Conscientious objector speaks of youth militarisation in Thailand

Conscientious objector in Thailand Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal recently did an interview for Green Left Weekly.

In it he talked about youth militarisation in Thailand: 'Schools want students to obey like soldiers,” he said. “They want us to get a fear of the military. So when coups happen, there is little resistance and most are OK with it...Military rule has dominated Thai society, not only now but also for a long time,” Netiwit's declaration read. “They controlled text books to promote nationalism and respect of the army. We know they want to make Thailand a military state.'

There is also a nice story of resistance in there. As well as Netiwit, the author met a group of high school students (who have already completed three years Territorial Defence Training, or locally known as “Ror Dor”, for three years during high school): 'The teens showed me A4 sized posters on which they wrote: “Thai men are not slaves of the military”.'

Read the interview here.