CrazyExpat Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thai student protesters billing themselves as the “last group standing” in seeking to end military rule say they will openly defy what one leader called a tyrannical regime nine months after the army seized power. Members of the Thai Student Centre for Democracy (TSCD), who come from different political and socio-economic backgrounds, present a quandary for the junta, which has branded public protests illegal but wants to maintain its core support, including from Bangkok’s middle class and business elite. Some of the students support the “red shirt” grassroots movement of ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, but others sympathise with the establishment that makes up the bulk of the junta’s support. A resurgence of public protests could prove destabilising for the military rulers, already struggling with economic mismanagement. The army says it wants to negotiate with the students, but at the weekend detained several for holding a public meeting. “A sure way the junta can mess up is if it slips up on the economy, which impacts the people directly,” Jurin Laksanawisit, a member of the conservative Democrat Party, Thailand’s oldest political party, told Reuters. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/17/thailands-students-defy-military-junta-and-call-for-return-to-democracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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