Young Activists End Extreme Hunger Strike After 7 Weeks with No Food and Little Water

It had been 52 days since the two young activists had a bite to eat. Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon and Orawan “Bam” Phuphong embarked on a life-threatening hunger strike on Jan. 18, with much of that time refusing water as well, to protest the detention of political prisoners like themselves. Joined hand in hand, the women in their early twenties were frail and struggled to remain conscious throughout the strike.

On Saturday, March 11, the women broke their fasts together in the hospital, still vowing to take on the military-backed establishment, which has remained silent throughout the strike. 

“Tawan and Bam would like to announce to the public that they have ended their hunger strike and will accept treatment to use their lives in continuing their fight as there has been no response from the court,” read a statement published on their behalf. It added that both women are under medical supervision in the hospital and fully conscious.

Over the past two months, their hunger protest has sparked a small-scale resurgence of pro-democracy protests calling for reforms to Thailand’s all-powerful monarchy and judicial system. Last year, the young activists were charged with royal defamation for conducting a public poll on the country’s use of extravagant royal motorcades. They were taken in and out of jail on multiple occasions, then released on bail. But in an act of solidarity with other political prisoners still behind bars, the two activists revoked their own bail rights on Jan. 16, and walked back into prison.

Two days later, the activists went on hunger strike, demanding judicial reforms, the release of political prisoners in pre-trial detention, and support from political parties to repeal Thailand’s royal defamation laws. 

Thailand has some of the world’s harshest penalties for criticizing the royal family, including Section 112, known as lese-majeste, which punishes offenders with up to 15 years in prison.

Human rights experts say the law is routinely weaponized by authorities and increasingly used to target dissidents who have either spoken out on the royal family or been critical of Thailand’s current military-backed administration.

“The Thai government should drop the unjust cases against Orawan, Tantawan, and others charged for their peaceful protests demanding reforms to the monarchy,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, in a public statement released days after the young activists began their hunger strike. “Holding these activists in pretrial detention for the peaceful exercise of their rights is punitive and cruel.”

In 2020, Thailand was rocked by the largest protests it had seen in years as thousands took to the streets to call for political reform. Spearheading the pro-democracy movement were young activists like Tawan and Bam, many of whom now face prosecution for their involvement.

Jutatip Sirikhan, a friend of the pair and a fellow activist, told VICE World News she was caught off guard by their announcement to go on hunger strike in January. 

“I was very surprised. But I support their idea,” she said. “In Thailand, we have limited freedom of expression. They used their body to fight for change.”

“I think it’s brave.”

Political activists around the world have staged hunger strikes of varying intensity, ranging from days to even years. In 2016, Indian activist Irom Sharmila ended a 16-year hunger strike against a security law that gave military forces unchecked power over civilians. The world’s longest hunger striker, she stayed alive for over a decade by being force-fed through a tube.

Last year, Alaa Abdel-Fattah raised awareness of Egyptian political prisoners like himself through a partial hunger strike, where he limited his daily food intake to 100 calories. Five months later, in November, he upped the intensity and rejected all food and water. The fast lasted for about a week until he collapsed in his cell and was forcefully given an intravenous drip by prison authorities.

Similarly, Tawan and Bam started out with a dry fast in January, refusing food and water. Within a week, they both lost about 5 kilograms each and became exhausted and nauseated as doctors encouraged hospitalization, according to their lawyers.

As their health deteriorated rapidly, Tawan and Bam agreed to take small amounts of water and intravenous drips in late January, more than 20 days into their hunger strike. However, they continued to refuse solid food. 

At one point, the activists brought their hunger strike to the entrance of the Supreme Court, being wheeled to the scene on beds and barely conscious. About a week later, on March 2, they were rushed to the hospital after they decided to resume dry fasting, amid doctors’ concerns that the young activists would die from kidney failure.

“End the hunger strike now, and save yourselves for the next battle,” political commentator Veera Prateepchaikul penned in the Bangkok Post. “The path to success is rocky and long.” 

Since the hunger strike began, authorities have granted bail for at least eight political detainees, said Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. It’s unclear if the releases were directly related to the activists’ hunger strike. Others have been charged with royal defamation in the same period, including a 14-year-old girl summoned by the police in February.

On Thursday, two activists were arrested for a song they sang at a protest last year. The track was written by the protest band Faiyen, a group widely known in Thailand for writing music openly critical of the monarchy. And last week, a 26-year-old man was sentenced to two years in prison for selling calendars featuring rubber ducks perceived to be making a mockery of the royal family.

The arrests have instilled fear among the anti-government community, many of whom are now treading cautiously. Today, many look ahead to the general elections scheduled for May, hoping that democracy will be restored at the ballot. 

Jutatip says that young people like Tawan and Bam are some of the last standing activists in Thailand, pushing back against the country’s political elite and monarchy. 

“They want democracy and are brave to criticize the government and royal family,” Jutatip said. “We are going into the general election in May, I hope to see change and a new government.”

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