The government's recent attempt to tell universities to "control" students' political stage drama was tantamount to an attempt to instil fear and thought control, but it was likely to fail, academics critical of the government said yesterday.
A recent letter sent by the Office of the Higher Education Commission to presidents and rectors of all universities asked them to "monitor" and "control" political dramas staged by university students.
"They're engaging in the politics of fear," Chulalongkorn University political scientist Pitch Pongsawat said about the OHEC letter. "It's tantamount to silencing of the mind."
Matichon newspaper quoted the leaked letter from the commission yesterday, which was sent on July 29. It told university administrators that students' political stage dramas were "distorting the political situation" and "provoking division in society and may lead to unrest".
The letter urged the presidents and rectors of all universities to ensure that stage drama was "politically impartial".
Pitch said the government was likely to be targeting an independent group of students who dramatised the current political crisis, especially those linked to the anti-government red-shirt movement.
"This is unnecessary as most academics are pro-government and pro-[2006]-coup. It reflects a bureaucratic way of thinking, however, I don't think it will have any effect."
Sirote Klampaiboon, a human rights and politics lecturer at Mahidol University, said the move was a "non-sense" bid to try to control political expression by students.
"Most students are now so de-politicised that they are paranoid. The big problem is the bloody crackdown on red shirts, however. By circulating such a letter, they are just making more problems for themselves - like what they did with Sombat Boon-ngam-anong."
Sirote said students had moved much of their political expression into cyber space, so the letter showed the gap of understanding about the current reality on part of the government.
"Also, political activity can be had with a room of people [just] watching a DVD."
Sirote was suspicious about why the government had over-reacted. "I think people who are sensitive about [political drama] are people who have committed some wrongs.
"Why else should they be so serious about someone saying that people have been killed?" he said, adding that it was unfortunate that universities appeared to have failed to maintain political independence.
Suluck Lam-ubon, a fifth year history student at Chula-longkorn, and a member of the Prakaifai student group, which is pro-red-shirt and has staged some political drama with students from at least four different universities, said the letter was "hilarious" - but also "too much" interference by the government.
"It's hilarious. We have never seen such a policy that interferes with students' activism," she said, adding that she was already afraid to hold a protest banner up to denounce the government under the current emergency decree.
Deputy secretary of the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Assoc Prof Kamjorn Tatiyakarn defended the letter yesterday, saying it was sent in good faith with no intention to ban activities.
Kamjorn said students could still engage in political activities and perform political drama on stage but it should be about "unity and reconciliation and not provoke division".