Recent political turmoil in Thailand has broken many of the taboos surrounding its once-revered monarchy. The youth-led social movement that has demanded the resignation of Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has also submitted a list of reforms calling for substantive changes to the monarchy, including the repeal of its draconian lèse majesté laws, which forbid the insult of the monarch and have been used as a weapon to silence dissent. Reforms also call for more transparency and accountability as well as banning the monarch from endorsing political coups, which is a frequent occurrence.
After whirlwind protests that saw thousands of people take to the streets of Bangkok on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the next morning saw the Royal Thai government issue a “severe” emergency decree while at the same time arresting more than 20 people, including Anon Nampa, a human rights lawyer and one of the leaders of the student-led anti-government protesters on charges of sedition. Under the new emergency decree, gatherings of more than five people have been banned, and the publication of news and information that “could create fear” or “affect national security.”
After several major protests in Bangkok, authorities have practiced a degree of restraint, despite the dismantling of a long-held social taboo of voicing public criticism of Thailand’s once-revered monarchy.
More than 100,000 people demonstrated on the open field at Sanam Luang, in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace in Bangkok over the weekend, defying the military-backed government of Prayuth Chan-o-cha and calling for unprecedented monarchical reforms.
After a long silence, Thailand’s pro-democracy opposition has returned. Although not clad in red nor do they share allegiances to ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, they have taken aim at Thailand’s ruling power structures.
Angry student protesters marching in the streets of Bangkok and whispers of discontent among Thailand’s ruling elite, have rattled Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Thai Prime Minister and leader of the May 2014 putsch that elevated him into power.
A series of events have unsettled both Thailand’s youth and its ruling class. First, Thai Prime Minister and 2014 coup d’état leader Prayuth Chan-o-cha employed an array of authoritarian interventions to ensure his 2019 re-election. Later, the Constitutional Court dissolved the Future Forward Party and banned its young, charismatic leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. As the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the globe, Prayuth has been accused of using the pandemic to boost his political image, but came under fire for his protracted lockdown, questionable alcohol ban and failure to revive Thailand’s flagging economy.
