Thailand protests call for curbs on the king’s power

For years, critics of the mighty King of Thailand have carefully chosen their words, opting for allegories about his late poodle Foo Foo, joking about his multiple marriages as well as references to Germany, where he lives almost entirely in a hotel in the Bavarian Alps.

Lately, some Harry Potter costumes have been donned to summon Lord Voldemort, the evil wizard so scared that his name should not be spoken.

The comparison is not without basis: The Thai monarchy is accused of criticism by one of the world’s strictest reading majesty laws, which punishes insults to the sovereign or his heirs up to 15 years in prison. Although irregularly enforced, the law has discussed an absent king who has amassed more wealth and political power than anyone since the constitutional monarchy of Thailand was established in 1932.

Yet student leaders and Protestants in Thailand in an extraordinary display of resistance publicly called on the public to reduce the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn in weeks of snowballing demonstrations that stunned observers by directly challenging the royal establishment.

“Today we will talk openly about the monarchy,” student leader Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul told a crowd of thousands at Thammasat University outside Bangkok on Monday.

‘In the past there have been statements that fool us by saying that people in the royal family were born incarnations of gods as angels. With all due respect, please ask yourself, are you sure angels or gods have this kind of personality? “

Protest leaders read out 10 demands, including the repeal of the law of majesty of readiness, the cutting of the budget of the monarchy, the prohibition of the ruler to play any role in politics, the pruning of the comprehensive royal security force and investigate the disappearance of criticism from the king.

A statement called it “not a proposal to overthrow the monarchy”, but a way for the king “to continue by appreciating the people within a democracy.”

The protesters appear on the way to a clash with conservative, pro-royal troops led by the prime minister, former gen. In an apparent bid to abuse tensions, organizers called for a protest on Wednesday, the Queen Mother’s birthday, when the king is due to visit Bangkok.

“I can think of no parallels in modern Thai history to what exactly is happening,” said Matthew Wheeler, a senior analyst in Bangkok for the International Crisis Group.

“We are absolutely in a new environment in which the political role of the monarchy is critically discussed in public,” Wheeler said. ‘In some ways we can say that it happened at one time or another. What we have not really seen yet is what is the reaction of the royalists. “

Although officials signaled that the demonstrations would offer some space, authorities last week arrested two protest leaders, civil rights lawyer Arnon Nampha and student activist Panupong Jadnok, and accused them of sedition and other crimes. Both were released on bail and spoke at Monday’s rally.

“From now on, the public must respect the monarchy with respect,” Arnon told the crowd. “And from now on, no one should be bullied for talking about the monarchy.”

Prayuth told reporters Tuesday that he was not comfortable with the protest and asked him if “it went too far.” Earlier, a cabinet minister warned students “not to invade [on] rights of others as offending the highest institution of the country. No one will accept it. ”

A confrontation could plunge Thailand into another prolonged period of unrest less than a year and a half after Thailand’s first elections since a military coup in 2014.

Public outrage has been growing since the coup, which was followed by a prolonged period of military rule, widespread arrests and harassment of Protestants, the abrupt passage of a new constitution that gave the military a major political role, the judiciary. order disbandment of popular opposition parties and the flawed March 2019 elections that keep the coup, Prayuth, in power.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hammered out an economy that has already struggled with declining production and growing inequality.

Through it all, the 68-year-old Vajiralongkorn has mostly stayed in Germany, and flew back to Bangkok only for occasional visits with an entourage including his fourth wife, Queen Suthida.

Adding to the resentment over his absence and lifestyle-funded lifestyle are a series of moves he has made to wield power since ascending the throne in 2016 following the death of his long reigning and broad dear father.

Vajiralongkorn ordered changes to the new constitution to make it easier for him to govern from abroad, placed two army regiments under his direct command and took personal ownership of the Crown Property Bureau, a large portfolio of real estate and investments worth an estimated $ 70 billion, making him the richest monarch in the world.

“What people have seen is a king who acts much more directly in his own interests in the political sphere than his predecessor,” Wheeler said. ‘People’s patience wears thin. Something would happen in terms of an expression of grievances, and sure enough, it is gaining momentum at a time when people are starting to feel real economic pain. ”

The protests, which began this summer when distance restrictions on COVID-19 were granted, initially called for reforms in government – including new elections, a new constitution and an end to the persecution of critics – but have last week immediately took over the monarchy.

At Thammasat University, where organizers conducted temperature checks and dispensed sanitary gel at the entrance, middle-aged Thais intervened with teenagers attending their first political protest. Read signs in English and Thai, “No more fake democracy” and “Stop pretending this is still a constitutional monarchy.”

“We would not sacrifice our lives to just tell the truth, and we should not tolerate it anymore,” said a 20-year-old art student who gave her name only as Pangpon.

“We do not want the monarchy,” she added. ‘I know this is impossible – I know we need to exist together. I mean, it can stay, but it has to be like the British monarchy and have ceremonies that generate some income for the country. We do not do that. Our monarchy has sent money to other countries. ”

Some protesters have held portraits of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, a prominent democracy activist who was abducted in June on the streets of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, where he lived in exile – the latter disappearing in a string of unresolved of Thai dissidents abroad.

“Wanchalarm has become a legitimate symbol for the Protestants, so I am glad that its disappearance would not be in vain,” said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai academic and critic of the monarchy living in exile in Japan.

Social media have amplified the dissident, with internet keys following the king’s flights and his bike rides through the German countryside. When he fell for a ceremony in Bangkok in April, without observing COVID-19 quarantine guidelines, the hashtag #WhyDoWeNeedAKing was tweeted more than 1 million times in Thailand.

The Royalists Marketplace, a private Facebook group that discusses and lamps the monarchy – the featured photo shows the king dropping a water ride in a bathing suit – has added nearly 900,000 members since Pavin launched it in April. Thai authorities have demanded that Facebook shut it down, Pavin said, but the page remains active.

“As the owner of this group, I have seen the protests spread to almost every province in Thailand,” he said. “I think this could lead to some concrete changes in Thai politics. I myself would never have believed it to see that protests from students had come so far. I have been campaigning for ten years for the right to criticize the monarchy, and this has still shocked me. ”

A special correspondent in Bangkok contributed to this report.