[Tlc] lèse-majesté editorial by Dr. Grant Evans

[justinm at ucr.edu]

International Herald Tribune

A law that stifles talk in Thailand
Grant Evans

International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2006

HONG KONG The aim of the Sept. 19 coup in Thailand was to set
the constitutional monarchy back on track. To that end, the
military and its newly installed government should reform the
lèse-majesté law laid down in 1959 by the military dictator
Sarit Thanarat.

Almost 50 years ago, the king was declared "sacred and
inviolable" and a military proclamation made any act that
maligns or attacks the dignity of the monarchy a crime that
violated the national security. With this declaration, Sarit
undermined the basis of the constitutional monarchy by
confusing the crown with the government of the day.

This was deliberate. Henceforth, Sarit and the military rulers
who followed could declare any opposition to their policies as
lèse-majesté - offending the dignity of the king. Furthermore,
the vagueness of this law meant that lèse- majesté accusations
have intimidated, and continue to intimidate, many Thais.

When the law was enacted, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the current
monarch, had been on the throne for only eight years and the
palace was in a weak political position. Since then, Bhumibol
has built the power and prestige of the monarchy to a level
unrivaled by any contemporary monarch. When journalists use
the term "revered" for the Thai king it is not hyperbole.

With the prestige of the Thai monarchy at its zenith and with
an interim government that is unmistakably royalist,
conditions are perfect for the reform or even repeal of the
law of lèse- majesté.

For a long time, the law has appeared to have a life of its
own. Its very vagueness has meant that it could easily rebound
on those leveling the accusation. It has created a hall of
mirrors of the sort we associate with North Korea rather than
Thailand.

Strangely, accusations of lèse- majesté, rather than
declining, have grown like wildfire in recent years. The
opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his
supporters hurled lèse-majesté charges at each other as if
they were confetti.

It was Bhumibol himself who recognized how grotesque and
farcical the lèse-majesté slinging-match had become; he tried
to call a halt during his birthday speech on Dec. 5, 2005. So
much for the power of the king: The charges escalated in
frequency in the months that followed. It demonstrated the
autonomous power of this law.

The king's birthday speech in 2005, which was delivered with
grace and charm, and gently mocked all concerned, provides a
charter for the reform of this rogue law brought in by a rogue
government in 1959.

An occupational hazard of being a king is that one is often
surrounded by sycophants who say "the king can do no wrong."
Bhumibol clearly had them in his sights when he told his
birthday audience: "When you say the King can do no wrong, it
is wrong. We should not say that." He welcomed criticism:
"Actually I must also be criticized. I am not afraid if the
criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know.
Because if you say the king cannot be criticized, it means
that the king is not human."

Just as the leaders of the recent coup are sensitive to
international criticism, Bhumibol is aware of foreign views of
lèse-majesté: "Foreign countries see Thailand as a country
where people cannot criticize the king, otherwise they will go
to jail. This puts the king in trouble ... and I have to
pardon them ... Actually, the king has never told anyone to
send them to jail."

An irony - or an absurdity - of the lèse-majesté law is that
those supposedly protected by it, the royal family, cannot in
fact bring the charges. But any ordinary Thai can do so, which
leaves the law wide open to political manipulation.

To avoid this sort of contrivance, a Chiang Mai University law
professor, Somchai Prechasilpakul, has recently proposed that
the cabinet should be the only body authorized to file lèse-
majesté charges on behalf of the government, instead of
individuals. This would have the effect of protecting the
dignity of the monarchy, rather than continue the farce.

It's not a surprise that the king's call for criticism has not
materialized. It's a Catch-22: As long as the law is on the
books in its present form anyone who steps forward is open to
the charge.

The royalist coup leaders and the interim-government, however,
are in a position to finally break this vicious circle and
initiate a reform of this stifling law. They certainly could
not be suspected of antimonarchist sympathies.

Grant Evans is a professor of anthropology with the École
Française d'Extrême Orient and the University of Hong Kong.

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu