ASIA HAND Thailand's monarch riding high
By Shawn W Crispin
BANGKOK - Cloaked in yellow, Thailand rallied like never before behind the
crown as the country celebrated on Tuesday the 79th birthday of His Majesty
King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
In the wake of the September 19 military coup that ousted prime minister
Thaksin Shinawatra and created a new civilian government of known palace
loyalists, the annual ritual of the highly revered monarch's birthday speech, a
sort of State of the
Union address from the country's highest constitutional authority, was this
year especially anticipated.
Traditionally, it marks the only time of the year that King Bhumibol publicly
passes judgment on the sitting government's performance. As a constitutional
monarch, Bhumibol plays no role in the day-to-day running of the country's
governmental affairs. But during Thaksin's five years of soft authoritarian
rule, King Bhumibol's annual address in a folksy way represented the only
higher-authority check on the politically powerful premier.
During his nationally televised address in 2003, King Bhumibol playfully
chastised a frowning Thaksin, calling on him to allow for more press criticism
of his administration, which the prime minister had countered through legal and
financial means. Last year Bhumibol encouraged Thaksin to drop the many
criminal and civil defamation lawsuits - in some cases amounting to tens of
millions of US dollars - he had filed against the media and, for the first
time, said that the monarchy was not above public criticism.
This year, the ailing king overtly steered clear of politics in his speech,
saying simply that he was "bored" with political topics. He significantly gave
his stamp of approval to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, referring to the
former army commander and former member of the Privy Council as a "man of
principle" and "strong personality", and completely avoided mention of the
ousted Thaksin.
Between the lines, King Bhumibol's assessment that Surayud's government of
mostly retired royalist bureaucrats is "superior" to a government run by
"unqualified young people" was quite possibly critical comparison to Thaksin's
self-proclaimed "new generation" administration.
And the monarch's not-so-veiled allusion to "young people who looked down on
older people were actually inferior and incompetent" was widely perceived among
the Bangkok intelligentsia as reference to the strained relations between the
57-year-old Thaksin and the palace that was cited by the military as one of its
main justifications for the coup.
Directly after the bloodless putsch, the military coup makers released a short
statement explaining the rationale behind their decision to overthrow Thaksin's
government. It mentioned, among other charges, that Thaksin's administration
had "frequently bordered on lese majeste actions against the revered
king" and that the coup was motivated "to preserve peace and honor the king".
The anti-government street protests that contributed to Thaksin's downfall were
first and foremost motivated by the explosive accusations that he had co-opted
rituals and responsibilities that in Thai society were traditionally reserved
for royalty. As political tensions mounted, Thaksin appeared to challenge the
authority of the Privy Council when he accused an unnamed "charismatic figure"
- widely perceived to be royal aide Prem Tinsulanonda - who was allegedly
scheming to overthrow his government through extra-constitutional means.
Toward national reconciliation
But if Thaksin was, as his critics alleged, moving to undermine the palace, he
clearly made an unfortunate political miscalculation. The military-led Council
for National Security's white paper released late last month outlined in long
form its motivations for launching the coup, and significantly failed to follow
up on its initial lese majeste charges against Thaksin's government. The
omission of anti-crown charges underscores the interim government's desire to
forge genuine reconciliation among pro- and anti-Thaksin camps and notably
avoids potentially messy and revealing legal proceedings involving the fallen
premier.
At the same time, the military has moved to counter analytical news reports
that the palace played any role in the actual coup and its aftermath. Some
political analysts say it is doubtful that the coup makers would have so
overtly mobilized royal symbolism while the coup unfolded without prior palace
permission. Led by army commander General Sonthi Boonyaratklin, the coup makers
were granted a royal audience and received the monarch's support the day after
the putsch.
Concerns about King Bhumibol's health, including his recovery from spinal
surgery in July, and speculation about the eventual royal succession have
attended this year's celebrations. Heir-apparent Crown Prince Maha
Vajiralongkorn has recently elevated his public profile and presided over the
opening of the newly appointed parliament, marking the first time King Bhumibol
passed that responsibility down to his son. Vajiralongkorn has also fronted the
palace's recent relief efforts for flood-affected areas, a topic that featured
prominently in King Bhumibol's birthday address.
The birth of Vajiralongkorn's son, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, in April 2005
has significantly assured an unbroken family line of succession to the throne.
Earlier there had been speculation that the highly revered and unwed Crown
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindorn would also be constitutionally eligible to take
the throne if for some reason King Bhumibol passed her the crown. But with the
birth of the new prince, people close to the palace say the transition is all
but certain to proceed smoothly from father to son and later to son.
There were also concerns in some palace circles that Thaksin could have
complicated the handover and through both his political and financial clout
potentially weakened the monarchy's authority while the institution was in
transition from King Bhumibol to Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn. With Thaksin's
political ouster and potential prosecution on corruption and
human-rights-violation charges, those concerns, too, have been allayed.
King Bhumibol had earlier lent his tacit support to the country's democratizing
1997 constitution, which through the establishment of new independent
institutions was designed to wean the country from its over-reliance on royal
wisdom to mediate between competing political-interest groups. That democratic
experiment, regrettably implemented under the politically ambitious Thaksin, is
nine years later now back at Square 1.
There are growing indications that the soon-to-be drafted new charter will be
written in a way that strengthens the monarchy's status in Thailand's next
democratic incarnation, scheduled for late 2007. Judging by the outpouring of
affection for King Bhumibol over the past year and during this year's birthday
celebrations, and the widespread public support for the royally endorsed coup,
it's apparent that few Thais would object to the constitutional prospect of
more royal authority over democratically elected politicians.
Shawn W Crispin is Asia Times Online's Southeast Asia editor.
