Old royalist rejects constitutional monarchy

Prachatai has yet another account of royalist on the warpath Vasit Dejkunjorn. His target is, naturally enough, Nitirat. This legal group is considered by royalists to be a devilish plot to bring down Royal Thailand. Vasit is again the protector of right royalist ideas.

Royalist Vasit

Vasit, writing in Matichon, claims to have uncovered the “truth” about Nitirat.  Not only does the “suspicious” group want to amend the lese majeste law, but it is trying to say that the king should be under the constitution. For Vasit, the idea that the monarchy in Thailand should confirm to its position as a constitutional monarchy is anathema. The nasty folks as Nitirat want to “‘control the conduct of His Majesty the King” by having the king swear an oath to protect the constitution. How radical is that!!

Even talking about amending the lese majeste law is an act against nature, for as Vasit lovingly declares, the “spirit of the law has its origin in Thai history.” It seems that Vasit’s primary school version of “Thai history” is akin to Abrahamic idea of Moses receiving the ten commandments. He accuses the Nitirat clique of not only being ignorant of this sacred word, but having imbibed of foreign education that is corrupting of true Thai values. Vasit’s extremist anti-foreign and racist ideas are well-known.

Of course, Vasit knows that every constitution limits royal power but suggesting that the king swear an oath to protect the constitution is akin to republicanism and just plain impudent.

Vasit then wanders off into a statement of the usual royalist propaganda about the monarchy, Sukhothai and coronation speeches. The latter are, for Vasit, far more significant than any constitution.

Vasit reckons Nitirat are a bunch of ungrateful sods who don’t appreciate the king’s “toil and sacrifice of … royal heart and body.” Real Thais like Vasit “worship him, even if this is not written in a constitution or elsewhere.” Hence Vasit is offended and angry:

Particularly acts in an attempt to keep His Majesty under control like the taking of an oath, Thais like myself cannot tolerate and can never let happen….

Yes, that’s right, the king can never be a true constitutional monarch for they are not subject to normal human laws or conventions.