The Economist - USA (2020-08-22)

The EconomistAugust 22nd 2020 Asia 33

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I

t was thelargest demonstration since

Prayuth Chan-ocha, the prime minister,

seized power in a coup in 2014. On August

16th more than 10,000 protesters flocked to

the Democracy Monument in Bangkok,

Thailand’s capital. Student unions and

youth groups have led protests for more

than a month across the country. They

want the government to step down. They

demand a new constitution and an end to

the harassment of opposition campaign-

ers. More controversially, at a rally at Bang-

kok’s Thammasat University on August

10th, some agitators openly called for re-

form of the monarchy, still a strict taboo.

Thailand has endured 12 coups since

revolution brought an end to absolute

monarchy in 1932. Wrestling between gen-

erals and politicians has yielded 20 consti-

tutions over the years. Military regimes

boost their legitimacy through reverence

for the crown. For almost two decades a

feud between “yellow shirts” (royalist

elites) and “red shirts” (supporters of Thak-

sin Shinawatra, a populist former prime

minister) has divided Thai politics.

The latest protests are somewhat differ-

ent. They have their roots in unrest that be-

gan in February, before social-distancing

measures for covid-19 put public demon-

strations on ice. Future Forward, a progres-

sive party less than two years old, was dis-

solved by the constitutional court. Its

leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit,

though he has been banned from politics

for a decade, has inspired millions of Thais

with his call to reform the army, decentral-

ise government and tackle big business.

In many ways Mr Prayuth is stronger

than he has been for months. In a recent

cabinet reshuffle, technocrats favoured by

him gained powerful posts. The new min-

ister of finance is a former banker who in-

herits the task of sorting out the virus-rav-

aged economy; the central bank expects it

to contract by more than 8% this year. The

prime minister’s closest comrade, Prawit

Wongsuwan, has calmed infighting within

the army-aligned party, Palang Pracharat,

that nominated Mr Prayuth for his post last

year—by becoming its new leader.

The protesters reject the very system

that protects Mr Prayuth and his allies. For

one thing, any election held under the con-

stitution favours them. Thailand’s upper

house, an appointed body which includes

bigwigs from the armed forces, has a say in

the choice of prime minister after any pop-

ular vote. These senators can also block ef-

forts to alter the constitution, since Article

256 needs at least a third of them to amend

it. So the opposition’s attempts to change

that article look doomed.

The protesters’ open criticisms of the

monarchy—including objections to King

Maha Vajiralonkorn’s financial arrange-

ments and his personal control over mili-

tary units—are the first of their kind. Harsh

lèse-majesté laws, which can land a person

in prison for up to 15 years for defaming, in-

sulting or threatening high-ranking royals,

have fallen from official favour. But critics

of the crown are still targeted under laws

against sedition, defamation and comput-

er crime.

That does not deter the most daring. A

“Harry Potter” protest has amusingly

played on such repression, with marchers

dressed as wizards declaring themselves

against “he-who-cannot-be-named”.

Crafting a robust response is tricky for

the government. The longer the protests

drag on, the bigger the headache for the un-

popular Mr Prayuth. Politicians and uni-

versities have sternly criticised anti-royal

sentiments. The government plans to hold

a forum to discuss matters with students.

At the same time it has identified dozens of

protesters who will be in its sights from

now on; some have already been detained.

The education minister says the police can

now arrest law-breakers on campus.

Yet avoiding the sort of violent clashes

that occurred in the 1970s appears to be a

priority for Mr Prayuth and his inner circle.

“They learned a lot from the past with other

coups,” reckons a Thai academic. “They

know that confrontations and violence

mean the end of their power.” A far happier

result for the protesters would be the end of

Mr Prayuth’s leadership altogether. 7

SINGAPORE

The Thai government faces a new bout

of audacious student protests

Thai democracy

Street cred

I

mtiaz hussain’sweekly meeting with

his academic supervisor has become

rather fraught. The 28-year-old postgradu-

ate is researching Pakistan’s energy policy

at one of the country’s most prestigious

universities. But the internet at his home

in Kurram, a district on the border with Af-

ghanistan, keeps letting him down. Mr

Hussain’s cable connection is an expensive

luxury in a region where many people go

without internet of any kind. Yet using it

for video-calling is a struggle. “Connnec-

tivity...drops every minute,” he complains.

Pakistan’s internet is shoddy, particu-

larly outside its big cities. An index of “in-

ternet inclusiveness” produced by the

Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister firm

of this newspaper, ranks Pakistan 76th out

of 100 countries, and almost last in Asia.

Poor and non-existent connections have

lately become a big headache for students

sent home from university as a result of the

pandemic, most of whom are required to

keep studying remotely. Their frustrations

have led to eye-catching protests in dozens

of places, ranging from Balochistan prov-

ince in the south of the country to Gilgit

Baltistan in the north.

Internet provision in Kurram and

neighbouring districts is especially bad.

The border region was run at arm’s length

by British colonial administrators, who

viewed it as a rugged buffer against Af-

ghanistan and saw little reason to develop

it. These districts remained a backwater

after independence, when they became

known as the Federally Administered Tri-

bal Areas (fata). They became a haven for

the Taliban. The people there suffered ter-

ribly during the militants’ many battles

over the years with Pakistan’s army.

ISLAMABAD

The pandemic shines a spotlight on

Pakistan’s digitally disadvantaged

The internet in Pakistan

Calls waiting

PAKISTAN

INDIA

IRAN

AFGHANISTAN

Islamabad

Arabian Sea

Khyber

Pa kh tu n khwa

Formerfederally

administered

tribalareas

South

Waziristan

Punjab

Kurram

Wanna

Sindh

Balochistan

250 km