Thai Students Arrested For "Hunger Games" Salutes, Film Screenings Axed

Three university students in Bangkok were detained by police for the salutes — which have been adopted by opponents of May's military coup — on Thursday. At least two screenings of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I" have been canceled in the Thai capital.

By
Francis Whittaker
by Francis Whittaker

BuzzFeed News Reporter, UK

Three students were detained in Bangkok, Thailand, at the opening of the new Hunger Games movie for adopting the film's three-finger salute as an act of defiance against military rule in the country, the Associated Press reported.

Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters

The salute has been appropriated by opponents of the May military coup in Thailand and is used as a sign of defiance. In the film, it signifies thanks, admiration, and bidding farewell to a loved one in the movie, and is used as a sign of silent protest against authoritarian rulers.

The government has banned the gesture.

Two activists detained at Bangkok's Scala cinema were released without being charged.

แก้วมาลา Kaewmala @Thai_Talk

2 students (1 Thammasat, 1 Chula) earlier detained at Scala have been released without charges. “@Prachaya_Ice: ”

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A third, 21-year-old student Nachacha Kongudom, was being held for further questioning by soldiers after being detained at the Siam Paragon theatre.

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP / Getty Images

Speaking to AP while being led away, Kongudom said, "When people have been suppressed for some time, they would want to resist and fight for their rights."

One of the released activists, Ratthapol Supasopon, said that although the protesters' previous actions had been politically motivated, "today we are just here to watch a movie."

The protest was organized by the League of Liberal Thammasat for Democracy. They had purchased 200 tickets and had planned to distribute them via Facebook, according to the reported.

However, screenings at cinemas owned by the Apex group, which runs the Lido and Scala cinemas, have now been canceled for fear of political implications, according to the Bangkok Post. Activists said police had put pressure on the company to stop the showings, AP reported.

Anti-coup protesters first adopted the salute after political tensions in the country led to Thailand's democratically elected government being overthrown by the military in May.

NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP / Getty Images

After a crackdown by authorities, protests died down in the following weeks and months, but there has been a small increase recently. Five university students were briefly detained in the northeast on Wednesday when they gave the salute during a speech by the military-appointed prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Speaking to AP, Sunai Phashak, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, said: "What's happened today is an obstruction of the rights to express opinions peacefully. If the government wants to be accepted by other countries ... it is necessary that they respect these basic rights."

Amnesty International has also criticized Thailand's military rulers for their crackdown on dissent.

The production company, Lionsgate, had no comment on the situation when asked by AP.

Update: Human Rights Watch confirm that two Bangkok Cinemas have cancelled screenings of the film.

John Sifton @johnsifton

2 Bangkok Cinemas have now cancelled #HungerGames #MockingjayPremiere. The Thai junta is afraid of Jennifer Lawrence.

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