Thailand protests: celebrities defy risks to back pro-democracy movement

The protests, Thailand's biggest since 2014, have been attended by tens of thousands calling for parliament to be dissolved, a new constitution to be drawn up, harassment towards political activists to end andthe monarchy to be reformed.

Hockey, 30, was among eight activists arrested on August 20. Another six had been arrested in the previous days.

Dechathorn "Hockey" Bamrungmuang flashes a three-finger salute at a Bangkok police station on August 20, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE

The hip-hop artist, who was released on bail, said authorities could have wrongly identified him as a protest leader. While his group Rap Against Dictatorship (RAD) performed at the rally, they were far from being the only entertainers who took the stage there.

RAD consists of four core members and about eight others who collaborate on singles released on streaming services. The group shot to national fame with the 2018 song, Prathet Ku Mee (What My Country Has Got), which has verses that touched on corruption, power, money, inequality and dictatorship. It has gained more than 88 million views on YouTube.

Several viewers checked in on the song after learning of Hockey's arrest.

The soft-spoken hip-hop artist has played down his influence in the protests.

"I was the only RAD member with an arrest warrant, but RAD moves in a group using our music as a means of political expression," Hockey said. "We want to speak for the new generation and we want the people to get up and make the change."

Hockey and RAD are among a number of well-known faces in Thai entertainment who have attended the pro-democracy protests, which have swollen in shape and size from the student-led rallies in July to encompass Thais of all ages, with banners changing from "Free Youth" to "Free People".

Protesters hold signs of the Hong Kong-Thailand-Taiwan network (Milk Tea Alliance) during a rally in Bangkok on August 16, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Some have also held up signs with the hashtag #MilkTeaAlliance, a pan-Asian pro-democracy movement involving supporters from Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan, that began as part of a backlash against Chinese nationalist attacks on a Thai celebrity.

On Twitter, young Thai activists have over the past month urged celebrities with large fan bases to use their influence to support the rallies.

The campaign has led several artists to reveal their political stance, even though they had previously adopted a lower profile, including a few members of Thai idol girl group BNK48, whose members are in their late teens to early 20s.

"Listening to people who have different opinions is the basis of living together in a society," said Music, one of BNK48's members, in a Facebook post earlier this month. "No one should be harassed for thinking differently."

Faii, another BNK48 member, also posted in support of the campaign to collect 50,000 signatures to petition for the constitution to be amended.

Chaiamorn "Ammy" Kaewwiboonpan, from The Bottom Blues band, flashes a three-finger salute at a protest on August 23, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE

Pop star Chaiamorn "Ammy" Kaewwiboonpan has also frequented the rallies in Bangkok and other provinces, as both a performer and an attendee. He has been spotted standing among the young crowd, with a signature gatsby cap and dark glasses, taking pictures and listening to student speeches.

"I felt such pure energy when I attended the student protests and I was very impressed by them," Ammy told This Week in Asia. "I want to stand alongside the students in their fight."

Miss Universe Thailand Maria Poonlertlarp was spotted at the August 16 rally at Democracy Monument in Bangkok. She often posts strong views on politics on her Instagram page.

In a recent caption on a rally, Maria wrote: "Do you hear the people sing? #Freepeople @ #DemocracyMonument".

Although she rarely makes such comments to the media, on Wednesday Maria's interview with Matichon TV was posted on YouTube, with the beauty queen-turned-activist explaining her choice of political expression: "Young people today care about their future. They care for the society where all can live together. They don't come out with foolishness, but with power and reason in a very constructive way.

"Public figures have a voice and they should speak up when injustices occur. Everybody can express their opinion, no matter who you are - celebrities, a company owner, a mother, a father.

"I want the students to know what they do is very important and it gives me such power. It gives hope to the nation because they are creating changes. They open my eyes to things that need to change."

Miss Universe Thailand Maria Lynn Ehren attended a rally in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 16, 2020. Photo: Instagram

Some protesters have called for boycotts of businesses which sponsor pro-government media channels, with the owner of Burger King's franchise in Thailand on Wednesday becoming the latest company to bow to the pressure, after demonstrators accused it of advertising on a television network that was supportive of the government.

"The company accepts the views of its customers and will consider the use of appropriate media, with immediate effect," the group said in a statement.

The criticism against media groups with pro-government leanings also saw an outspoken talk-show host taken off the air recently, after she wrote derogatory remarks against the student activists on social media.

MC Ornapha "Ma" Krisadee was fired by her employer, Polyplus Entertainment, after it feared a backlash from the television show's sponsors.

The host is among a range of celebrities in Asia who have faced consequences in speaking out on political matters.

In Hong Kong this month, actor Sharon Chan was dropped from a drama series after being accused of supporting the city's pro-independence movement. Her Instagram post of her children wearing attire in the colours of the pro-democracy protesters outraged Chinese fans.

At the height of the Hong Kong protests last year, Mulan actor Liu Yifei, a Chinese national, received both support and backlash for her pro-police posts on social media.

In Thailand, stars are aware their political stance can affect their career. Pop star Ammy this month wrote a short Facebook note telling concert and event organisers that they could "cancel the concert if my ideology is in conflict or will affect the work".

"I am ready to pay back a full deposit," he wrote on his band's page, The Bottom Blues.

Thai film director Chookiat Sakveerakul revealed his thoughts in a recent post on Facebook.

"When the generation you ignore become the main consumers ... if senior actors act disrespectfully, they will only be a laughing stock.

"You cannot force the kids to listen to you," he wrote on Tuesday.

Chookiat's post is a reflection of the different tensions - between generations, business interests and ideologies - that the student rallies have brought to the fore in Thai society in recent months.

Sombat Bunngam-anong, a political activist, said that as entertainment figures supported the young crowd, they received support in return, both sides creating a collective conscience and a voice that belonged uniquely to the younger generation.

As the youth activists have vowed to stage another protest on September 19 if their demands are not met, Sombat expected the rallies to receive more support from celebrities.

"The artists who support the students are of the same generation as the students, which is why they share the same sentiment," he said. "If the situation is not resolved in any particular way, we could see more artists come out in support of the students in the future because they have to stand alongside their audience."

Pro-democracy protesters raise a three-finger symbol-of-resistance salute at a rally in Bangkok on August 23, 2020. Photo: AP

Sombat, 52, said he was not familiar with many of the celebrities supporting the young people, because he was from a different generation, but he was fascinated by how technology has enabled the pro-democracy movement to be staged leaderless.

"The students are brought together by social media, so there is loose intimacy that allows them to organise a large protest without a vertical structure of leaders and followers," said Sombat, a former leader of a faction of the red-shirt movement supporting former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, during the late 2000s up until the military crackdown in 2010.

Because of this unique movement structure, the harassment of activists and celebrity figures seen as the "leaders" was harder to justify, Sombat said.

Meanwhile, rapper Hockey said he hoped to see the protesters' demands met soon.

"I want the protesters' calls to materialise into policies in the parliament. The opposition has to do more to speak on behalf of us in the house. More protests would only lead to more arrest warrants and nothing else," he said.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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