Two men have been sent for military ‘attitude adjustment’ after filing a complaint urging police to search for the missing plaque commemorating the 1932 Democratic Revolution.
On 20 April 2017, Boonsin Yokthip, a representative from the Dharma-based Democracy Club, filed a complaint at Dusit Police Station asking the police to search for the 1932 Revolution memorial plaque, saying the plaque is a national treasure commemorating the birth of Thailand’s constitution.
Boonsin told media that he was aware the action put him at risk of being arrested. He added that he had actually wanted security officers to detain him so he could try changing the attitude of the authorities themselves about democracy and the constitution.
After police interrogated him for two hours, Boonsin and a friend, Santiphong Winurat, were taken to the 11th Military Circle to undergo so-called ‘attitude adjustment’.
“The authorities are so kind. They are giving me a ride so I don’t have to walk in the hot weather,” Boonsin joked to media before being taken away.
Boonsin and Santiphong’s detention was the second following demands that the missing plaque be found. On 18 April, Srisuwan Janya, the Secretary-General of a political group called the Association to Protect the Thai Constitution (APTC), was detained at the 11th Military Circle for a similar action.
The brass plaque commemorating the 1932 Revolution reportedly went missing on 14 April. It was installed at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok by the nation’s first political party, the People’s Party (Khana Ratsadon), who staged the bloodless coup d’état on 24 June 1932 that ended the Chakri Dynasty’s 150 years of absolutist rule.
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