Thai musicians in Laotian hideout fear hit list deaths

AFP, Laos





Taking turns to keep watch at their hideout in Laos, the four members of the self-exiled Thai activist folk band “Faiyen” believe they are on a hit list like eight fellow dissidents who have already disappeared.

Laos, which neighbors Thailand, became a haven for some of Thailand’s most outspoken anti-junta activists after a 2014 coup.

All were vituperative in their condemnation of the Thai junta, which last month cemented its long hold on power as its chief was elected prime minister by a pro-army bloc in parliament.

Faiyen band members, from left, Romchalee “Yammy” Sombulrattanakul, Worravut “Tito” Thueakchaiyaphum and Nithiwat “Jom” Wannasiri speak to reporters from an undisclosed location in Laos, in a screengrab from video footage taken on July 9. Photo: AFP

Others have been accused of criticizing the Thai monarchy, an unassailable institution protected by one of the world’s toughest royal defamation laws.

“There’s not a single night that we can sleep. A dog’s howl gives us the chills,” lead singer Romchalee Sombulrattanakul — known as Yammy — told reporters from an undisclosed location in Laos.

Faiyen, “Cold Fire” in Thai, are well known in pro-democracy circles for satirical lyrics taking a stab at Thailand’s politicos and the palace, and are among the more than 80 dissidents who have flee the kingdom since the last coup.

Faiyen band member Trairong “Khunthong” Sinseubpol plays the melodica at an undisclosed location in Laos, in a screengrab from video footage taken on July 9. Photo: AFP

The quartet left Thailand to avoid a summons by the junta and could face the dreaded lese majeste law if they return.

“All the firebrand activists have gone, disappeared,” Romchalee added. “We are the last targets.”

Since 2016, five of the best-known activists have disappeared from their homes in Laos in what Faiyen believe is a carefully orchestrated campaign of elimination by shadowy arch-royalist groups.

The corpses of two of them were found in December last year in the Mekong River — their stomachs stuffed with concrete.

Rights groups believe three others have been deported from Vietnam to Thailand — although both governments deny any knowledge of their whereabouts.

“Faiyen members have every reason to be fearful for their lives,” said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher in the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.

He added that the group is dependent on Laos to provide safety arrangements that are “clearly insufficient.”

Faiyen are campaigning to abolish Thailand’s harsh lese majeste laws, under which anyone who insults or defames the monarchy can be jailed for up to 15 years on each charge.

“We represent the voices of the Thai people who are being suppressed and cannot speak their truth,” band leader Trairong “Khunthong” Sinseubpol said.

Inside Thailand, years of political polarization has seen withering pressure exerted on anyone calling for reform of the monarchy — and the generals who buttress its power.

Over the border in communist Laos, where some authorities have sympathy for the Thai activist cause, Faiyen were for a while given the space to livestream their political commentary and music.

“We could say what we want … but then the hunting started,” Trairong added.

The group has received innumerable online death threats, while the bodies in the Mekong gave a chilling reminder of the worst outcome.

There have been no arrests linked to those killings and officials and media inside Thailand have shied from speculation over who carried out the macabre murders.

The band now fears that time is running out for them too and are seeking asylum in a European country.

“There might be no tomorrow,” a tearful Romchalee said.