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Prachatai has a new post authored by Sheikh Mehzabin Chitra: “Speaking the Unspeakable: How Monarchy Discourse in Thailand Has Shifted Since 2019.” It begins:

The recent move by the National Anti-Corruption Commission to seek lifetime political bans for 44 opposition MPs, accused of a “gross ethics breach” simply for proposing to amend the royal defamation [lese majeste] law, underscores how the boundaries of Thai politics are being redrawn in real-time. This investigation into lawmakers for their legislative actions serves as the latest flashpoint in a transformation of public discourse that has undergone a striking shift since 2019.

We wonder if the author has been reading PPT or, for that matter, Prachatai itself. Yes, there have been changes, but the strange interpretations of 112 by prosecutors and judges has been occurring for years: dead dogs, dead kings, “historical figures,” palace-initiated cases for selling high-priced chillies, etc, etc.

So, the “precedents” have been there for a while. We’d date it from the two 21st century military coups, with a deepening under the post-2014 military junta and after the palace decided to double down against kids who wanted change.

The palace appears to feel safe again through this very “useful” law. So too are the ultra-royalist vigilantes who are primed to make 112 complaints.