The monarchy is in trouble.
The Democrat Party-led government with Abhisit Vejjajiva at the helm has done more than any recent government to promote “the institution” and to “protect” it. Begging the question of why this institution, regularly said to be “much revered,” needs extensive government promotion and protection, the government has threatened, banned and demanded loyalty.
But still the criticisms seep out, ranging from childish and racist web sites to serious critiques of the role of the monarchy and attempts to develop revisionist histories.
The Bangkok Post (24 September 2009: “Military to censor websites”) reports that the military is now being ordered to do more.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has “ordered all military units and their commanders to keep a close watch for websites running reports with lese majeste content…”. The minister issued the order following a meeting of the Defence Council, demanding that ” units and their commanders who come across such websites were to coordinate with the Information and Communication Technology Ministry to take legal action against them…”.
This included units under the Internal Security Operations Command which have “been tasked with monitoring community radio stations for lese majeste content.”
This probably has something to do with the “great fear” regarding the king’s illness and fears regarding his demise and a potentially messy succession. At the same time, it clearly demonstrates a fundamental weakness of an institution that has been highly personalized and has been thoroughly political in its recent history.
Update: More on this story at AFP, where it is added that military personnel and their families have been drafted into this “media watch” role.
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