Political Prisoners in Thailand
Oppose lese majeste law and human rights abuses in Thailand
Pending & acquitted cases
Military and monarchy as Siamese twins
The Asia Times has another long commentary on Thailand's political predicament by Shawn Crispin. There's some interesting bits and pieces.
For one thing, it is stated that in "the lead-up to the cremation of … King Bhumibol …, authorities rounded up 42 suspects at check points around the royal ceremony…". Further,
Rights groups and diplomats monitoring the arrests say the detained suspects likely face prosecution on national security-related charges for threatening the ceremony, including under the penal code's harsh lese majeste provision that shields the royal family from defamation, insult and threat.
It is interesting that Crispin credits The Dictator "for steering a smooth succession from Bhumibol to Vajiralongkorn, a delicate transition many feared could spark instability." To be honest, we think the "delicate transition" was a bit of a beat up.
The next royal big deal, he says, is "Vajiralongkorn's formal coronation, now seen as astrologically auspicious to be held in March…".
Crispin asks "how stable is the transition from royal old to new, and how serious is the threat posed by anti-monarchists supposedly lurking in the shadows?"
He notes that Vajiralongkorn "has set a tone for his reign in moves that diplomats and analysts say shows his intent to shake-up royal institutions in terms of personnel, protocol and operations."
That's somewhat bland for what he's doing, which is erasing all notion of popular sovereignty in favor of a monarchy that is independent of all checks and balances introduced after 1932.
Crispin says that the "Royal Household Bureau has also openly targeted those found to have abused their palace positions or association for personal gain."
That's somewhat bland for what somewhat bland for what's happened. Rather, the new king has been purging the palace and appointing his trusted allies.
One interesting observation is that "[c]hampions of the new reign say the housecleaning is overdue and that ill-deeds grew in the latter years of Bhumibol's reign when he was hospitalized for ill-health."
That's what might be expected, but it is one of the first statements of the fact that the new reign is embedding in a manner that is essentially neo-feudal and that shifts political and economic power to the palace.
The notion that the new palace will "challenge the big business families that have long leveraged royal connections to corner sectors of the economy, a commercial domination that has grown since the 2014 coup" seems to come out of nowhere, but it is known that the king maintains relations with several Sino-Thai tycoons.
It isn't clear to us that Vajiralongkorn taking "full control of the Crown Property Bureau …[and] the board of the palace's Royal Project Foundation," seems like him establishing his dominance and lining his pockets rather than a challenge to the big tycoons.
Crispin is correct to note that the military junta has "unquestioningly" done the palace's bidding, but adds a note:
Thailand's military and monarchy have long had a symbiotic relationship, with the former sworn to the protection of the latter, but the new emerging balance between the two powerful institutions is still being determined under Vajiralongkorn's young new reign.
Both General Prayuth Chan-ocha and the king are self-centered and erratic, leading to concerns that the two may clash.
Crispin is also on the money when he notes that the king is asserting authority of Bangkok-based military units, He refers to the "absorption of military combat units, including the First Region Command's First Infantry Division, a top-fighting force, into the king's personal guard."
That division "was recently moved from the military's main command in Bangkok to Vajiralongkorn's secondary Tawee Wattana palace on the capital's outskirts, with certain soldiers transferred upcountry."
On the transition to an "elected" government, Crispin observes the junta's reluctance and suggests that "anti-monarchy elements remain bent on undermining the royal institution…" may be a "reason" for further "election" delays. at a still uncertain juncture of the succession.
He reckons that there are 1,000 lese majeste complaints "still under police investigation…". That's a whole lot of anti-monarchists and a whole lot of justification for ongoing military repression.
For the moment, the junta and the king remain joined as Siamese twins in neo-feudal repression.
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Date : December 10, 2017
Tags: anti-monarchism, Crown Property Bureau, feudalism, king, lese majeste, Shawn Crispin, Sino-Thai tycoons, succession, Vajiralongkorn
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