BANGKOK: Sureerat Chiwarak sat with calm resolve in front of a Bangkok court as her head was shaved in a protest to support her activist son, jailed for weeks without bail on criminal charges of insulting Thailand's powerful king.
As authorities locked up young protest leaders and largely brought their campaign to a halt, Sureerat came to forge an unlikely alliance with other mothers who are seeking freedom for their children and had never been particularly political before.A core group of five mothers, from a business owner to a rice farmer, formed their bond as they met on trips to court and prison to see their children.
The mothers have recently staged several quiet protests, standing together for one hour and 12 minutes - a reference to Article 112 in the criminal code on insulting the monarchy - next to cardboard cutouts of their children and showing the three-finger salute of defiance to demand that they be granted bail.Six young protest leaders, including Parit, remain in jail. The court has repeatedly denied them bail, citing the severity of the charges against them, which include insulting the king.
While the calls aimed at reducing the powers of the monarchy have struck a chord with young activists, many Thais are devoted to the king and resent the protests. "I was afraid for him at first, about everything," said Malai Nampa, 56, who left her rice fields to call for the release of her son, 36-year-old human rights lawyer Arnon, who was arrested alongside Parit in February.
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