Military detains activist calling for return of 1932 Revolution plaque

The military has detained an activist calling for the return of the 1932 Revolution memorial plaque.

Update: After being detained for 10 hours, Srisuwan was released without any charges. The authorities, however, asked him to stop his campaign to recover the revolutionary plaque, saying there are many “invisible hands.”
 
“[The authorities] asked me to cease this campaign. They said that it’s not a small issue and there are many ‘invisible hands’,” said Srisuwan, as quoted by BBC Thai.
 
On 18 April 2017 at Government House in Bangkok, soldiers detained Srisuwan Janya, the Secretary-General of a political group called the Association to Protect the Thai Constitution (APTC).

At press time, he was reportedly being held at the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok.

He was detained after he attempted to submit a letter calling on the junta to return a missing brass plaque commemorating the 1932 Revolution and to prosecute those responsible for its removal.

It is not known when exactly the plaque was removed, but a new plaque was found in its place on 14 April. The replacement prompted public outcry, especially among democracy activists, progressives, and academics.

The old plaque may have been removed between 4-5 April when tents were installed during reparations of the area around the Equestrian Statue of King Rama V.

Last Friday, police said they were not aware of the removal of the memorial plaque. The Fine Arts Department Director-General from the Ministry of Culture, Anan Chuchote, was similarly evasive, saying that the Department was not responsible for the removal. The Fine Arts Department has traditionally been responsible for historical artefacts in the surrounding area.

The old plaque was installed by Thailand’s first political party, the People’s Party (Khana Ratsadon), that staged a bloodless coup d’état on 24 June 1932 that ended the Chakri Dynasty’s 150 years of absolutist rule.

The message written on the old plaque read, “At this place, at the dawn of 24 June 1932, we the People’s Party gave birth to the Constitution for the progress of the nation.”

The old plaque was replaced with another etched with the message, “May Siam prosper forever [with] happy fresh-faced citizens as the force of the nation”. The rim reads, “Respect and loyalty to the Buddhist Triple Gems and to one’s family clan, and honesty towards one’s King are tools for making the state prosper.”

Soldiers detaining Srisuwan at Government House in Bangkok on 18 April 2017 (Photo from Sasigun Jiramongkolchat's Facebook)

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