She is the very embodiment of modern Thai youth, dressed in flip-flops, T-shirt and shorts, and sipping an iced coffee with friends after unversity lectures. But 20-year-old Kanthoop is not just another university student. The social welfare major has been spat at, publicly denigrated, threatened by police and faces up to 15 years in jail – for little more, she says, than "having opinions".
"I know my case is symbolic, and I'm happy about that. There is good that comes from somebody standing up and wanting to make change – sooner or later people will start to realise that."
To understand why Kanthoop might be so vilified is to understand Thai society. Twice a day – at 8am and 6pm – time stands in this nation of 69 million as the national anthem sputters out of public loudspeakers and everyone is expected to stand in silent salute.
(...)
While her highly politicised views have not won her many friends at Bangkok's Thammasat University, the only university to accept her even though she passed the entrance exams for two others, Kanthoop is not alone in her fight. A group of activists recently went on hunger strike outside the capital's criminal court to demand that those detained on charges of lese-majesty be granted bail. "This law needs to be reviewed," says 20-year-old Panitan Pruksakasemsuk, whose father Somyot is one of those detained. "Society needs to be open to change and willing to adapt to that change."
As for Kanthoop, while the future is uncertain, her approach to it is not. "If I have to go to jail, I will," she says calmly. "Even if it's for life. But I won't plead guilty to reduce my sentence, and I won't ask for the king's pardon. I am guilty only of freedom of thought." Full story...
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"I know my case is symbolic, and I'm happy about that. There is good that comes from somebody standing up and wanting to make change – sooner or later people will start to realise that."
To understand why Kanthoop might be so vilified is to understand Thai society. Twice a day – at 8am and 6pm – time stands in this nation of 69 million as the national anthem sputters out of public loudspeakers and everyone is expected to stand in silent salute.
(...)
While her highly politicised views have not won her many friends at Bangkok's Thammasat University, the only university to accept her even though she passed the entrance exams for two others, Kanthoop is not alone in her fight. A group of activists recently went on hunger strike outside the capital's criminal court to demand that those detained on charges of lese-majesty be granted bail. "This law needs to be reviewed," says 20-year-old Panitan Pruksakasemsuk, whose father Somyot is one of those detained. "Society needs to be open to change and willing to adapt to that change."
As for Kanthoop, while the future is uncertain, her approach to it is not. "If I have to go to jail, I will," she says calmly. "Even if it's for life. But I won't plead guilty to reduce my sentence, and I won't ask for the king's pardon. I am guilty only of freedom of thought." Full story...
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