Protecting princess property

PPT noticed a recent Thai PBS report that had “Siam Paragon, one of Bangkok’s largest shopping malls,” complaining about “political activist groups” making use of “the mall’s property for political activities…”.

In a statement from the “management of the mall,” it is maintained that the privately-held company “has never consented or accepted the use of its property by any political activist groups.”

Siam Paragon’s management babbled about “investments” in “equipment … to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among customers and staff alike.”

As far as we know, no virus transmission has been attributed to any mass rally, so we assume this line is simply buffalo manure.

The report adds that “Siam Paragon is just a stone’s throw from Pathumwan skywalk, which has been a favorite rallying point for political activities, most recently by the Ratsadon Group. The Pathumwan intersection was also the site of a mass protest by the Group in mid-October.”

We recall that one of the charges against democracy protesters in 2018 was “illegal public assembly within a 150-metre radius of a Royal palace…”, meaning the Sra Pathum Palace, ” the official residence of Princess Sirindhorn…”.

Siam Paragon is royal majority owned through Siam Piwat Co, which is also the operator of the Siam Center and Iconsiam. As we understand it, Siam Paragon is on land owned by the princess. An academic once calculated that Princess Sirindhorn’s shareholding in Siam Piwat provided more than US$55 million per year from her property in the Siam-Ratchaprasong alone.

At the present time, royals are everywhere reasserting their power, wealth and personal preferences.