Thai rappers cause stir with anti-junta lyrics

BANGKOK: A group of Thai rappers has touched a nerve with an impassioned and now-viral music video lobbing fiery rhymes at the ruling junta, as police mull filing charges against the lyricists.

The generals that toppled Thailand’s democratic government in 2014 have kept a tight lid on dissent but creative criticism through music and arts has been harder to control, even if its impact on political life has so far been minimal.

The song “Prathet Ku Mee” (Which is My Country), uploaded to YouTube on October 22, has racked up more than 6.4 million views and tens of thousands of comments since it went live on the platform, prompting authorities to take notice.

“It’s under consideration by investigators, and it will take a few days because it’s a sensitive issue,” Siriwat Deephor, the police spokesman for the Technology Crime Suppression Division, told AFP when asked whether they would file charges. He also said the probe could decide whether those who share the video could be targeted.

“If this song violates the Computer Crime Act by uploading false information, those who share would be prosecuted and face the same punishment with those who uploaded it,” he said.

The act, which rights groups say has been used to crack down on online dissent, carries up to five years in prison.

Shot in black and white, the video features rappers from the Rap Against Dictatorship collective dishing out barbs about the military and blasting corruption, censorship and the lack of elections, which are tentatively scheduled for February after many delays.

“The country where you must choose to suck truth or a bullet,” one rapper says, wearing sunglasses with a bandana wrapped around his mouth.

Several lyrics appear to go after junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

“The country where the people do not read books, particularly the leader,” one verse says, a thinly veiled allusion to Prayut, who has boasted about being widely read.