According to a report, Arnon Nampa shot to prominence in August 2020 when taking part in student led protests against the military backed government. Reportedly, he said the monarchy should be part of wider calls for reforms. It was quite a risky thing to say, the unused Lese-majeste law forbids dissent.
According to the report, a week after Mr Nampa’s proposition, students at Thammasat university issued a manifesto calling for changes to the monarchy, followed by demonstrations after which the Lese-majeste law came into use again.
Reportedly, Arnon Nampa has 14 charges against him, some under the Lese-majeste law. According to the report, protests petered out but many of the ideas from the youth movement were adopted for the election campaign of the up and coming party, Move forward, including an amendment of the Lese-majeste law. According to the report, Move forward defied expectations in the general election by winning the largest number of seats in parliament, but the request to amend the law was cited by the military appointed senate as reason to block Move forward from forming a government.