Santi Asoke Buddhism and the Occupation of Bangkok International Airport.

Abstract

Thailand experienced dramatic political turmoil from February 2006 to November 2008 culminating in the occupation of the Bangkok International Airport. The demonstrations were organized by People’s Assembly for Democracy (PAD). One of the leaders of the PAD was Major-General Chamlong Srimuang, who is an active member of the Buddhist Santi Asoke group. The group is controversial as it is not under the state Buddhist authorities and it has implicitly criticised the Thai state Buddhist monks for corruption. Hundreds of monks, nuns and lay people of Santi Asoke Buddhist group participated in the demonstrations. They were known as the “Dharma Army” and there was widespread criticism both in the Thai and international media against Santi Asoke monks taking part in political activities, as monks allegedly are not supposed to get involved in politics. This paper aims to argue that monks have always been involved in politics, not only in Sri Lanka, Burma, Vietnam and Tibet, but also in Thailand.To ban the monks from voicing their opinion in secular affairs serves the political and economic interests of the ruling elites, who fear the influence the monks have on the ordinary people. The paper presents a short analysis of the Santi Asoke Buddhist group and argues that the group cannot be seen as a monolithic entity, but as an amalgamation of at least three subgroups, which will be called spiritual, agricultural and political. Representatives of all the three subgroups participated in the demonstrations albeit with differing intensity.