[Tlc] T-Sulak

[justinm at ucr.edu]

Forwarded from a Jennifer Gampell.
Thanks,
justin

SPEAKING OUT

Institution of Monarchy and lese majeste

SULAK SIVARAKSA

To my profound regret, on the occasion of the royal cremation ceremony of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana on November 15, I will be attending an important meeting held at Schumacher College in England; thus missing out on the chance to pay my last and final respects to the Princess.

Sulak Sivaraksa: ‘‘Police said the warrant was issued because of an ‘order from above’.’’

Nonetheless, I sent offerings to the monks presiding over the religious ceremony at Dusit Throne Hall where the royal cremation urn rests in state, when I learned the Siam Society, to which the late Princess had kindly extended Her Royal Patronage, had obtained His Majesty the King's permission to take part in the merit-making ceremony.

Most people do not know that the Princess had graciously conveyed her kindness to me on several occasions. I had entreated her to preside over the Honorary Presidency of the Siam Society. Besides, I had gained a private audience for the younger sister of His Majesty the former King of Bhutan with HRH Princess Galyani at her royal residence.

The Princess later accepted an invitation from the Bhutanese royal family to visit Bhutan, as delightfully described in her book of her visit to the country.

Likewise, on the centenary of the birth of her august father, I submitted to the Maha Bodhi Society in Leh, Ladakh, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, to erect a library with the Mahidol royal family name.

To me, to pay homage to a person abroad is more significant than other forms of adoration in one's own country. Princess Galyani had congenially bequeathed an initial sum of money to set up the project.

The Venerable Sumedho from England and the Venerable Sanghasena from Ladakh were invited to an audience with Her Royal Highness to receive the above contribution, certainly an act of great merit.

When General Suchinda Kraprayoon indicted me on charges of lese majeste, the Princess let her concern be known, bringing me profound gratitude.

In the end, as it turned out, I won the cases brought against me by the general.

It is woeful that politicians continually and endlessly condone trickery and ruse to press lese majeste charges against me and other less fortunate people: even though they know fully well that His Majesty the King had emphatically expressed his view, to no uncertain degree, on this subject in his speech delivered before the annual birthday anniversary celebration on December 4, 2005.

His Majesty had made it known publicly that such allegations would cause harm to him as well as the royal institution.

Nonetheless, governments which claim their ardent loyalty to the royal institution pay little attention to His Majesty's concern, and wittingly disobey his address altogether.

Therefore, to assume that they purposefully bring up such cases in public to depose the most important high institution of the nation, could not be far wrong.

As for me, the allegation of lese majeste, arising from my interviews given to Fah Deaw Kan magazine, dated October 4-December 2005, has become front-page news in Siam. This article later reappeared in another book by me, again in Thai. Surprisingly, the book was not banned, although another under the title Three-quarter Century of Democracy and Its Obstacles was confiscated, regarding which I have already filed a case against the Royal Thai Police with the Central Administrative Court.

It appeared that the police wanted to close the case as quickly as possible. When the cases were submitted to the Office of the Attorney-General on October 5, 2005, I filed an official objection.

Under a clause in the Thai Criminal Code relating to police investigation, the accused is allowed to request for the submission of additional evidence and witnesses to the investigation officers.

If the investigating officers did not follow the letter of the law, I declared I would take each and every person connected with the cases to court.

After the September 19, 2006 coup d'etat, when Police General Sereepisut Taemeeyaves became national police commissioner, he informed me verbally on May 4, 2007 that the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary had submitted a request to his office that the charges be dropped. There was no written document to bear out the statement.

On April 10, 2007, I was again indicted by the police for harbouring behaviour disrespectful to the monarchy, linking the charges to the article appearing in an English publication, Seeds of Peace, January-April 2005 issue.

Upon answering the charges at the Chana Songkram police station, the case became quiet. It was not until November 3 of this year that the officers sent another notice for me to appear before the Office of the Attorney-General.

As before, I objected on the grounds of wanting to give further evidence, and call additional witnesses on my behalf. Once more, I was set free.

In this light, it is questionable how the former government under Thaksin Shinawatra and those previously and currently serving under his "nominees", more than most governments in the past, recurrently brought up lese majeste cases against innocent people, as duly brought to light in an article in English by academic David Streckfuss.

Mr Streckfuss argued that lese majeste cases in Siam appeared most during this said period. Is it possible that the present Prime Minister - who claims his fervent loyalty to the throne, and his legitimacy to remain in the premier's seat to supervise the royal funeral ceremony this coming November 15 and the King's birthday anniversary celebration on December 5 - has, in reality, acted as a direct "nominee" of the person who has been accused of being irreverent to the monarchy?

It is evident that at the gathering of "Red Shirt Supporters" organised at the Rajamangala Stadium on November 1 this year, before Thaksin Shinawatra appeared on a giant screen (projected from abroad), a satirical play critical of the Thai monarchy was staged, even though no names were mentioned.

Unsurprisingly, his government has not taken any legal action against the organisers or those involved.

Eventually, when Thaksin Shinawatra appeared on the screen, he iterated that his safe return to this country depended on the kindness of the King (even though his crimes are not founded on lese majeste but on corruption charges). He added that he would call on the power of the people to seek his return, too.

Does this mean that if the Highest Authority of the Land does not come to his aid, he would call on the power of his supporters to move against the High Institution?

Such is the arrogance and bigotry of a person who does not know his place!

Doesn't Thaksin Shinawatra know that the King would not act in a way that contravenes the law?

In contrast, when he was the Prime Minister of Siam, he allegedly ordered the concerned authorities to drop all criminal proceedings against the leader of the Bangkok-based Dhammakaya Buddhist Sect. That would surely be a deliberate and fraudulent act against the law.

The lese majeste-related cases are becoming superfluous as to be meaningless, including one concerning not standing up during the playing of the Royal Anthem. Such allegations are not helpful to the perpetuity of the monarchy. Those desiring to attack the monarchy also use rumours by word of mouth, and numerous websites that do not augur well.

In my opinion, on the occasion of the celebration of the King's birthday anniversary this year, similar to the 60th anniversary of His Majesty's ascension to the throne ceremony in 2006, the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary should recommend to the police to withdraw all charges relating to lese majeste under its jurisdiction. Such would bring about immense acclaim and greatness of the highest degree upon the King.

If left in the hands of the "nominee" government, nothing good would be done. The Prime Minister does not only delude himself to claims of fervent loyalty, but also disclaims any responsibility over the ordering of the shootings that ended in a number of people maimed and one dead among civilian demonstrators in Bangkok on October 7 of this year.

P.S. You may have already learned from the media that police from Khon Kaen came with a court warrant to bust me on the evening of November 6. They failed to deliver the summonses to me (which showed their courtesy).

I was taken to Khon Kaen by car and arrived there around two o'clock in the morning. The lese majeste charge pressed against me stems from a speech I'd made at Khon Kaen University on December 11, 2007 on the occasion of Constitution Day and the Day of International Human Rights.

To my curiosity, the arrest came three days after I had been notified of the same charge pressed against me at the Chana Songkram police station. There must be someone masterminding this operation, which may either be intended to protect or disturb His Majesty the King even though he is advanced in years. They don't spare even him.

P.S.S. Even though bail was granted to me late at night on November 6 through to November 7, I am required to report to the police in Khon Kaen every month until the public prosecutor decides whether to prosecute me or not. It may look like the officials are keen to relinquish the burden soon, but they confided to me that they had to come to arrest me, and that the warrant was issued this time because of an order from above. It is common for people in Siam to claim the 'order from above' as an excuse. I simply want to know, who has such a high status?

Sulak Sivaraksa is a prominent writer and social critic. 
______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
3046 INTN
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu