Thailand: Ruling Party Has Lost Credibility After Reneging On Lèse-Majesté Cases – Analysis

Thailand's Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Photo Credit: MGR Online VDO, Wikipedia Commons

 November 6, 2024  

By RFA

By Nontarat Phaicharoen

Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai Party has lost its trust with citizens by breaking with an electoral promise of including royal defamation cases in a proposed amnesty bill for political prisoners, analysts said. 

In late October, the party reversed course by announcing it would now exclude so-called lèse-majesté cases in its version of the bill.

During the 2023 campaign, Pheu Thai, then a party in the opposition, had pledged that it would appeal to the courts to show leniency in the cases of people imprisoned for or charged under the draconian royal insult law, saying its use had been politicized.

Pheu Thai’s decision to exclude such cases in the proposed amnesty legislation shows the party’s true character, political analyst Olarn Thinbangtiao told BenarNews.

“Pheu Thai has now gone bankrupt in terms of credibility,” said Olarn, a political science associate professor at Burapha University.

“They have repeatedly broken their promises, exposing that their democratic ideals and justice are merely fictional narratives.” 

For instance, Pheu Thai reneged on its promise to join forces with the now-disbanded Move Forward Party to form the government.

The lèse-majesté law, framed under Article 112 of the country’s criminal code, carries a maximum jail term of 15 years for each conviction.

At least 27 people are currently imprisoned under the lèse-majesté law, according to the group, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. And 274 people face 307 royal defamation cases from 2020 until September this year.

Pheu Thai probably took a lesson from the Move Forward Party, which was disbanded in August for 10 years for promising to abolish the royal defamation law, said Sunai Phasuk, a Thai advisor to Human Rights Watch.

Pheu Thai itself faces the specter of disbandment, with the election commission announcing on Oct. 21 that the party was being investigated for an alleged political violation.

“Pheu Thai has chosen to break its promises, possibly calculating that this reduces political risk, especially after seeing the Move Forward Party dissolved for proposing Article 112 reforms,” Sunai told BenarNews.

View from the street

Among Thai citizens, there appears to be an age divide on how Pheu Thai’s turnaround on the amnesty bill is being viewed. 

Peerawat Veeraviriyapitak, a student in Bangkok, said that the party had gone back on its promise. 

“Right now, it seems like Pheu Thai is going back on what they previously said,” Peerawat told BenarNews.

“If some people didn’t actually commit a crime, they should be granted amnesty too.”

But retiree Teerasak Kambannarak agreed with Pheu Thai’s decision.

“Article 112 should not be included in the amnesty bill, as the monarchy is an institution we should protect and uphold,” Teerasak told BenarNews.

While campaigning before last year’s general election, Pheu Thai said that Article 112 cases ought to be included in an Amnesty Act.

Then-party leader and now-Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra had said that royal defamation cases were problematic because anyone could file charges – a fact that has allowed the law to be used as a political weapon.

Paetongtarn’s father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, also faces Article 112 charges. He was charged in May for comments about the monarchy he made during a 2015 interview in South Korea. 

Parliament is considering four amnesty bill drafts, which include pardoning actions seen as provoking periods of political unrest in the Southeast Asian nation since 2006.

All four target politically motivated offenses. 

These include violations of articles 114, 116, 117 and 118. They are related to sedition, actions aimed at changing laws, incitement to strike for political change and activities against national symbols.

Two of the four drafts – one by the main opposition party People’s Party (formerly known as Move Forward) and a public initiative – called for the draft law to include Article 112 cases.

Parliament is set to review the amnesty bills next month.

Historical precedent

Article 112 has fundamentally become political, said Kitpatchara Somanawat, an assistant professor at Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Law.

“Over the past 5-10 years, questions have arisen about the monarchy’s political involvement,” Kitpatchara told BenarNews.

“Academic works have suggested connections, leading some to view political expression about the monarchy as an active citizen’s duty. Therefore, Article 112 violations are inherently political crimes, not ordinary ones.”

Thailand has a historical precedent for such an amnesty measure. 

In 1978, the government granted amnesty to those arrested after the October 1976 protests in which 40 people were killed and 3,000 others thrown behind bars.

Ironically, several of those former students given amnesty now hold positions in Paetongtarn’s government.

They include Phumtham Wechayachai, deputy prime minister; Prommin Lertsuridej, the prime minister’s secretary-general and Pheu Thai MPs Adisorn Piengkes and Chaturon Chaisang.

Thailand’s political divisions will never end if the government decides to exclude Article 112 cases under the proposed amnesty law, political analyst Olarn of Burapha University warned.

“Pheu Thai’s decision may affect future democratic discourse and reform efforts in Thailand,” he said. 

“These political issues will remain dormant until the next development because we’re just hiding problems under the carpet.” 

Ruj Chuenban in Bangkok and Wanna Tamthong in Chiang Mai contributed to this story.

Radio Free Asia’s mission is to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press. Content used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

 ABOLISH lèse-majesté laws
Activist sentenced to 28 years in Thai prison for insulting monarchy on Facebook


59
Michelle De Pacina
Fri, January 27, 2023 

A political activist was sentenced to 28 years in prison for insulting the Thai monarchy on Facebook.

Mongkol Tirakote, a 29-year-old online clothing vendor and activist, was found guilty in two separate royal defamation cases by a court in the northern city of Chiang Rai on Thursday.

He was arrested in August last year. According to the court, Tirakote violated Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws in 14 of 27 Facebook posts. His prison sentence was originally set to 42 years, but the court reduced it to 28 years following his testimony.

While Tirakote intends to lodge an appeal, the court has granted him bail of 300,000 baht (approximately $9,144), according to his lawyer

Sunai Phasuk, a Human Rights Watch senior researcher, said that Tirakote’s 28-year sentence is the second-highest prison term given by a Thai court for a royal defamation case.

Tirakote also faces a third royal defamation charge over online posts from last year.

He is expected back in court in March for the separate charge.

Those convicted under the lèse-majesté laws face imprisonment of three to 15 years per count.

According to critics, the laws are often taken advantage of to suppress public debate.

In 2021, a former civil servant was sentenced to over 43 years in prison after she posted several audio clips critical of the Thai monarch on social media.

There have been more than 200 royal defamation cases since November 2020, when mass youth-led protests called for democratic change, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

Thousands of anti-government protesters giving 'Hunger Games' salutes defy a ban on mass gatherings in Thailand
Sophia Ankel  Oct 17, 2020, 

Pro-democracy protesters show the three-finger salute as they gather demanding the government to resign and to release detained leaders in Bangkok, Thailand on October 15, 2020. Reuters/Jorge Silva

Protests have erupted in Thailand as anti-government demonstrators demand democratic reforms, the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, and curbs on the royal family's power and budget.

 King Maha Vajiralongkorn is famous for his mistresses, crop tops, and globetrotting ways.

 The student-led protests defied a government-issued emergency decree on Thursday, which banned large gatherings of more than five people.

 Protesting against royal reforms is extremely dangerous in Thailand, which has some of the strictest lèse-majesté (to do wrong to majesty) laws in the world.

In the last week, Thailand has seen some of its biggest anti-government protests in decades as thousands of students took to the streets to demand democratic reforms.

Protesters are demanding the removal of Prime Minister and former military leader Pray uth Chan-o-cha.

They are also calling for curbs on the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, a ruler famous for his mistresses, crop tops, and globetrotting ways.

Thailand has some of the strictest lèse-majesté (to do wrong to majesty) laws in the world, with some protesters facing up to 15 years in prison if charged.

Pro-democracy protests have erupted again in Thailand despite a government emergency decree that has banned large gatherings.

Pro-democracy protesters show the three-finger salute as they gather demanding the government to resign and to release detained leaders in Bangkok, Thailand on October 15, 2020. Reuters/Jorge Silva
Source: BBC

The main symbol used by protesters has been the three-finger salute, similar to the one used in the popular film franchise "The Hunger Games."

Pro-democracy protesters demanding the government to resign in Bangkok, Thailand on October 15, 2020. Reuters/Jorge Silva

People have been urged to use the three-finger salute during the national anthem, which is usually played in public spaces such as train stations, twice a day.

Source: The Guardian

The student-led protest movement has been ongoing ever since the country's prime minister, Prayuth Chan-o-cha, was appointed after controversial elections in 2019.

An anti-government demonstrator skates over an image of Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha during a Thai anti-government mass protest in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 14, 2020. Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Chan-o-cha, who is a former army chief, first seized power in a 2014 coup.

Source: BBC

Protesters have since been calling for the government's dissolution and for democratic reforms.

Pro-democracy protestors confront police at a rally at the Ratchaprasong intersection on October 15, 2020, in Bangkok, Thailand. Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images


But it's not just the prime minister that people are protesting against. In recent months the demonstrators have also started calling for curbs on the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

An image of King Maha Vajiralongkorn is seen as pro-democracy demonstrators march during an anti-government mass protest in Bangkok, Thailand on October 14, 2020. Jorge Silva/Reuters
Source: BBC

King Vajiralongkorn reportedly fled the country months ago, spending lockdown in a four-star hotel in the Bavarian Alps with an entourage of 20 women. His absence prompted Thai resident to tweet: "Why do we need a king?" over one million times

Exterior view of the Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl. © Leuchtende Hotelfotografie/Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl

Vajiralongkorn has been the King of Thailand since his father died in 2016. With an estimated net worth of $30 billion, Vajiralongkorn is the world's wealthiest ruler as of 2020.

Before his coronation, the King married his longtime partner and personal bodyguard, Maha Vajiralongkorn, in a surprise ceremony.

However, in July, he bestowed the title of Royal Noble Consort to Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, a former army nurse believed to be another longtime girlfriend. She was later spotted wearing a crop top and piloting a plane, according to pictures released by Reuters.

Source: Insider

Protesting against royal reforms is extremely dangerous in Thailand, which has some of the strictest lèse-majesté (to do wrong to majesty) laws in the world.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn presides over the annual royal ploughing ceremony at the Sanam Luang park in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 9, 2019. Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Anyone who "defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent" in the country can face up to 15 years in prison on each charge, according to the Guardian.
Source: The Guardian


More than 20 people have been arrested this week, including three protest leaders.

A Thai police chief speaks to pro-democracy protestors while they rally on October 15, 2020, in Bangkok, Thailand. Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

Prominent protest leader Parit Chiwarak, otherwise known as Penguin, was also arrested.
"For our future, we demand three things. First, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-0-cha must resign. Second, we want to rewrite the constitution, and third, we demand reformation of the entire monarchy," Chiwarak told the Guardian last week.
Source: The Guardian

Protesters have also been wearing white ribbons and chanting "Free our friends!" in reference to those detained in the crackdown.

A protester makes a white ribbon as a symbol of peace in front of a police officer during anti-government protests in Bangkok, Thailand on October 15, 2020. Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun
Source: BBC

Thousands of people defied the emergency decree hours after it was issued on Thursday, gathering in Bangkok's busy Ratchaprasong intersection.

Pro-democracy protestors attend a rally at the Ratchaprasong intersection on October 15, 2020, in Bangkok, Thailand. Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

People were chanting "release our friends" and called police "slaves of dictatorship", according to the Guardian. Deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoe said student leaders who had called for a protest on Thursday were "clearly breaking the law," the paper reported.
Source: The Guardian


In response, a large force of police officers in riot gear were sent to the streets to advance on protesters. Although the protest was mainly peaceful, pictures from the scene did show some clashes and a handful of protesters being arrested.

Police officers march in position behind riot shields in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 15, 2020. Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha TPX Images of the Day
Source: BBC

"Like dogs cornered, we are fighting till our deaths," Panupon Jadnok, one of the protest leaders told crowds on Thursday. "We won't fall back. We won't run away. We won't go anywhere."

Pro-democracy protesters show the three-finger salute as they gather demanding the release of detained leaders in Bangkok, Thailand on October 15, 2020. Reuters/Jorge Silva
Source: The Guardian

 

Thailand’s protest movement gains momentum amid a government crackdown

Thai protesters defied a ban on large gatherings to call for the prime minister’s resignation.

By Cameron Peters@jcameronpeterscameron.peters@voxmedia.com  Oct 17, 2020

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Protesters attend a rally on October 17, 2020, in Bangkok, Thailand. This rally marks the latest in a string of anti-government protests that began in late July, as students and protesters call for governmental reform.

 Getty Images

In Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, tens of thousands took part in continuing pro-democracy protests following a government crackdown Friday, which saw riot police unleash water cannons containing a chemical irritant on crowds calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Protests against the prime minister began in March this year, following the dissolution of a popular pro-democracy party, but have dramatically increased in size this week, with crowds numbering in the tens of thousands.

The government responded to these growing protests with an emergency decree on Thursday, which banned groups of more than five people and gave police the authority to make areas of Bangkok off limits to protesters. Along with this new measure have come the arrests of protesters, including a human rights lawyer and several student activists.

The protesters have released several demands, chief among them that the prime minister resign. A former general, Prayuth seized power in a 2014 military coup. A new constitution was put in place by military leaders three years later that sets aside parliament seats for military officials — so many that protesters argue the prime minister will maintain power regardless of the outcome of elections.

As Panu Wongcha-um reported for Reuters, protesters made three demands in July: “the dissolution of parliament, an end to harassment of government critics, and amendments to the military-written constitution.”

Demonstrators are still working towards those goals, but increasingly, protesters are demanding changes to the country’s monarchy as well.

As Richard Bernstein has explained for Vox, citizens of Thailand have traditionally avoided statements that could be seen as critical of the royal family, which is currently led by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, due to the country’s “lèse-majesté laws, which outlaw ‘defaming, insulting, or threatening’ of a member of the royal family.”

That has changed: For example, at an August protest, a student protest leader gave a speech accusing the government of “fooling us by saying that people born into the royal family are incarnations of gods and angels,” and asking, “Are you sure that angels or gods have this kind of personality?”

The king, who ascended to the throne four years ago, rules largely from Europe, but has nevertheless spent extravagantly and “steadily amassed power” in a way that harks back to the bygone days of Thailand’s absolute monarchy, according to the Economist. His support for the prime minister has frustrated Prayuth’s critics, and his successful efforts to bring royal wealth and military forces under his direct control have led some protesters to call for new limits on the monarchy’s powers.

Arrests for breaching the country’s lèse-majesté laws have continued, and Friday, two protesters were charged under an obscure law for “an act of violence against the queen’s liberty,” — in this case, for yelling near Queen Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya’s motorcade. The two protesters face a potential sentence of life in prison for “endangering the royal family.”

These charges — as well as threats from the prime minister — have not deterred the protesters. After Friday’s police offensive, the demonstrations that continued Saturday appear to have remained largely peaceful — and were well-attended despite a shutdown of Bangkok public transit. As many as 23,000 people turned out at several locations around the city, according to a police estimate reported by the Bangkok Post.

“The goal is to change the whole political system, including the monarchy and the prime minister,” one Bangkok student told the New York Times.

A democratic legitimacy crisis

As Vox’s Zeeshan Aleem explained in August, Thailand’s protests hinge on the tenuous legitimacy of the current government.

Though current prime minister Prayuth ostensibly won another mandate in 2019, the results of that election are disputed. Since then, a major opposition party has been disbanded by the courts, and pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit was reported as disappeared in Cambodia, possibly taken on the orders of the Thai government.

Wanchalearm hasn’t been seen since his abduction in June, and Jakrapob Penkair, another dissident living in exile, told the BBC in July that Wanchalearm, also known as Tar, was likely dead.

“I think the message is: ‘Let’s kill these folks. These are outsiders, these are people who are different from us and they should be killed in order to bring Thailand back to normalcy,’” Jakrapob said. “But nothing could be more wrong in that interpretation. I believe their decision to kidnap and murder Tar, and others before him, has been subconsciously radicalizing the people.”

The protest movement has been fueled by student activism, but lacks defined leadership, according to the BBC. That’s by design — activists have reportedly drawn inspiration from decentralized pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in order to maintain momentum amid arrests.

In part in order to circumvent restrictions on speech, activists have also relied on pop culture symbolism at protests. According to Aleem,

Protesters have used creative methods drawn from the world of popular fiction to veil their criticism of the government and mitigate charges for violating restrictions on political speech. For example, some protesters have dressed up as characters from Harry Potter in order to advance their arguments against the government and monarchy. Other pro-democracy protesters display three-finger salutes inspired by the Hunger Games series.

The Thai government’s crackdown on protesters has been condemned by multiple international organizations. Human Rights Watch, for instance, argued that the ban on protests, as well as other new restrictions, meant that “rights to freedom of speech and holding peaceful, public assemblies are on the chopping block from a government that is now showing its truly dictatorial nature.” Amnesty International has decried the arrests of protesters as an intimidation tactic.

It’s unlikely that the protest movement will stop soon, though — even if the government’s response begins to echo the violent anti-protest crackdowns Bangkok saw in the 1970s.

“The dictatorship must be confronted by the people, even under the threat of arrest,” activist Panupong Jadnok told the Washington Post. “We won’t step back. We will fight until our death.”

Pro-democracy movement draws thousands in Bangkok

Mostly student protesters demand dissolution of parliament, with some calling for reforms to the monarchy


Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok

Mon 17 Aug 2020 04.37 BST
 

Demonstrators march during a protest demanding the resignation of Thailand’s prime minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, in Bangkok, Thailand. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Thai capital Bangkok to step up demands for political change in one of the biggest protests against the country’s military rulers since the 2014 coup.

At least 10,000 demonstrators, mostly students, gathered at the city’s famous democracy monument on Sunday, some of them calling for reforms to the monarchy.

It follows a month of almost daily rallies that have drawn support from high school and university students across the country.

Protesters – who chanted, “Down with dictatorship, long live democracy” and “Stop harassing the people” – have called for the dissolution of the military-backed government. They have also demanded an end to the intimidation of activists and reforms to the constitution, which was written under military rule. Critics say the constitution unfairly allowed the prime minister, Prayuth Chan-o-cha, who first came to power during the 2014 coup, to win last year’s elections.

A statement released by Free People, a coalition of mostly student-led groups, which organised Sunday’s protests, said it aspired to see “democratic reform of government with the monarch truly under the constitution”.

In recent weeks, students have voiced increasingly direct criticisms of the monarchy, breaching a long-standing taboo.

Last week, at a rally attended by thousands, a protest group issued a 10-point list for reform of the monarchy – a move that shocked many – including allowing criticism of the monarchy, and called for the king’s powers to be curbed.

Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws are among the strictest in the world. Criticising the king can lead to a jail sentence of up to 15 years, though Prayuth has said the king requested that it should not be used at the moment. Such laws also limit media reporting within the country that relates to the royal family.

Parit Chiwarak, a pro-democracy student, talks to the media at the Giant Swing. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters  SWING?I THOUGHT IT WAS A GUILLOTINE!

No protesters have been charged under lèse-majesté laws, though three people have been arrested on other charges.


On Sunday, some students carried signs that made reference to the monarchy. One student wore a T-shirt that said: “Send love to Germany.” The king has been criticised by some for spending most of his time in Germany. Others in the crowds carried placards that reiterated previous demands for monarchy reform.

The protests are led by a new generation of emboldened young activists who use social media to mobilise.

“During my time, anybody who was an activist, they were called a redshirt and a low-key bandit or nation hater,” said a protester who graduated from Chulalongkorn University, a more conservative institution, in 2012.

After the 2014 coup, the military-backed government promised that it would offer stability and allow Thailand to prosper. “Such promises have not materialised,” he said, adding that this had left many young people, including students at his former university, feeling compelled to speak out.

On top of frustration over the economy, which was struggling even before the coronavirus pandemic, students say they are fed up with a government they accuse of undermining democracy.

Anger among students flared in February when the government dissolved an opposition party, Future Forward, which was especially popular among young people. Then, reports emerged that pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsaksi had been abducted in Cambodia – the latest of several exiled activists to disappear in recent years. The government and the military have denied involvement.

“I don’t think that human rights can exist in a dictatorship,” said a 22-year-old student who asked not to be named.


In its statement on Sunday, the Free People group said there must be no coup d’état, nor a government of national unity installed.

Prayuth has said he was uncomfortable with comments made about the monarchy, but that he would listen to the concerns in relation to the constitution. Young people should be allowed to express themselves, within the limits of the law and with respect to others’ rights, his spokesperson has said.

Three protesters have been arrested over recent weeks, on charges including sedition, which carries a maximum seven-year sentence, and violating an emergency decree than bans public gatherings. The charges have been condemned by rights groups, who have accused the government of harassing its critics.

Protesters march in Spain demanding rapper's release

lèse-majesté & lèse-poli

cia 

Hundreds of demonstrators on Saturday rallied in cities across Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona, calling for the release of a controversial rapper, jailed in mid-February for tweets criticising the royal family and the security forces.

© OSCAR DEL POZO The march in Madrid on Saturday passed off peacefully before the crowds dispersed at the request of the police

© J. Martin Known for his hard-left views, rapper Pablo Hasel was handed a nine-month sentence over tweets glorifying terrorism and videos inciting violence

Shouting slogans such as "Freedom for Pablo Hasel" and "We are the anti-fascists", several hundreds of people took to the streets in the Spanish capital in an unregistered demonstration, according to an AFP reporter.

© OSCAR DEL POZO Rallies were also planned in other Spanish cities such as Barcelona and Palma de Majorca

AFP

3/20/2021 

The march passed off peacefully before the crowds dispersed at the request of the police.

In Barcelona, the main focal point of protests last month, around 100 people marched, waving banners demanding "complete amnesty for Pablo Hasel".

Here, too, the march remained peaceful, in contrast to the demonstrations last month when protesters and police clashed violently.

Rallies were also planned in other Spanish cities such as Palma de Majorca on Saturday.

Known for his hard-left views, Hasel was handed a nine-month sentence over tweets glorifying terrorism and videos inciting violence.

The court ruling said freedom of expression could not be used "as a 'blank cheque' to praise the perpetrators of terrorism".

The rapper was also fined about 30,000 euros ($36,000) for insults, libel and slander for tweets likening former king Juan Carlos I to a mafia boss and accusing police of torturing and killing demonstrators and migrants.

So far, more than 100 people were arrested in the protests, and scores more injured in the clashes, among them many police officers and a young woman who lost an eye after being hit by a foam round fired by police.

The clashes have also sparked a political row that has exacerbated a divide within Spain's leftwing coalition, which groups the Socialists of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the hard-left Podemos.

While the Socialists have firmly opposed the violence, Podemos' leadership has backed the protesters.

The party emerged from the anti-austerity "Indignados" protest movement that occupied squares across Spain in 2011. Their position is that the Hasel case exposes Spain's "democratic shortcoming