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BANGKOK – Germany was caught up in Thailand’s political turmoil on Monday (October 26) as both royalists and pro-democracy protesters made contrasting appeals to the European country, where King Maha Vajiralongkorn spends much of his time.
Supporters from both sides demonstrated at the German embassy in Bangkok as Thailand opened a special parliamentary session on Monday to find a way out of the current crisis, where months of street protests by young protesters demanding political change and monarchical reform have sparked a increasingly threatening recoil. of the realists.
The royalist Nitithorn Lamlua led dozens of supporters in the early afternoon to deliver a letter to the German ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Georg Schmidt.
“I am concerned that some groups are trying to get Germany into the affairs of Thailand,” Nitithorn told The Straits Times. “I want you to hear the voices of Thais from all sides to get correct and complete information.
In the evening, young pro-democracy protesters marched to the German embassy to file another appeal, asking Berlin to clarify whether King Vajiralongkorn had paid inheritance tax to Germany since he ascended the throne and whether he had actually led the Thai politics from German soil.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday that Germany continues to investigate the King’s behavior.
“We are monitoring this long term,” Maas said. “It will have immediate consequences if there are things that we consider illegal.”
King Vajiralongkorn, 68, took personal ownership of the multibillion-dollar assets of the Thai Crown Property Office two years ago and also controls two units of the army.
His status in Germany came under scrutiny in the Bundestag earlier this month when, in response to a question from a lawmaker, Maas said that guests in Germany could not conduct state business from German soil.
The power and spending of King Vajiralongkorn has been a source of resentment for the youth who are driving the months-long street protest movement, which wants the military-backed Constitution amended, which Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o- cha resign and the monarchy is reformed.
The protesters want the king’s powers curtailed in accordance with his official status as a constitutional monarch, a sensitive issue in a country where insulting the king is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The protests escalated after Prayut declared a serious emergency in Bangkok on October 15 and police fired water cannons at the mostly peaceful protesters. Last week, he was forced to revoke the emergency to reduce tensions.
However, several key leaders of the protest have been denied bail following their arrest. Among them are Thammasat University students Parit Chiwarak and Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, who have been the most vocal about the reform of the monarchy.
In his absence, more and more faces have emerged to drive the movement, which gathered thousands of supporters at the Ratchaprasong intersection in central Bangkok on Sunday night.
Royalists have also started trying to mobilize their supporters to demonstrate their loyalty to the King, who last week publicly praised a man for standing up to pro-democracy protesters.
It’s unclear what the parliamentary session, which continues Tuesday, will accomplish as few lawmakers were in the mood for a compromise Monday.
Prayut said at his inauguration on Monday: “I am sure that today, regardless of our different political views, everyone still loves the country.”
Parliamentarians allied with the coalition government rejected calls for both his resignation and reform of the monarchy.
Senator-designate Somchai Sawaengkarn said: “The prime minister should not resign and I want to give him my support. Stay and fight.”
He alleged that politicians were leading the street protests.
“The cause of these problems is not the Constitution, the Prime Minister or the monarchy,” he said.
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