Global Courant 2023-05-13 09:41:24
When Thais go to the polls on Sunday, they will vote in a hard-fought election that is seen in part as a referendum on whether it is illegal to criticize the Thai monarchy.
Thailand has one of the world’s strictest laws against defaming or insulting the king and other members of the royal family. Once considered taboo, the subject of the monarchy came to the fore after tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets calling for the institution’s power to be checked in 2020.
The protests represented two sides of a passionate battle to determine the role of the crown in modern Thailand. The election could determine whether the Southeast Asian nation of 72 million will revive its once-vibrant democracy or slide further into authoritarian rule, with royalists firmly in power.
On one side of the debate are conservative political parties whose standard bearer is Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the general who ruled Thailand for nine years after seizing power in a coup. He and his supporters claim changing the law could lead to the abolition of the monarchy, and have vowed to defend the royal family.
On the other side is the progressive Move Forward Party, which comes in second and argues that the law should be changed because it is being used as a political weapon. Several young people who took part in the 2020 protests are now running for office with the Move Forward Party.
“Perhaps one of the deepest fault lines in Thai society is about the monarchy,” said Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher on Thailand for Human Rights Watch.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the frontrunner for Prime Minister, walks cautiously. Her father, a populist billionaire, is one of Thailand’s most divisive political figures. He lives in self-exile after being overthrown in a 2006 coup and can only return to Thailand with the king’s permission.
Royalists have consistently accused Mr Thaksin of trying to overthrow the monarchy, an accusation he denies. Ms Paetongtarn has said her party, Pheu Thai, will not abolish the law protecting the monarchy from criticism, but that the reform issue should be discussed openly in parliament.
Opinion polls show Mr Prayuth’s party, United Thai Nation, trailing in third place, behind Pheu Thai, which tops the polls. In recent weeks there has also been a wave of support for the Move Forward Party, which is close to number 2.
Move Forward is the largest party pushing for the law to be changed, to the chagrin of conservatives who have been accused of undermining the monarchy. The party wants to reduce prison sentences for lawbreakers and designate the Bureau of the Royal House as the only body that can bring legal proceedings. (Any Thai citizen can file complaints under the current version of the law.)
Conservative politicians have threatened to disband Move Forward. The party’s previous iteration, the Future Forward Party, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020. To show how sensitive the subject of reform has become, Move Forward has tried to moderate its stance by saying that reform would not be a priority in its campaign.
For decades, the monarchy and the military have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, with the military regularly reminding the public that it is the true guardian of the Thai crown. Thais are taught from an early age that they must love the king and criticism of the monarchy is strictly forbidden.
But today, many Thais no longer stand at attention when the king’s song is played in public areas such as movie theaters. Royalist Marketplace, a Facebook group created to denounce the monarchy, had more than 1 million members before Facebook blocked access to it in 2020, citing a request from the Thai government.
The law that criminalizes criticism of the monarchy carries a minimum penalty of three years for violation – the only law in Thailand that imposes a minimum prison sentence – and a maximum sentence of up to 15 years. Following the 2020 protests, authorities charged at least 223 people, including 17 minors, with violating the law known as Article 112.
Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon, a 21-year-old law student, was charged with breaking the rule in 2022 after she and her friends conducted a poll asking whether the royal motorcade was a nuisance to Bangkok residents.
In recent weeks she has been urging political parties to change the law – which she would like to be abolished – after the elections. On Wednesday, Mrs. Tantawan arrested after she called for the release of a 15-year-old accused of breaking the rule.
“I feel we don’t need a law that specifically protects someone or a family,” said Ms. Tantawan, who went on hunger strike earlier this year in protest against the government. “He is a person like us, not a god or demigod.”
King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who ascended the throne in 2016, is not as beloved as his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for 70 years. While King Bhumibol was revered in Thailand, his son spent most of his time in Germany, although he has been seen in public more often since the 2020 protests.
In the wake of the protests, Mr Prayuth instructed all government officials to “use every law” to prosecute anyone who criticized the monarchy. Royalists stepped up their campaign against people they accused of insulting the Crown, making more complaints and attacking anti-monarchy activists.
In 2021, Warong Dechgitvigrom, a former doctor, founded Thailand’s first far-right party, Thai Pakdee, in response to what he called the “Three Fingers Mob,” referring to the three-finger salute adopted by young Thais as a symbol of resistance. during the 2020 protests.
He now says the current law protecting the monarchy does not go far enough as it is limited to protecting four key members of the royal family. Former Thai kings, princes, princesses and the word “monarchy” itself should also be protected, he said.
While Mr Warong’s views are considered extreme, he says he has collected about 6,000 to 7,000 signatures for his proposal, and is confident he can collect the 10,000 signatures needed for the House of Representatives to pass to consider approving the bill.
Mr. Warong says people need to understand that the Thai monarchy is unique. He remembered the former monarchy of France as one marked by the oppression of the people. “But ours is like father and children,” he said. “We have good feelings together, there are no bad feelings.”
Those views are at odds with how many young people feel about the king. During the 2020 demonstrations, protesters questioned the wealth of the royal family, which is one of the richest in the world.
Kasit Piromya, a former foreign minister, said it would be a challenge for Mr Warong and his party to run a successful campaign in support of the constitutional monarchy because many young people “don’t see what’s in store for them sitting in”.
“If you can’t say this openly, it gives more space and ammunition to the students, to the Thaksin supporters to say, ‘We are more democratic,'” Kasit said, referring to calls to reform the monarchy.
Arnond Sakworawich, assistant professor of statistics at the National Institute of Development Administration, said the retention of Article 112 was necessary because the king and royal family do not defend themselves against criticism.
“It’s a different culture, because in Thailand, people believe that the king is their parent and that parents never hurt their children,” said Mr. Arnond, who is known for his royalist views. “So there must be some people to protect the king.”
In their zeal to defend the monarchy, many royalists could end up hurting rather than protecting the institution.
Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, head of the government department at Chulalongkorn University, said it was “very precarious and risky” for parties like Thai Pakdee to use the monarchy as a campaign platform.
“Although the monarchy is above politics, it is now dragged into the dividing line,” she said. “It will inevitably polarize voters and parties into two camps.”
Ryn Jirenuwat contributed reporting.
