Kayleigh McCormick '17 Stands for Thailand Human Rights

Photo credit: Coachella Valley Weekly

Kayleigh McCormick '17 attended a protest in Coachella, California to highlight Southeast Asian issues, specifically human rights and democratic issues. Kayleigh and her father, who is of Thai descent, attended the protest with hopes to awareness against Article 112 in Thailand.

Article 112 states that any offensive or critical speech against the King and/or Royal Monarch of Thailand is punishable by law. Kayleigh and her father wore red shirts that stated "Democracy Now" and was joined by other Southeast Asian protesters from mostly Thailand and Cambodia.

Kayleigh was quoted in Coachella Valley Weekly for her reason to protest:

In 2014, there was a military coup which successfully overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister of Thailand who was exiled and replaced with someone who is basically a military dictator. The King is nothing but a pawn of the government. He is close to 90 years old, in poor health and hasn't been seen in months. Technically, the Prime Minister, judges, military leaders, etc., are all supposed to report to the monarchy which is why there are no check and balances. They are able to control everything in ways that are of no benefit to the people. They make decisions that benefit the 1% and the government officials are getting rich while doing nothing for the citizens of Thailand.

My issue with the stance taken by those in the yellow shirts is that they are here in the U.S. now enjoying the freedom democracy brings, yet they want to deny those same rights to those still in Thailand.