All about the monarchy

Self-crowned

At the moment, while the Puea Thai Party-led coalition wants news to be about millions of tourism, the news is all about Article 112 as the proxy for the feudal monarchy.

The Move Forward Party is probably about to be dissolved by the Constitutional Court, although there’s an ever so slim chance that the establishment might worry about a political reaction similar to that when Future Forward was done away with.

That the case against the party is ludicrously mad, even for the politicized and ultra-royalist court and its bosses, is simply a demonstration of the great fear of the establishment, having grafted feudalist notions of royal rule to its quest for wealth and power.

The there’s the case against Thaksin Shinwatra, the Puea Thai Party’s boss. He and the party are desperately seeking a way out of the lese majeste case being brought against him for comments made about the 2014 military coup and the role of the palace.

Most recently, Thaksin has been saying that the case is political.

Of course it is. All Article 112 are political.

Thaksin “has made a renewed plea to the attorney-general to reconsider a lèse majesté charge against him.”In this plea, “Thaksin argues that the original investigation was compromised. He claims that the committee, led by former Attorney-General Trakul Winitchaipark, acted under the influence of the military junta that was in power at the time.”

Of course it did, but anyone who looks at the statistics on lese majeste cases soon notices that that junta and it reincarnations over almost a decade used lese majeste for political repression, all in the name of “protecting” a flawed monarch.

During a visit to Pathum Thani, Thaksin “told reporters that he was unfairly accused by an investigation tainted by bias. Describing the charge as the ‘fruit of a toxic tree,’ he emphasised that the officers involved were not independent.”

We doubt Thaksin can see far beyond his own travails, as evidenced by his earlier deal to get into bed with the political representatives of the military-monarchy alliance. Yet it is that alliance that is responsible for quite a few coups (including two against the Shinawatra clan) and other political interventions over two reigns has so monopolized political power that the call for reform is louder than ever. That alliance has undermined the ruling regime it has sought to foster.

In recent days the self-inflicted weakness of the regime has been on display. Its weakness is the reliance on the military-monarchy alliance. Unable to do anything much at the ballot box, the resort is to the violence of lese majeste and the military’s power to intervene in politics.

Thaksin seems to want another personalized deal. But residual anti-Thaksinists are resisting. Indeed, these rightist are calling for the military to reassert itself. The “Network of Students and People Reforming Thailand and Thai People Protecting the Monarchy groups marched to the army headquarters on Tuesday, where they submitted a petition” calling for the the army to oppose bail for Thaksin.

These ultra-royalists know that feudalism is about power, intervention, and repression and, unable to win elections, that the only way to defeat reform is to get rid of this government and to return to military or military-backed government working for the monarchy.

A warning from Pita

In amongst all of the establishment types turmoil about reform, Move Forward’s Pita Limjaroenrat, Thailand’s most popular politician has added to their worries.

In an interview with The Financial Times, Pita said that the “threatened dissolution of his party would ‘turbocharge’ the progressive movement seeking to challenge the country’s military-royalist elite.” He looked back at what had happened following the dissolution of Future Forward, where a youthful and progressive movement/s sprang up to challenge the establishment and confront the monarchy.

That scared the establishment, with the king seemingly giving up his idea of working from home in Germany. The throne was shaken by the events following the Future Forward decision.

With the politicized Constitutional Court due to meet on the dissolution of Move Forward, we can be pretty sure its members are in a huddle and conferring with higher-ups on what their decision could mean.

The ruling elite/ruling class/establishment/royalists/military know they are likely to face further challenge. What do they have planned?

Further updated: Another Siam Bioscience 112 case

Thai PBS reports that well known singer and TV personality Suthipongse Thatphithakkul (also rendered as Suthipong Tadpitakkul), known as “Heart”, has been “indicted on a lèse majesté charge in the Bangkok South Criminal Court” on 7 May 2024.

The prosecutor alleges that Suthipongse shared “a statement on his Facebook account, about the monarchy’s involvement in the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, in a way deemed to defame the revered institution, in violation of Section 112 of the Criminal Code and the Computer Crime Act.”

He was granted bail on a 200,000 baht surety.

PPT has lost count of the number of cases related to the king’s Siam Bioscience and the Astrazenica COVID vaccine. Of course, at about the same time, Astrazenica withdrew the vaccine citing low demand and side effects.

Update 1: This case actually goes back to 2021. Back then, the 112 complaint was lodged by Seksakon “Rambo Isan” Atthawong, a red shirt turncoat rewarded by the military by being made assistant minister to the prime minister. Seksakon was previously known as Suporn.

Suporn was joined by Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha’s lawyer Apiwat Kanthong in lodging “another complaint” against Suthipong. They went to the Nang Loeng police station saying the singer had criticized the government’s vaccine procurement plan, alleging he may have also violated the lese majeste law and the Computer Crimes Act.

The earlier complaint was lodged with the Technology Crime Suppression Division. It seems that the complaint then also related to lese majeste and may be the same complaint.

In this “new” complaint, Suthipong was accused of having copied information on the government’s vaccine procurement plan to his Facebook page and “made additions.” He is accused of adding: “It is a vaccine of the boss” and “It is a Covid-19 vaccine monopoly.”

Lawyer Apiwat reckoned that anyone reading this would immediately know who he is talking about.” It’s not Gen Prayuth. It seems it is he whose name may not be said – the king.

The regime wants the police to seek more evidence and more information to substantiate the accusation against Suthipong. It took three years.

The oddity of a complaint and a possible charge for not saying the king’s name seems insane, even for royalist Thailand.

Update 2: Prachatai has answered our question above regarding how many Siam Bioscience lese majeste cases. It reports:

… Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party and current leader of the Progressive Movement, was charged with royal defamation [lese majeste] over an 18 January 2021 Facebook live broadcast, during which he said that the Thai government only bought vaccines from AstraZeneca and Sinovac because it wanted to support Siam BioScience Co. Ltd…. Thanathorn was indicted in April 2022. Meanwhile, a court order was issued banning the video.

Student activists Benja Apan and Parit Chiwarak were charged with royal defamation, violation of the Emergency Decree, the Communicable Diseases Act, and the Sound Amplifier Act for a 25 January 2021 protest at the Srijulsup building, where Siam BioScience’s registered office is located.

5 students in Lampang were also charged with royal defamation for displaying a banner saying “Budget for monarchy > Covid-19 vaccines.” A student at the Rajabhat University, Chiang Rai, was later charged with royal defamation for posting a picture of the banner onto the Facebook page “Free Youth – CEI.” Police believe that she was involved in hanging the banner near to King Vajiralongkorn’s portrait.

On 3 March 2021, activist Piyarat Chongthep, now a Move Forward Party MP, was charged with royal defamation for 7 protest signs against the government’s vaccine policy and for posting pictures of the signs.

A 30-year-old man from Nonthaburi was charged with royal defamation for sharing Facebook posts alleging that Siam BioScience was using taxpayer’s money to produce the vaccines. He was indicted in June 2023. In October 2023, he was found guilty and given a suspended sentence of 1 year and 6 months.

Updated: Move Forward’s location

In an article  at the World Socialist Web Site, Robert Campion reflects on the impending fate of Move Forward, noting that the “proceedings demonstrate the utterly anti-democratic character of the Thai parliamentary system.”

It is argued that the “party’s dissolution would represent the disenfranchisement of 38 percent of those voting in last year’s election, or 14.4 million people who voted for the MFP, more than any other party…. Millions of people no doubt backed the MFP hoping it would bring about genuine changes in government.”

The author then engages in some class analysis:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MFP_B_Final-01-1024×724.png

In reality, the MFP is not a real threat to the Thai ruling establishment, but rather functions to contain growing political opposition to the ruling class within the narrow confines of what passes for parliamentary democracy in Thailand. It is a bourgeois party, representing aspiring sections of the corporate and financial elite, that masquerades as a “progressive” opponent of the military and more right-wing sections of the Thai state.

That would seem reasonable although the description is probably more apt when applied to Puea Thai: it is a bourgeois party that once masqueraded as progressive (to win votes) and which has been (willingly) co-opted to see off change.

And it points to “MFP’s passive response to its possible dissolution,” saying that the party “is not making any attempt to mobilise workers and youth in opposition to the Thai state’s flagrant attack on democratic rights.” It adds: “The MFP is just a fearful as its political opponents of any independent movement of workers and youth and is seeking to head off any mass protests, such as those that followed the dissolution of the MFP’s predecessor, the Future Forward Party (FFP), in 2020.”

We are not convinced that this is accurate, especially as the party is yet to be dissolved. It was after Future Forward was dissolved that people mobilized. This will be in the minds of strategists in other parties, in the courts and among military leaders, and in the palace as the Constitutional Court concocts its decision.

Update: For Puea Thai defacto leader Thaksin Shinawatra’s perspective on where the party is located, see his claim that it “is not a neo conservative party, but a reformist party, dating back to its founding as the Thai Rak Thai party…”. As to an example of the party’s “reformism,” he cited the “digital wallet” scheme, which he said was a “super new idea.” He added that “capitalism that lacks compassion will not make people happy and reaching out to the people, physically or through the media, is important.” At present, Puea Thai looks a sad reflection of the energetic Thai Rak Thai when it was in power.

Royalists get special judicial treatment

A few days ago, Thai PBS reported that the Criminal Court acquitted ultra-royalist Dr Warong Dechgitvigrom, leader of the electorally unpopular Thai Pakdee Party, in a defamation suit filed against him by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the Future Forward Party, dissolved by the Constitutional Court.

Warong

The verdict was never in doubt because another, similar case, brought by Move Forward’s Pita Limjaroenrat had already been dismissed. Both cases revolved around Warong’s claim that Move Forward Party, the Progressive Movement, and the youth movement were seeking to overthrow the constitutional monarchy and its system of rule.

The court found Warong not guilty, “noting that the defendant had merely expressed his opinion in good faith.”

Of course, such a ruling only applies to royalists.

Those considered the royalist’s opponents spend years in prison, locked up in myriad court cases, and more. The court has again demonstrated its double standards.

Royalist smother reform

The royalist courts continue their vendetta against political reformers, seeking to smother any effort to rid Thailand of its military-monarchy feudal political system.

In yet another court case decided yesterday, the Pathumwan District Court sentenced Pita Limjaroenrat, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, Pannika Wanich, Piratthachot Chantarakajon, Nuttha Mahatana, Tanawat Wongchai, and Parit Chiwarak each to four months in prison, suspended for two years, over a protest on 14 December 2019 protest in Pathumwan. The protest “was in response to the Election Commission’s 11 December decision to disband the Future Forward Party.”

A Bangkok Post picture

The protest drew many hundreds, maybe thousands – one of the PPT group was there – to see Thanathorn and the others speak about the EC’s decison, which was based on yet another politicized decision by the regime’s Constitutional Court.

Thanathorn had “posted a Facebook invitation for people to gather. The demonstration took place on the skywalk between MBK Mall and the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Protesters filled the skywalk and the courtyard in front of BACC.”

The court found them “guilty of violating the Assembly Act for organising a protest near the Pathumwan Intersection within a 150-metre radius of a prohibited [royal] area, the Sa Pathum Palace.”

The court sentenced each person “to four months in prison and fined 20,200 baht, both for violating the Assembly Act and for using a sound amplifier without permission… The sentences of all 8 defendants were suspended, as the protest was for purposes of political expression and not a serious crime.”

The defendants are to appeal on the principle that they were exercising constitutional rights. The courts pay little attention to principles, rights, or even the law.

Poking the military bear

Move Forward’s Bencha Saengchan recently proposed that parliament establish a “House standing committee … to study the possibility of transferring businesses presently controlled by the military to the people.”

Somewhat surprisingly, the committee is to be established.

Bencha told parliament “that the billions of baht the military earns from its commercial interests, which currently go into military accounts, should be reassigned to benefit the country.”

While not naming names, she said that “several military generals have accumulated personal fortunes of up to Bt800 million during their time in military service.” She said that the “public has wondered about the generals’ sources of money during their time in the military.” Of course, they don’t wonder, they know. Corruption, crime, “commissions,” “meeting fees,” and positions with allied tycoons and other businesses.

Referring to the military’s institutional businesses, “Bencha claimed that there are plenty of sources of money and assets controlled by the military, including so-called Ratchaphatsadu or state owned land. The military controls almost 1.5 million hectares of such land, which is leased out for the construction of accommodation for its personnel.” She added that “the military has control over 150 petrol stations nationwide, 74 golf courses and other businesses, including radio and television stations and energy-related enterprises, which generate billions of baht in income for the military each year.”

At the same time, she noted that there was only limited public information about these businesses and arrangements.

Perhaps even more surprising, The Nation reports that Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a banned former leader of the dissolved Future Forward Party, has been named a member of the committee. He was nominated as part of Move Forward’s quota on the committee.

Bencha later told reporters: “Generals who hold political positions have unusual wealth after they retire, and that wealth can be 10 million baht, 100 million baht or even significantly more…”.

Bencha stated that the committee was not just looking at military businesses, but:

…will look into how the generals obtain such wealth in their career from military-related operations, including land rental, military clubs, hotels, boxing stadiums, and radio and TV stations…. [and] why generals have made their way to sit on the boards of 56 state enterprises, including those in high-earning industries such as railways, petroleum, banking and tourism…

A real investigation will certainly rile the military leaders and the hundreds of generals, admirals, and air chief marshals.

Thaksin-Prayuth

A reader sent us the following article as a reflection on recent events:

On 29 November 2023, Thailand’s Royal Gazette announced that King Vajiralongkorn had, on 21 October, signed an order appointing 2014 coup leader and prime minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha to his Privy Council.

In one sense, this was a reward for a military leader who had spent his career providing loyal service to the palace. Yet like Gen Prem Tinsulanonda before him, Prayuth had been more than a run-of-the-mill loyal servant. Both had been army commanders who also spent many years as prime ministers without facing the electorate.

Like Prem, as prime minister Prayuth worked assiduously to strengthen Thailand’s conservative polity, where the military and bureaucracy controlled politics under the auspices of the monarchy and where super-rich tycoons provided support for the regime. Prayuth’s military-backed regime established a constitution and numerous associated laws that codified the conservative polity – a system he referred to as “Thai-style democracy” – establishing extraordinary powers for unelected bodies that gave them “oversight” of elections and elected governments.

That system worked as expected in 2019, delivering an election victory to military-backed parties that extended Prayuth’s tenure as prime minister. Yet, as the 2023 approached, it was clear that the military-backed parties would be trounced. Voters wanted change and were drawn to opposition parties that promised an end to Prayuth’s regime and the military’s control of politics.

Thaksin Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai Party led in many pre-election polls. However, as the campaign developed, Pheu Thai’s opposition partner the Move Forward Party also polled strongly. It looked likely that Move Forward would be a part of a post-election government.

The conservative establishment, composed of military leaders, palace officials, the wealthiest tycoons, and other royalists, was aghast and fearful that the years of Prayuth’s conservative polity would be undone by Move Forward’s “radical” and anti-monarchy reformism.

The wave of public support for Move Forward was born not just of a desire for change, but also of the dissolution of its predecessor party, Future Forward, and the exuberant monarchy reform movement that partly resulted from that dissolution. Prayuth’s government had seen off the monarchy reform movement by facing down street protests and by using the judicial system to bury articulate reformers under a barrage of legal cases. Many were charged with multiple counts of lese majeste.

The regime may have stifled dissent, but its heavy-handed repression made military-backed parties unelectable. To save the conservative polity, the establishment did the unthinkable. After years of casting Thaksin as an evil anti-monarchist and battling his Thai Rak Thai-People Power Party-Pheu Thai Party, it turned to Pheu Thai. Dealing with Thaksin and Pheu Thai was preferable to allowing the Move Forward Party to have a hand in a post-election government.

A week before the May 2023 election, in a secret meeting, Thaksin and palace and tycoon figures did a deal – always publicly denied – that would keep Move Forward out of a Pheu Thai Party coalition government and kept the military-backed parties in the coalition. The details of the deal will probably never be revealed. However, Thaksin soon returned from exile, served less than a day in prison, and received a royal pardon for most of his sentence. And, despite being edged in the election by Move Forward, Pheu Thai formed government.

Credit: Khaosod

In the election campaign, recognizing the electorate’s yearning for change, Pheu Thai portrayed itself as a populist agent of change, implying it would reject military-backed parties and promising a government that would bring social, economic, and political reform.

After the election, Pheu Thai spokespersons somewhat unenthusiastically participated in coalition talks with Move Forward. But these talks were soon derailed by royalist taunts that Move Forward was anti-royalist and multiple calls for it to be dissolved. Meanwhile, the Senate made it clear that the party’s leader Pita Limjaroenrat could never be approved by parliament as prime minister.

The Senate, entirely made up of members appointed by Prayuth’s military junta, operated under transitory constitutional provisions that made approval of a prime minister a matter for a joint sitting of both houses of parliament. These senators duly rejected Pita. Meanwhile, agencies the Prayuth regime had populated with its supporters moved against Pita. In what some saw as a plot, the Constitutional Court suspended Pita from parliament while it considered two flimsy cases that could result in Pita’s banning from politics and the dissolution of the party.

The stymying of Move Forward gave Pheu Thai an opportunity to form a coalition government and nominate real estate tycoon and establishment scion Srettha Thavisin as prime minister. Srettha promptly received the overwhelming support of both houses in parliament. In coalition building, Pheu Thai rejected Move Forward while Srettha’s 34-member cabinet includes 16 ministers drawn from the parties from the previous government.

The first months of Srettha’s government have been marked by its unwillingness to do anything new. The circumstances of its rise and the determination to keep Thaksin from jail mean that it has to  abandon campaign promises and slow signature policies to a snail’s pace, including its 10,000 baht digital wallet, meant to stimulate a listless economy. Yet the conservative polity has been maintained.

We may never know if Prayuth’s Privy Council appointment was a part of the historic deal to overturn Move Forward’s electoral success and preserve the conservative polity. Yet that appointment fittingly bookends the successful effort to maintain Prayuth’s political legacy. Conveniently, being appointed to the Privy Council shields Prayuth from political criticism and any legal repercussions from his coup leadership and his actions as the establishment’s prime minister.

Siam Bioscience 112 conviction

Wave (pseudonym), is a 30 year-old man from Nonthaburi, who was indicted on 13 June 2023 under Article 112 and for computer crimes, accused for his criticism of Siam Bioscience’s, COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine production in 2021.

Prachatai reports that he was convicted on 11 October 2023 by the Ratchapisek Criminal Court and sentenced to 3 years in prison. The Court then reduced this to 18 months, suspended for 2 years.

The indictment stated that on 12 May 2021, Wave publicly shared and posted on Facebook a picture of King Vajiralongkorn, accompanied by a question about Siam Bioscience’s vaccine production, criticizing Siam Bioscience for using taxpayer money in COVID-19 vaccine production.

The latter point is, of course, factual. Siam Bioscience was supported with taxpayer funds. It remains opaque whether Siam Bioscience actually produced large quantities of the vaccine and whether these were much used.

As is now common, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said that the complaint was filed by Nopadol Prompasit, a member of the ultra-royalist vigilantes Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims.

The complainant alleged that the messages constituted “defamation, insult, or malicious intent towards King Vajiralongkorn.” Wave was accused of intentionally damaging the monarchy, allegedly leading to the loss of respect towards the king. His message was also alleged to contain false information, involving an offense related to national security under the Criminal Code.

Wave acknowledged the charge at the Technology Crime Suppression Division on 23 May 2022.

Wave denied all charges, and the court granted bail.

The Ratchapisek Criminal Court suspended the sentence because it “determined that Wave might still become a good citizen.” He is now required to report to a probation officer four times in the next year and to do 24 hours of community service within two years.

Prachatai notes that several people have been charged under Article 112 for criticism of Siam Bioscience.

One is “Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the now-dissolved Future Forward Party and now leader of the non-profit organisation Progressive Movement, was indicted in April 2022 over a video he published in January 2021 criticising the government’s slow procurement of Covid-19 vaccines and questioning the government’s reliance on Siam Bioscience for vaccine production and distribution.” Another is activist Sopon Surariddhidhamrong who was also charged for a speech given during a Labour Day protest on 1 May 2022 about access to Covid-19 vaccines when he said Princess Sirivannavari and her friends “were being given early access to the Pfizer vaccine and that members of the royal family are getting the AstraZeneca vaccine while the people …[were] denied access to it because the King is a shareholder in Siam Bioscience.”

Mangling amnesty

Yesterday we posted on Move Forward’s proposed bill on an amnesty for political prisoners. Today, the Bangkok Post has a flawed editorial on the same topic.

The editorial acknowledges that Move Forward “has proposed a political amnesty for individuals charged in politically motivated cases since the February 2006 protests and the move could signify a step towards national unity.”

The Post editorial then trots out a view that there is a “critical flaw in the MFP’s bill [that] raises questions about the party’s true intentions.” The “flaw” in the proposed amnesty is claimed to be: “In short, junta and coup makers are not deserving of an amnesty, nor included in MFP’s proposed legislation.”

In fact, the coup makers have already been granted immunity by the courts – a long standing practice – and the actions of the junta are made lawful in the 2017 constitution:

Section 279
All announcements, orders and acts of the National Council for Peace and Order or of the Head of the National Council for Peace and Order which are in force on the day prior to the date of promulgation of this Constitution or will be issued under section 265 paragraph two, irrespective of their constitutional, legislative, executive or judicial force, as well as the performance of acts in compliance therewith shall be considered constitutional, lawful and effective under this Constitution. Repeal of or amendment to such announcements or orders shall be made in the form of an Act, except in the case of announcements or orders that, in nature, are the exercise of executive power, a repeal or amendment shall be made in the form of an order of the Prime Minister or a resolution of the Council of Ministers, as the case may be.

All matters recognised as constitutional and lawful by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 (2014) as amended by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 Amendment (No. 1), B.E. 2558 (2015) and the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 Amendment (No. 2), B.E. 2559 (2016), including acts incidental thereto, shall be deemed constitutional and lawful.

In short, junta and coup makers already have their own “amnesty.” The double standards are breathtaking.

But the real point of the editorial is to carp about Article 112: “It cannot go without saying that the MFP’s bill also covers offenders under Section 112, the lese majeste law. This controversial inclusion is expected to lead to the bill’s rejection in parliament, raising questions about the MFP’s motives.”

In short, the Post is siding with the ultra-royalists. It claims, as do the rightist ultra-royalists, that the “primary beneficiaries are likely to be recent protesters against the Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha administration, most of whom are allies and part of the MFP network.” Like the ultra-royalists, the Post adds that the amnesty would benefit “three MFP MPs and two key figures — Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, a progressive academic, and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the former leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party, who face lese majeste charges.”

The Post then contorts, saying “political protesters who committed offences due to their political beliefs should be granted an amnesty,” but not for lese majeste. Not only does this ignore the political nature of 112 and the bizarre activities of judges in convicting people – something the Post almost never reports – but it seems to favor the continued political use of Article 112.

The Post then claims that the “proposed bill may not survive passage in parliament yet the progressive party stands to benefit for gaining popularity among its supporters, as a political amnesty was a key policy in its recent election campaign.”

That is certainly true. Move Forward received the support of millions of Thais who knew that the party targeted the lese majeste law. Like the ultra-royalists, the Post writes of this huge groundswell of support for reform.