Opinion: Thailand has become #Juntaland

The banning of Thai opposition party Future Forward illustrates the country's lack of separation of powers. It is time to acknowledge Thailand's military government is an authoritarian junta, says Rodion Ebbighausen. 



The decision by Thailand's Constitutional Court to disband the opposition Future Forward party does not bode well for the country's democracy. On top of this, high-ranking party members, among them leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, have been banned from engaging in Thai politics for ten years.

The court justified its decision by pointing to illegal donations that were reportedly made to the Future Forward party. Party leader Thanathorn is said to have gifted over 191 million Thai baht (€5.6 million, $6.4 million) to his party — even though the country's party funding law prohibits private donations in excess of €300,000.

While Thanathorn has admitted giving this money to the party, he says it was a loan, rather than a donation. Thailand's electoral commission, however, decided that loans and donations ought to be treated the same in this context. And Thailand's Constitutional Court evidently subscribed to this interpretation as well.

These legal questions should not distract from the reality that this was essentially a show trial. And this, unfortunately, is all too common in Thailand. Future Forward is the fourth opposition party to be banned by the Constitutional Court in the past 13 years.

The real reason behind today's court decision is that the party won the third largest number of seats in last year's parliamentary elections. 41-year-old Thanatorn, who happens to be a millionaire, is popular especially with young Thais and Bangkok voters for challenging the Thai military. He has rejected the 2017 constitution that was drawn up by the military junta, calling it undemocratic.

Thanathorn: "The anger of the people is tangible"

Sham democracy

As the military only narrowly beat Thanatorn at the polls last year, it instrumentalized the Constitutional Court, electoral commission and public persecutor to go after his party. While officially independent, these institutions are staffed only by regime loyalists. And as such, they are regularly deployed to neutralize political adversaries.

The trial against Thanathorn once more proves that Thailand is effectively controlled by a military junta. It's not for nothing that the hashtag #Juntaland was coined after the coup.

Prior to the sentencing, Thahathorn had announced he would establish a new party should he lose and then support the extra-parliamentary opposition. Despite Friday's event, he is evidently determined to keep up his fight against the military.

Read more: The struggle continues for Thailand's opposition



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Date 22.02.2020
Author Rodion Ebbighausen
Keywords Thailand, Thanatorn, junta, authoritarian, military
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Thailand court dissolves pro-democracy party
By Elizabeth Shim


Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of Thai opposition Future Forward Party, speaks to the media and supporters Friday after the Thai Constitutional Court ruled to dissolve the party. Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE

Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Thailand's constitutional court ordered a pro-democracy party dissolved, citing an "illegal" loan from its party leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.

Thanathorn, a vocal opposition leader of the Future Forward Party who led anti-government protests in central Bangkok last year, is charged with making a donation of about $6 million to his party, an act that is in violation of local laws, the Thai court said.

The loan is being ruled as an illicit donation under Thailand's Political Parties Act, which limits political donations to about $316,000 a year, the Bangkok Post reported Friday.

Thanathorn and 15 other party executives are also banned from politics for 10 years, including secretary general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul and spokeswoman Pannika Wanich.

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Bangkok's Constitutional Court also said Thailand's Election Commission could take criminal action against party executives. A conviction for Thanathorn could mean a five-year prison sentence, according to the report.

Thanathorn's party gained prominence following Thailand's general elections in March 2019, when it gained 6.3 million votes. It was the third-largest party in the country before it was dissolved on Friday.

Thanathorn, 41, is an heir to a car parts business, according to the BBC.
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In December, Thanathorn and other opposition parliamentarians, were charged with blocking a train station, failing to control protesters and using loudspeakers in public without permission during an anti-government rally.

Thanathorn has been critical of military rule of Thailand, which has continued uninterrupted since 2014. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-Ocha was re-elected this year, but opponents including Future Forward have questioned the fairness of polls.

Prayut has maintained power through political coalitions.
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Seksan Anantasirikiat, a researcher with KlangPanya Institute for National Strategies, previously told UPI the prime minister, also the former chief of the military's junta, has the support of the majority of Bangkok's middle class, Thai tycoons and military commanders.

Control of street protests has also contributed to the stability of his administration, according to Seksan.

Former Future Forward party members are expected to defect to coalition and opposition parties. Thanathorn had said in a previous interview the movement will continue.

"If they dissolve our party, there will be two paths running in parallel -- one is a new party in parliament, running under a new name but the same ideology and the second is a social movement run by me and Piyabutr," Thanathorn had told the Southeast Asia Globe earlier this month.