Vengeance has no place in mourning

The military-led government’s insistence on hunting down fugitives suspected of lese majeste will bring nothing good for the Kingdom, but seems more likely, in fact, to damage the monarchy.
His Majesty King Bhumibol made it a point to say that he too suffered from abuse of the lese majeste law intended to protect the monarchy, since he did not wish to see anyone prosecuted on his behalf. He felt such prosecution reflected badly on him internationally, Thailand being one of the very few countries where denigrating royalty is deemed a serious crime.
Despite His Majesty’s remonstrations, the current ruling junta has continued the policy of prior governments in tracking down fugitives who are accused of violating Article 112 of the Penal Code. Since the King’s death on October 13 it has issued requests to at least seven foreign nations, including Thailand’s immediate neighbours, to have 19 people extradited to face justice. The police meanwhile have initiated more than 20 domestic lese-majeste cases in the past few weeks and issued at least eight arrest warrants for citizens who allegedly posted “improper” messages online.
No senior government official has to date offered a rational explanation of how such action protects the monarchy – or represents their loyalty to it. Instead we have insipid grandstanding, such as National Police Chief Chakthip Chaijinda’s offer last week of free airfare out of the country for anyone wishing to insult the Palace.
In the eyes of the world, looking on with sympathy over our loss, such actions and remarks only serve to make a mockery of the Kingdom, just as His Majesty feared. 
Legally, charging people with lese majeste is already questionable. Those individuals accused of leaving hurtful posts on the Internet appear to have been offering criticism in good faith of the monarchy’s role in politics. Their online messages fall short of the criteria of Section 112, which prescribes imprisonment of three to 15 years for “whoever, defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent”. No such defamation, insult or threat is evident in the online posts that have come to light. Perhaps no other nation, including those that maintain legal safeguards for their monarchies, would regard such criticism as actionable.
If the military junta, like previous governments, is brandishing the lese majeste law for political gain, as is widely believed, this is not loyalty to the monarchy but disloyalty, since it ignores the late King’s own advice. It is causing more damage to the country than any critical assessment of the Royal Family ever could. We have seen this law abused far too often since the country became so dramatically polarised over politics a decade ago. The law can ensnare people of any political persuasion but primarily targets the red shirts, who feel ignored at best and victimised at worst by the Bangkok elite, of which they perceive the monarchy as a part.
Indeed, there is nothing new in the campaign to have the so-called lese majeste fugitives extradited. Governments have sought to track them down before, particularly after the 2006 coup. Every effort is eventually forgotten amid dire international legal complexities. But this time it’s taken on a special urgency because we are in a crucial transition period.
Thailand always seeks to rely on its extradition treaties with other countries and always fails to recognise that most of the treaties don’t cover fugitives facing political prosecution. The ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs and the police chief have even admitted that the effort might be in vain. Pointlessness seems to be another sound reason to give up this ridiculous, damaging and backwards-looking pursuit.