Lese majeste laws on
trial in Thailand By
Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - Age has not
softened the rebellious streak in Sulak Sivaraksa,
who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace prize
for among other things airing controversial views
about Thailand's royal family and about the threat
to individual freedom posed by strict lese
majeste laws. He on one occasion even fled the
country under threat of arrest.
The May
edition of Seeds of Peace, a journal the
73-year-old Buddhist scholar publishes, has once
again put his views in the national spotlight. The
journal controversially reproduced in English an
interview he gave late last year to a
Thai-language journal, Fah Diew Kan, which
recently landed its editor in hot
water
for publishing Sulak's critical views of the
monarchy.
"The monarchy must be open to
criticism, must go along with democracy, must not
be sacred," said Sulak at the Foreign
Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) in Bangkok
on Wednesday. "I feel if the monarchy is to
survive, we must be able to speak more of the
truth."
In Thailand, expressing such
comments publicly takes great courage.
"People who are conservative royalists
will think he is terrible," said Sumallee
Virayaidyai, a former journalist and a member of a
committee that drafted the Thai constitution in
the 1970s. "He is unique. There are others who may
think like him but they don't speak out due to
fear."
Thailand's strict lese
majeste laws, which are in force to protect
the reputation of the ruling monarch, King
Bhumibol Adulyadej and his family members, are
among the strictest in the world. Thais and
foreigners who allegedly violate the law face
prison terms of up to 15 years.
In past
decades, Sulak has been charged twice under the
law for making comments deemed to have hurt the
king's reputation. But the devout Buddhist still
speaks critically of the monarchy and even
published a popular book entitled, Loyalty
Demands Dissent. Academic Sumallee, who was
charged for the crime in 1973, had to apologize
after being given a two-year suspended sentence.
"[Sulak] takes risks every time he speaks
out," David Streckfuss, an American academic
specializing in Thai political culture. "He is
trying to make these issues part of the normal
discourse."
The issue of lese
majeste has gained increased prominence in the
wake of the recent political crisis that pitched
anti-government protesters against Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra's government. Sondhi
Limthongkul, an outspoken media mogul who led
demonstrators against Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai
(Thais Love Thai - TRT) party, has recently been
served with 37 lese majeste charges for
comments he allegedly made at public protests.
Thai police have declined to file similar
charges filed by Sondhi's People's Alliance for
Democracy movement against Thaksin.
Filing
lese majeste charges in Thailand begins
with a complaint lodged by any citizen to the
police about an alleged act committed by word or
deed by another that tarnishes the reputation of
the monarchy. Members of the royal family are not
part of this process. With the exception of two
years - in 2002 and 1993 - the past 21 years have
seen regular cases of lese majeste charges
filed against Thais and, on occasion, foreigners.
The harsh penalties attached have had an
effect on freedom of expression, often resulting
in censored views in public discussions and
independent media reportage on the palace. Even
powerful Western media organizations, that
elsewhere reportedly champion the cause of press
freedom, respect this law when operating in
Thailand.
In fact, the charges made
against Sondhi for allegedly bringing the monarchy
into disrepute during his anti-government crusade
earlier this year amplify a point Sulak has long
made as a lone voice for a free, open and critical
Thailand. "This law has been used against people
who are critical of the government," he said.
"This law protects those in [political] power. It
does not protect the citizens. They can use this
law against anybody who does anything against
them."
Academic studies bear out his
assertion. Of Thailand's several military
dictators since the country became a
constitutional monarchy in 1932, many have taken
cover behind the lese majeste charges to
target their critics. Sarit Thanarat, a dictator
who began his term in the late 1940s, reinvented
lese majeste laws when he made them more
severe, notably at a time Thailand was struggling
to become a functioning democracy.
"Sarit
used the monarchy as a tool to protect his
dictatorship since he had no legitimacy
whatsoever," Sulak said in the interview.
Since last December, Sulak has found an
unlikely ally in his quest to place Thailand's
monarchy within the spirit of democracy - King
Bhumibol himself. During his annual nationally
televised birthday speech, the 78-year-old monarch
appealed to his subjects for the first time to be
critical of his actions.
Such views were
hailed by the local media, but so far there has
been no hint in the press of anyone willing to act
on the revered monarch's appeal. The custom of
venerating King Bhumibol - who in June celebrates
his 60th anniversary on the throne - has
intensified in the runup to the celebrations.
This popular culture of adulation includes
speaking glowingly of the royal family, decorating
shops and homes with photos of the monarchy and
getting down on all fours when in the presence of
the king and queen. The Thai print press has
recently started to run a series of pictures of
the royal family in honor of his 60 years on the
throne.
Sulak, himself a self-admitted
monarchist, welcomes the message conveyed in the
king's unprecedented birthday speech. "I hope once
we have good government this law is abolished," he
said. "We must have more criticism and I am glad
that the present king agrees with that."
