Thailand’s student leaders said on Wednesday that they would not be intimidated by a leaked police memo which showed the mobilization of riot police and the preparation of detention facilities ahead of planned rallies at the weekend.
“This is the Thai state, they will intimidate us, threaten us and when that fails they will arrest us and kill us,” said one student leader from Kasetsart University who declined to be named.
“Why would we be afraid? We know this was what they would resort to but we know we’re fighting for something that is right,” the student said.
Local media and rights workers revealed earlier on Wednesday leaked memos from Thai police which ordered that Border Patrol forces and Riot Police to be present at student demonstrations planned for the weekend. It also detailed the preparation of detention facilities for arrested dissidents.
Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch said that if the leaked documents were real, it would be a “big deal” because it would mean that police were targeting protest leaders in Thailand.
ถ้านี่คือเอกสารสั่งการของตำรวจจริงจะเป็นเรื่องใหญ่มาก เพราะเท่ากับมีการล็อกเป้าเตรียมจะจับตัว 5 แกนนำ #เยาวชนปลดแอก และผู้ชุมนุมอีกนับร้อย! pic.twitter.com/civl5lnLpp
— Sunai (@sunaibkk) July 29, 2020
Police have not returned Thai Enquirer requests for comment.
Despite the threat of arrest, protest leaders told Thai Enquirer that demonstrations would continue around the country as planned and that there were no talks between the student groups about slowing down the protests.
Thai students have taken to the streets for the past two weeks, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, the end of the state’s intimidation program aimed at dissidents and the rewriting of a military-drafted constitution.
