Thai Students React to Civil Coup

While the Thai people wait to see whether their country’s military returns power to a civilian government by next week—following a coup there last Tuesday—undergraduates from Thailand and student organizations planning trips there are tracking the ongoing political developments.

General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the leader of a new party calling itself the Democratic Reform Council, last week overthrew Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, leader of the populist Thai Rak Thai party.

Thaksin, who at the time was in New York to address the U.N. General Assembly, declared a state of emergency and has not yet returned to Thailand.

Thailand is currently under martial law but Sonthi has promised to hand over power to a democratic government by next Tuesday.

According to the Office of International Programs, there are no Harvard undergraduates currently studying in Thailand, and no students are scheduled for study abroad in Thailand this spring.

Nonetheless, the coup in Thailand has affected some within the Harvard community, including international students from Thailand.

Pimkwan Jaru-ampornpan ’07 said she has contacted her family everyday, and that for her family, “nothing is different in daily activities. [Last] Wednesday, the schools and offices were closed, but they have re-opened.”

“I think my friends and family have a positive feeling about the coup—the situation has been very peaceful,” Jaru-ampornpan said. “Some Thai people have even gone to take pictures with the tanks or bought food for the soldiers.”

She added that the Thai people live under a democratic system while holding allegiance to the king.

There have been 17 coups in Thailand since the Second World War, and last Tuesday’s coup is the first in over a decade.

In 2001, Thaksin, who has faced allegations of nepotism and corruption, became the first elected Prime Minister in the history of Thailand to complete a term.

Despite news of the turmoil, Harvard Model Congress in Asia plans to host its simulated Congress for U.S. high school students in Thailand this summer for the second time, according to organizers.

“[We’re] anticipating a little reluctance on the part of the high schools, but we are really not that worried,” said Matthew E. Vandenberg ’06-’08, who is co-director of this year’s conference.

Ronald K. Anguas, Jr. ’08 said he had felt “pretty safe” when he spent two weeks in Thailand this summer to co-direct Harvard Model Congress’s four-day conference in Bangkok.

“But when I was there, I did notice more headlines about Thaksin—that he was feeling pressure to step down, and there was news of political unrest,” Anguas said.

The Harvard Thai Society released a statement yesterday saying it was “heartened to see the current administration’s promise to return the country to democratic principles as soon as possible.”