After violence consumes a peaceful movement, serious questions must now be addressed
Posted On March 5, 2021
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Mark S. Cogan is a Associate Professor at Kansai Gaidai University based in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He is a former communications specialist with the United Nations in Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East.
Thailand’s top political story of 2020 is far from over. Rising out of frustration and anger over the military-backed government’s heavy-handed response to COVID-19, the banning of the Future Forward Party, and continued authoritarian curbs on free expression and dissent, the youth-led protesters catalyzed a political movement through social media, all the while annoying and befuddling Thai authorities.