Lese majeste law should be amended, to be fair to all parties
Re: A case to answer on lese majeste, Letters, July 17, 2015.
Eric Bahrt was right in declaring that I am one of the people who are calling for reform of the lese majeste law. I confirm his words.
My rationale for a reform of this law is for it to provide fairness for all parties concerned.
We must admit the fact that each time this law has been brought out to use in the recent past, the damage to the integrity of the monarchy might already have been severely affected. Hence, use of the law.
The current law also provides an unclear clause, in that if a crime of this nature is believed to have been committed, the law must be invoked, and failure to do so might land officials concerned in trouble.
Hence, whenever one talks about the lese majeste law, one must speak for fairness for all parties concerned.
In the past, this law has not been widely known or used – because “criticism” of the monarchy has not been done as widely as currently.
However, in the name of democracy, this law should be changed to provide fairness for everybody concerned.
Vint Chavala
Bangkok
