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BANGKOK: Thai democracy activists demonstrated at the UN office in Bangkok on Thursday (December 10) and called on the body to pressure the kingdom to repeal royal defamation laws that they say are being used to crack down your movement.
23 leaders face charges under the legislation for leading demonstrations demanding reforms to the monarchy and greater scrutiny of the royal family’s financial arrangements.
The kingdom’s lese majesty laws protect wealthy King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the royal family from criticism, and anyone convicted faces between three and 15 years in prison.
READ: Thousands pay tribute to Thai royalty amid calls for reform
Among the several dozen activists at the UN office was Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, 59, who previously spent seven years in jail on a lese majesty conviction for publishing satire on a fictitious royal family.
“This is not good for the image of the monarchy in Thailand,” he told reporters, adding that those convicted of royal defamation are treated “like animals” in prison.
Lese Majesty crimes have been on the books for more than a century in Thailand, but were last reinforced in 1976.
Use of the law has slowed since 2018 due to the king’s “mercy,” according to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, but last month the prime minister gave the green light to deploy it again after months of protests.
Protest leader Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, who has been indicted under the law, said he feared its use would create a larger political rift between mostly young democratic activists and conservative supporters of the monarchy.
“In a democratic system, there is no need for … legal attacks. We can have different opinions and live together.
Riot police stand guard as pro-democracy protesters take part in a rally in Bangkok on December 10, 2020. AFP / Jack TAYLOR
Hundreds of protesters also demonstrated Thursday at a monument in Bangkok commemorating the lives of democracy supporters lost during a military massacre in 1973.
“Freedom of expression is everyone’s right,” Tuvanon, a 27-year-old flight attendant, told AFP.
“When the king or royal family spends the money, it is really our taxes. We cannot (criticize) how they use our money.”
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The night police also installed shipping containers stacked on top of each other and barbed wire blocks to prevent protesters from marching towards Government House, a royal palace and other sensitive sites.
In addition to calling for reforms to the monarchy, the protesters are demanding a rewrite of a military-scripted constitution and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who came to power in a coup in 2014.
