A few days ago, Bangkok resident Yan Marchal made this video mocking the Thai junta. It went viral, with more than a million views. 1/6 pic.twitter.com/SbW2DGakWw— Andrew MacGregor Marshall (@zenjournalist) June 12, 2019
On June 12 he was visited by two police, who made him remove the video from social media and sign a form admitting that he made a "mockery clip" and is . now "repenting for the bad action and will not do it again". 2/6 pic.twitter.com/ltxxhrmfjc— Andrew MacGregor Marshall (@zenjournalist) June 12, 2019
The form also says he "would like to say sorry to the government and people of Thailand". You can read Yan's account of what happened here: https://www.facebook.com/marchal/posts/10157459597369388 … 3/6
The video changed the lyrics of a junta anthem to criticise the dishonesty and corruption of the government. It contained no illegal statements, and there was no justification for police becoming involved. 4/6Thai dictator Prayut Chan-ocha claims that Thailand is now a democracy after elections held in March.
But in a democracy, people have the right to mock the country's leaders without being visited by police. 5/6
It's pathetic that the junta is so afraid of some inoffensive mockery that they send police to deal with it. Democracy remains far distant in Thailand. 6/6
Source:
Andrew MacGregor MarshallVerified account @zenjournalist Twitter
