan said.

Tantawan Tuatulanon

Tantawan said that, if there is another coup in the near future, she will protest it, and that anyone who seizes power will be the ones destroying the country, not the people protesting.

“At that point, whether it’s tanks or guns or soldiers that come out and support [a coup], I feel that we must not fear anything,” she said. “If they really think that protesters who come out are destroying the country, if you really think that, just shoot us, because in fact the people who seize power are the ones destroying the country, not the people who come out and protest.”

When asked what she wanted to say to those who helped the NCPO and Gen Prayut stay in power, Tantawan said they will have to pay.

“Everyone has to go to jail. They must pay for what they did to the people,” she said.

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