On October 15, 2020 jeering protesters obstructed Queen Suthida’s motorcade and thousands of them gathered at Government House to demand the removal of the prime minister, Prayuth. Consequently, the government banned gatherings of more than five people in Bangkok, forbid publication of news or online information that could harm national security, and freed up police to arrest anyone linked to the protests.
Thailand has been reeling under anti-government protests for the past one year after courts banned the most vocal party, opposing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and King Maha Vajiralongkorn. These protests took a pause during measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, but resumed in mid-July, demanding for Prayuth’s removal, a new constitution, and an end to the harassment of activists.
On August 3, 2020, when human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa made a speech about reforming the monarchy, he was arrested along with another movement leader, Panupong Jadnok. Other groups have joined the protests, with broader demands of expanding LGBT and women’s rights, reforms in education and the military, and improvements in the economy.
Traditionally, Thailand’s political divide has been between the ‘red shirts’ (populists and supporters of Shinawatra) and the ‘yellow shirts’ (loyalists of the royalty). This time, the protesters are not using these traditional colour codes but have come up with their own symbols to express their ideas and dissent, like the three-finger salute from The Hunger Games series, and gestures such as the hands crossed over the chest, and hands pointing above the head.
Groups Involved in the Protest Most of the protesters are students and young people in their 20s without an overall leader, except one of the most prominent figures, human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, 36. Free Youth Movement, which was behind the first major protest in July, and the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, a student group, championing calls for reforms in monarchy, from Bangkok’s Thammasat University, are the key groups. Besides, there is the Bad Student movement of highschoolers, which seeks education reform.
Demands of the Protesters Protesters demand that the increase in king’s constitutional powers be reversed, made in 2017 after he succeeded his widely revered late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. As per pro-democracy activists, Thailand is backtracking on the constitutional monarchy, established when absolute royal rule ended in 1932. They view that democracy has been undermined as monarchy is too close to the army, and seek the scrapping of ‘lese majeste laws.’ Actually, they want the king relinquishes the personal control over a palace fortune (estimated in the tens of billions of dollars), and over some units of the army.
Protesters argue that the king endorsed Prayuth’s premiership just to control power as Prayuth is an army chief who had led a 2014 coup. Protesters complain that the king spends much of his time in Europe. They challenged the spending of the Palace and lifestyle of the king, who has been married four times and last year took a royal consort.
Earlier on October 6, 1976, a student-led pro-democracy protest was crushed at Bangkok’s Thammasat University when security forces killed 46 protesters and arrested nearly 3,000 people. In 2010, over 2,000 were arrested and 90 killed in clashes between security forces and anti-government protestors.
The current ruler, Maha Vajiralongkorn, became king in December 2016. Prime Minister Chan-ocha, a former army chief, first came to power during the 2014 coup. Endorsed by the king, he is believed to have meddled with electoral laws during the 2019 elections so as to remain in power.
Lese Majeste Laws Over the decades, the military has cracked down on dissidents several times. Thailand’s royal family is shielded from criticism by a strict lese majeste law that carries a sentence of up to 15 years. As per Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code, if anyone defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent or the regent, they will be punished with a jail term between three and 15 years. This law has remained virtually unchanged since 1908, when the first criminal code was created. However, the penalty was toughened in 1976. The Constitution of Thailand states, “The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action.”
The problem is that there is no definition of what constitutes an insult to the monarchy, which gives the authorities freedom to interpret the law in a very broad way. In this concern, complaints can be filed by anyone, against anyone, which must always be formally investigated by the police.
According to UN sources, those arrested can be denied bail and some are even held for long periods in pre-trial detention. Trials are routinely held in closed session, often in military courts with limited defendants’ rights. For example, a man was sentenced to 70 years in jail in June 2017, the heaviest sentence ever handed down, which was later halved after his confession.
On the other hand, rights groups are of the view that opponents of the government, including the protest leaders, have recently been charged under sedition and computer crimes laws. There is no targeting of opponents, rather the police seek to uphold the law.
Political system in Thailand: Thailand was converted from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy in 1932. Thailand has been ruled by the military for the most part. Since around 2001, the country’s politics has been marked by a division between supporters and detractors of populist leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as prime minister by the military in 2006 and has been in exile since. In 2017 a new constitution was framed which eroded democratic values.
Courtesy: Indian express, bbc.com