Our Bangkok correspondent H. Numan has a report on the latest sordid news from the Land of Smiles.

Party gone, prime minster gone

by H. Numan

I haven’t posted a while about Thailand. There are reasons for that: you are likely not much interested in why minister Somchai got egg on his face, if I have to explain who he is, why he got it and why that is important or relevant to you in three pages. And just as important: lèse-majesté. Thailand has the strictest lèse-majesté laws on the planet. One gets into deep doodoo very easily with that. Those laws cover royalty in the broadest term possible. Not just the king himself, but all Thai kings, past and present. And their extended families. And those who work for them. Not just the present king; all Thai kings. If I were to write a historical article with facts and evidence about a Thai prince committing regicide in Ayutthaya somewhere around 1500 AD, that could be lèse-majesté. Even worse: those laws are being used more and more.

Every prime minister likes it. You can use that law to squash your opponents. When Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister he used it so much that the king yanked his pants down to his ankles by saying (without mentioning him) that he considered lèse-majesté overused. If people were to be convicted of it, he would pardon them. It made the already beloved king Rama IX even more popular. However, what he didn’t say is when he would pardon offenders. Spending half a year or longer in a Thai prison before you get pardoned is not something to sneeze at. Yes, he did pardon offenders, but never immediately. Let them learn their lesson first. King Bhumibol (Rama IX is his official name) was very popular, and fairly tolerant. His son, Maha Vajiralongkorn or Rama X, has to fill the footsteps of a giant here, and that is difficult. Royal pardons for lèse-majesté offenders is something you don’t hear often nowadays.

What’s difficult for me is to write about it without getting into trouble. In this case I’m safe. This is news, published at home and abroad.

The Move Forward Party was disbanded last week by the constitutional court. This party won the elections by a landslide. Not an absolute majority, but they were the biggest party by far. In the following cabinet formation, they were the first to try forming a coalition. Where they were blocked by Peuh Thai party, the party of aforementioned Thaksin. At that time Thaksin was still a fugitive, but with influence. Peuh Thai was next in line to form a cabinet and succeeded. Much to the dismay of the electorate, who smelled something fishy and it wasn’t plaa ra! Nor were they very surprised. It took a month for Move Forward to give up; Peuh Thai created a new cabinet in two days. The very next day Thaksin quietly returned from exile, and was discretely placed under arrest in the Police General Hospital, for ‘health reasons’.

Why was Move Forward so popular? It was a new party, catering to the younger electorate. Their program included limitations on the lèse-majesté laws. They didn’t want to abolish them, but limit the severity of it. You can get up to 12 years per offense. For example, a man liked 7 pictures on Facebook not favorable to the king. He was convicted for 7 offenses x 12 years = 84 years in jail. He confessed, and only has to serve 42 years now! Most people find this somewhat harsh. We’re talking about a cartoon on Facebook. Not creating one, but simply clicking on the like button. What Move Forward wanted was not to abolish those laws but reduce them in severity.

Unfortunately, the powers that be don’t agree. The constitutional court just disbanded the party precisely for that. Criticizing or limiting lèse-majesté laws is lèse-majesté, apparently. The leaders of the party have been expelled from politics for ten years.

Not to worry, this is quite normal in Thailand. Every party has a bunch of spare names registered, just for such an occasion. Life goes on (Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da). I feel a bit sorry for the bigwigs who have to find something else to do for the next decade, but that is part of the game here. They knew what they were doing, and took their chances. This is significant though, because 14 million Thais (about one-third of the electorate) voted for this party. As this kind of thing more or less happens quite often, the outcry is international, not in the country. The USA and the EU both regretted that it happened, nothing more.

Which brings me to the next chap who also took his chances and lost: the now ex-prime minister Srettha Thavisin. He wanted to appoint someone in his cabinet with a dubious record of bribery. The block 40 military senators filed a complaint with the constitutional court, which accepted it and dismissed the PM. Now, don’t laugh. I’m not joking. Yes, we have a National Anti Corruption Commission. Much akin to the Marlboro Bureau to Prevent Smoking, and just as effective. It’s very difficult to say who is more corrupt: the parliament, the police or the military.

I wrote military senators, because they weren’t elected, they were appointed by the armed forces. That is how our previous junta rules after retirement. It’s not a coincidence they voted en bloc. All 40 of them voted for his indictment. Peuh Thai proposed a Bt. 10.000 ($250) digital wallet for the poor and needy. Not a lot, but when you are poor, it is a lot. That plan is now gone. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that was not coincidental.

Of course everybody knows this is something out of Games of Thrones. Someone playing power games, wants to get even, or sit on the teakwood chair. At the moment a caretaker takes his place. Srettha is the fourth Thai PM removed on court’s orders in the last 16 years. Who will become next prime minister is decided by vote in parliament, which means a lot of talking behind closed doors. Very likely that will be Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thaksin.

Keep it in the family. That’s also part of the game of thrones here.

— H. Numan