CMU students say they will not tolerate political injustice

 | Wed 26 Feb 2020 15:33 ICT

White elephants will no longer endure: CMU students (fondly called White Elephants) and over a thousand people joined a gathering to defend justice and exchange views on politics.

At 5pm on February 25th 2020, a gathering of over 1,000 students and supporters at Dhamma Pavilion,  CMU participated in a number of activities and listened to talks about democracy and the current political injustice.

There were discussions and exchanging of opinions about politics, a letter was also written against injustice, signs to show various standpoints were raised, poetry to mourn the death of democracy was read, a belief ceremony to banish bad luck was held and multiple speeches made, in an evening of rat and extraordinary political expression. The rally was peaceful and without any disturbance. The hashtag #ช้างเผือกจะไม่ทน or in English #whiteelephantswillnolongerendure began to trend.

Anuwan Khemacha, 26, one of the demonstrators, said that the rally today was a gathering to show that citizens are no longer accepting of the current political state and that they demand the return to democracy. The government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, he continued, used a coup to gain power then ripped up the people’s constitution and stole an election, becoming a second term government through bad manners. This government, according to rally organisers, does not respect the voice of the people. A democratic nation should not have rules applied by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), martial laws or Article 44. For the past five years, General Prayut Chan-o-cha has said that he is returning happiness to the people, but for the past five years, say organisers, people have been persecuted by Article 44.

This is now the time, the gathering insists, for all citizens to step up and voice their displeasure so that we are no longer under the control of dark powers which were not legally appointed by our national legislature or a dictatorship which the people did not vote into the House of Representatives.