Why are you against the demolition of the old Supreme Court building?
Although it is an example of modern architecture, the building was built in 1941 so it is actually old enough to be classified as a historic building under the heritage law, which protects anything built more than 70 years ago. The construction law also bars any new buildings in the Rattanakosin area being taller than 16 meters. But the design for the new Supreme Court is 32 meters tall—twice that height! The old building also symbolizes the victory of the Thai court in winning back jurisdiction of the court after losing it for nearly a century under the Bowring Treaty. Simply put, it’s part of our heritage.

How is the protest going?
We’ve filed the case with the police to stop the demolition but nothing has been done. They said they accept our complaint but that we will just have to compromise with the court. As the protest has dragged on for so long without any action from the law enforcers, one part of the building has already been completely razed, and another part might follow soon.

What next?
We will continue fighting, even though this case will eventually end up in the hands of the Supreme Court anyway. It seems we have no hope of winning. But if we do, we want them to reconstruct the whole building as it was before.

What does this controversy reflect?
It’s a failure of our law enforcement agencies. The police are afraid to deal with the problem because our litigant is the Supreme Court who breaks the law themselves. Their reputation for upholding justice is tarnished. Who can we rely on now? This whole sorry episode also reflects that people want to delete their dark history, as the building was built in the era ruled by the dictator Field Marshal P. Piboonsongkram.

Is your social networking campaign helping?
In creating hype, yes. It’s like lighting fireworks. But in the long-term, it really depends on how many people make the leap from the virtual society to the real world. We must translate their “likes” and “shares” into real action.

What can we learn from this conflict?
Thais have a very narrow interpretation of the value of art. Many people have the old-school idea that there is only one way to represent Thai culture and that’s in the so-called traditional style. We need to rethink this approach and start preserving things with both historical and architectural value.