When thousands marched through a lush Bangkok park to “run against dictatorship,” recently, another group of runners set out from a historic landmark hundreds of kilometers to the north.
Though Bangkok’s run was organized by a cadre of student activists, a mirror event in Chiang Mai was the effort of one woman. Neither activist nor politically aware student, she hadn’t joined previous protests. She was neither Thaksinite Redshirt nor ultraconservative Yellowshirt. She was, in her words, “just a normal person.”
In fact, Kansapat “Mook” Asawarujanon says she had zero organizing experience when she first heard about plans to hold a “fun run” demanding the military-aligned prime minister step down, an event that would be replicated around the kingdom. That was in early December, and she was unable to register for the Bangkok event due to the overwhelming demand. So she went online to find out who was making it happen in Chiang Mai.
“I was so surprised that I didn’t find any,” said Mook, a 29-year-old former digital marketing manager who quit her job in Bangkok last year and has been freelancing up north. “Then I thought, ‘It’s okay, I’ll just create one on my own.’”
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That’s how the Wing Lai Loong Chiang Mai Facebook group was created Dec. 29 with Mook as its sole admin. Though the event’s English name is Run Against Dictatorship, the Thai name is literally Run to Oust the Uncle, a reference to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha.
Mook imagined “four or five like-minded people” might join her morning run. She was wrong.
Hundreds of members poured into the group daily. Within days it had reached more than 2,000 people; today it harbors 2,400.
It was soon after the page was created that she started getting calls — all from unknown phone numbers. Among them, she would find out, were local police officers. They demanded she meet them, despite having no legal basis to do so.
“One officer said, ‘I need to talk to you because your event affects a party, and that party is the government.’” Mook told Coconuts Bangkok. “While I understood that they were just doing what they were ordered to do, I find them saying something like that doesn’t show any care toward the people at all.”
Finally, she agreed to meet the police at a Starbucks. She didn’t go alone but had two lawyers by her side. During the conversation, Mook said they asked about her personal background and what her intentions were. Their questions went deep into details: What exactly would be written on signs at the event?
Authorities didn’t block the event but vowed to monitor it closely. Hundreds showed up on the morning of Jan. 12, a Sunday, in T-shirts, sweats and sneakers at the city’s famed Tha Phae Gate to set out on the 4-kilometer run and expression of solidarity.
Coming after nearly two decades of color-coded political strife pitting so-called Redshirts against Yellowshirts with the country’s future at stake, Mook, like many other young participants, made clear they were something else.
“This run doesn’t cheer for anyone or any party of color,” Mook said. “We’re there just to tell the government that it’s time. They need to go away.”
Prayuth, known colloquially as “Uncle Tuu” for his nickname, was junta chairman five years after seizing power in a 2014 coup d’etat. He retained power as prime minister in March, thanks to the first general election in five years, the rules of which were bent heavily in his favor.
“I’ve been dissatisfied with the ‘uncle’ because his government isn’t professional in terms of governing the country. Their military may fit a certain place but definitely not at the Government House,” Mook said, referring to the administrative seat of power.
She’s been frustrated by the government’s “absurd” spending on big-ticket arms purchases – tanks, planes and submarines – and training.
Mook said the government should be boosting the country’s economy, education and public health. The latter is critically needed at the moment since smog pollution has remained at unhealthy levels in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai every day since the start of 2020.
Mook said the experience was a lesson in what is actually possible.
“After the run, I found that I can actually do something more than I thought I could do,” she said. “I was able to fight off my fears, as you know that, however well-intentioned we are, if we think differently from the military government, they can tackle us anytime.”
Asked if she wants Run Against Dictatorship to continue in the future, she offered an emphatic yes.
“Of course I do. The activity is creative and concrete. It shows an act of democracy and political expression without any violence. It can get people who’re used to expressing opinions online to go outside, away from the screen and unite,” she said. “… Although this is only a small event, it set an example to people of all ages, whether they’re Baby Boomers or Generation X. They can see now that people of my generation aren’t just keyboard crusaders, but we’re able to do something about society, like with this run.”
Mook’s wish won’t take long to come true. The principal organizer of Bangkok’s main event, Thanawat Wongchai, said a follow-up event will take place Feb. 2 – in Chiang Mai.
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