With most television and radio stations either shut down or presenting official announcements, opponents of the coup have taken to the streets and the internet to express their grievances.About 50 people, including students, led by the Thammasat for Democracy group, marched from the university to Democracy Monument in a symbolic protest against the takeover led by Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, the national army chief.
In addition to pro-regime fronts posing as academia, including the so-called "Nitirat" group, a host of "human rights" advocates denounced the coup. Bangkok Post would also report that:
The Human Rights Lawyers Association, Cross Cultural Foundation, Union of Civil Liberties and the Enlawthai Foundation have also called for the return to a civilian democratic regime and for the military to go back to the barracks.
However, what Bangkok Post fails to report is that each and every one of these organizations is funded by the US State Department via the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Thus, in tandem with the US State Department's official statement regarding the military coup on Thursday, these US NED-funded organizations have sided not with what is best for Thailand and its people's best interests, but with those who pay their bills with cash sent from abroad.
Center for International Private EnterpriseAccountability
$199,296
Thailand: Private Sector Approaches to Anti-Corruption
To organize and lead a growing collective action campaign in Thailand and to expand the coalition of business committed to fighting corruption. CIPE’s partner, the Institute of Directors (IOD), will engage in public policy advocacy on corruption-related issues among Thailand's largest business associations and companies. IOD will host anti-corruption training workshops, conduct a private sector survey, and organize a National Conference on Collective Action Against Corruption.
ENLAWTHAI FoundationRule of Law
$40,000
Strategic Litigation and Public Awareness Focused on Environmental Protection
To promote the Thai public's awareness of fundamental environmental issues in an effort to promote government and corporate accountability. Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for the Wants' project will include: strategic litigation on specific environmental cases that could have far-reaching implications for environmental law and regulation in Thailand, and the maintenance of an information clearinghouse that tracks environmental issues, which will be used to support litigation and public awareness campaigns.
Foundation for Community Educational MediaFreedom of Information
$20,000
Supporting Independent Media in Southeast Asia
To provide the Thai public with a credible and respected source of independent news reporting and editorial commentary, and to foster a higher level of public participation and community involvement in Thai political affairs. The Foundation for Community Educational Media will publish its online newspaper, Prachatai.com, a Thai- and English-language daily newspaper that covers politics, natural resources, energy, the environment, employment and labor issues, health, and the ongoing violence in southern Thailand.
Human Rights Lawyers AssociationHuman Rights
$20,000
Building a Network of Human Rights Lawyers
To support and strengthen a network of lawyers involved in the protection of human rights, particularly the rights of migrant workers, indigenous communities, and stateless people. The organization will focus on three main areas: networking and capacity building; public information campaigns and legal advocacy; and strategic litigation.
International Republican InstituteStrengthening Political Institutions
$350,000
Supporting Greater Inclusiveness by Political Parties of Increased Women's Political Participation and Leadership at the Provincial Level
To support increased women's political participation in Thailand. IRI will conduct a series of strategic planning and technical skills workshops with local women political leaders and stakeholders focused on increasing women's political participation and leadership at the provincial level.
National Democratic Institute for International AffairsPolitical Processes
$550,000
Encouraging Greater Levels of Engagement by Young People in the Political Process
To improve the ability of young Thai citizens to engage in the discourse on political development and identify and address issues of concern, NDI, in coordination with local partner organizations, will conduct 10 youth forums to bridge the communication gap between youth and elected officials.
Thai Volunteer ServiceHuman Rights
$20,000
Human Rights Volunteer Project
To support the development of a new generation of human rights activists in Thailand. The Thai Volunteer Service will coordinate a program to place young people as volunteers with civil society organizations throughout Thailand in an effort to introduce them to human rights issues and encourage them to become active participants in the country's human rights movement.
Also on the list is Prachatai - a faux-free speech advocate that had failed for years to disclose its substantial foreign funding while pleading for donations, until pressed to do so in 2011 - and then only did so once and only to the benefit of its diminutive English language audience. On Thursday, its staff were briefly detained and then released, before joining other foreign-funded "rights" advocates in condemning the ouster of the Shinawatra regime.
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| Image: In tandem with the US State Department and the deposed regime of US-backed Thaksin Shinawatra, US-funded propaganda front Prachatai denounces the coup and demands that power be returned to the "Thai people," or in other words, the deposed regime it has stalwartly defended for years upon its foreign-funded pages. |
While US sanctions against Thailand will be minimal, the true damage it seeks to wreck upon Thailand will be done from within, through propaganda fronts it has been cultivating for years. Together, NED's stable of faux-rights advocates aims to insidiously undermine and eventually replace Thailand's indigenous, independent institutions. Their agenda entwines so closely with the US State Department precisely because their agenda is directed and fully funded by the US State Department. There is nothing genuine about the current anti-coup protests - they are no more so "Thai" than the funds flowing over Thailand's borders to fund the organizations backing them.
