วันจันทร์, กรกฎาคม 27, 2563

Run! Hamtaro! Run! Run for Democracy! Thai youths resort to subversive anime in pro-democracy protest


BANGKOK (AFP) - Sporting animal ears and stuffed hamster toys, hundreds of young protesters gathered on Sunday (July 26) at Bangkok's Democracy Monument to call for the government's dissolution, the latest subversive show of creativity from the kingdom's nascent pro-democracy movement.

As dozens of police watched, the protesters sang a parody of the theme song for Hamtaro - a popular Japanese anime character that is a sparkly-eyed hamster - replacing the lyrics with the refrain "dissolve the Parliament".

The demonstrators brought a different mood from a week ago, when thousands of young, black-clad Thais shouted vitriolic anti-government rap songs at the monument.

But the message remains the same, as boom-box wielding Thais started to jog around the monument in an apparent symbolic attempt to show how the kingdom's politics falls into a cycle they wish to break.

"I want a future where people can fight for democracy," said Bowie, a 27-year-old lawyer who only provided his nickname.

"We need freedom to fight because this government attacks everyone that is not on their side," he said before running to join his fellow protesters.



A protester holds a soft toy while demanding the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in Bangkok, on July 26, 2020.PHOTO: REUTERS
(https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thai-youths-resort-to-subversive-anime-in-pro-democracy-protest)
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