We should do as the King said
Before seeking to bring those wanted on lese-majeste charges back from overseas, we should, as we have been advised to do in all matters by PM Prayut, et al, follow our beloved national father and late King’s wisdom.
His Majesty was crystal clear on lese majeste. Grossman and Faulder’s book ‘King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life’s Work’ says: “Thailand’s law of lese-majeste has one very prominent critic: King Bhumibol ... In 2005, after an increase in politically inspired lese-majeste complaints, King Bhumibol used his annual televised birthday address to convey that: ‘Charges against those accused of lese-majeste should be dropped, and those held in jail for lese-majeste should be released. The use of the lese-majeste law ultimately damages the monarchy... When criticism is prohibited and people are jailed for lese-majeste, damage is done to the king’.”
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said that as the monarchy itself would rarely seek recourse to the courts to protect itself, we commoners had to do so. But if HM knew his institution well, “the use of the lese-majeste law ultimately damages the monarchy”. This means that we, his subjects, will be ultimately damaging the very deeply beloved institution we seek to protect – all in the name of love. What loving son or daughter would seek to ultimately harm his/her father?
Others say that HM was correct in 2005, but not now. If so, then our dearly loved institution’s representatives and the population at large should be so convinced through public debates as to why our late King’s wisdom no longer holds, and the public record of his 2005 speech amended to indicate accordingly.
For me, I still believe, that our dear national father was, and is, correct in his analysis – and we should act accordingly.
Burin Kantabutra
