The United States Behind the Political Turmoil in Thailand

On February 21, 2020, the Constitutional Court of Thailand (CCT) announced the dissolution of the Future Forward Party (FFP) and banned the party leader Thanathorn and 16 executives from politics because the party received an “illegal donation” used as the illegal political capital contribution for the 2019 general election, which violated the election law of Thailand.

On August 10, 2020, a democratic rally participated primarily by students at Thammasat University in Bangkok proclaimed the Thammasat Manifesto, calling for the reform of the ten declarations of the Monarchy and the 2017 military-backed Constitution along with statement made on Facebook and other prevailing social media. On October 21, demonstrators held a large-scale protest rally in Bangkok. The Thai Prime Minister revoked the emergency measures imposed on Bangkok on October 22, but the anti-government protests did not hold back.

Since the human rights lawyer and political activist Arnon Nampa has made public appeal on the reforms of the Monarchy in August 2020, the number and determination of protesters have been showing non-receding trends. Many Thai youth demanding for the reform of the Thai monarchy attempt to call for transformation outside the parliamentary system.

Although both the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok and the Associated Press declared that they had nothing to do with the turmoil, they stated that they “do not oppose the turmoil.” The U.S. Embassy in Thailand made a special announcement on September 11, 2020 to “refute” this remark, claiming that the U.S. government had no connection with the recent protests in Thailand. However, signs have shown from various aspects that the United States is deeply involved in the political turmoil in Thailand.

Michael George DeSombre is the U.S. ambassador to Thailand, who has been active in Hong Kong for many years, and the American citizen Brian Patrick Kern, “thug strategist” in Hong Kong riots and the former Amnesty International member, appeared in Bangkok. They are the henchmen of the United States orchestrated to reinforce the capability of organized unrest.

The National Endowment for Democracy funded the Thai Union for Civil Liberty, online media platforms of major social, economic and political issues, the Foundation for Community Educational Media (FCEM), the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) and other human rights and democracy related non-governmental organizations in 2019.

The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs stated in the article “Relations between the United States and Thailand” (published on the homepage of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok) on July 5, 2020: “Over 30 exchange programs of NGOs in Thailand are funded by the U.S. government, connecting Thai youth, students, educators, artists, athletes and emerging leaders with their counterparts in the United States and the ASEAN regions, who have participated in everything about strategic focuses from citizen participation to economic sustainability.