Wielding the law for political purpose has already
damaged the country's record on human rights
The military government is busy
squandering what is left of its international credibility by hunting lese
majeste suspects who have fled overseas. The move can do nothing to improve
Thailand's reputation, only further tarnish its record on human rights.
Last week Justice Minister General
Paiboon Khumchaya caused further embarrassment to the country when he handed a
list of three Thai nationals accused of demeaning the monarchy to the French
ambassador.
The minister did not seek
extradition of the three suspects, whose names have not been made public, but
instead merely implied that Thailand wanted them prosecuted.
The justice and foreign ministers
are working together on the matter, but both know very well that France and
other countries thought to be harbouring lese majeste suspects have no such
royalist Lawson their books. So they are reduced to communicating to foreign
diplomats their "desire" that these fugitives be deported and hoping
that friendly relations will persuade the countries in question to comply.
It is unfortunate for this
government that most other nations around the world have no laws protecting
monarchy. Those that do have them rarely enforce them, or at least the
punishment is lenient. Unlike in Thailand, criticising and even insulting the
monarchy is not regarded as a serious crime across most of the world, and it
certainly does not warrant pleas for extradition of citizens who have fled
overseas.
More importantly, governments all
over the world - including those in countries that retain monarchical rule -
have long recognised that the lese majeste law in Thailand is routinely
enforced for political purposes rather than to protect the revered King. The
charge is applied here mostly to people who criticise the elitist establishment.
Better known as Article 112 of the
Penal Code, the law provides legal protection only to Their Majesties the King
and Queen, the heir apparent and, as needed, the regent.
Article 112 simply says "Whoever,
defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the
Regent shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years."
Other members of the Thai royal
family are not covered by the law, and neither were the kings of Ayutthaya,
Sukhothai, Lanna or Lan Xang.
The international community has come
to recognise that the Thai military government is enforcing Article 112 as a
means of silencing its opponents.
More citizens have been imprisoned
for lese majeste under the current government than under any other
administration in modern history, according to a survey by rights-protection
group iLaw.
As of the start of this month, at
least 51 people had been charged with lese majeste since last year's coup, iLaw
found.
In many cases, the charge was
applied for acts or statements that made no direct mention of the monarchy, but
which officials loosely interpreted as defaming or libelling the royal
institution. Two students who presented a play entitled "The Wolf Bride"
at Thammasat University in 2013 were arrested last year and jailed for two
years and six months under Article 112. A person who helped present the play
has fled abroad to escape punishment. It seems that person's name is also on a
wanted list that the junta has submitted to a foreign government.
Wielding the law for political
purpose has already damaged the country's record on human rights. Hunting these
fugitives abroad takes us to a new low. The Nation, Bangkok
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