Thailand’s most popular political party last year won over supporters and the ire of the conservative establishment by campaigning to end military rule and weaken a draconian law banning criticism of the country’s monarchy.
But on Wednesday, the Forward Movement Party and its push for change suffered a serious blow. Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that the party’s proposal to limit the royal defamation law violated the Constitution because it was an attempt to overthrow the monarchy. He ordered Move Forward to cease all activities related to amending the law.
The verdict, in effect, makes clear that the royal defamation law is sacrosanct to Thailand’s conservative establishment, a nexus of royals, military officials and wealthy elites. Their motives were already clear last year when they moved quickly to prevent Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat from becoming prime minister, pushed the party into opposition despite winning the general election and installed a coalition of allies in power.
Wednesday’s decision leaves Move Forward vulnerable to more legal challenges, which could pave the way for its eventual dissolution. It could also set the stage for a showdown between Thailand’s progressive opposition and the establishment. Move Forward and its supporters argue that the royal defamation law – known as section 112 – needs to be changed because it is being used as a political weapon, while the establishment say any change to the law could lead to the complete abolition of the monarchy.
These flaws were exposed in 2020 when tens of thousands of people took to the streets after the Constitutional Court dissolved the Future Forward Party, Move Forward’s predecessor. Protesters called for a check on the king’s power, breaking a social taboo in a country where the monarch has always been revered.
The court decided that the pledge to change the law made by Mr Pita and Move Forward during last year’s election campaign was a move aimed at overturning Thailand’s political system “with the king as head of state”.
“The exercise of freedom must not conflict with the peace, order, good morals of the people and must not infringe the rights of other people,” one of the judges told the nine-judge court as he read the verdict.
Mr Pita told reporters on Wednesday that the law change was not an attempt “to cause the monarchy to deteriorate”, adding that Thai society had missed an opportunity “to use Parliament to discuss this maturely”.
He added: “This is not just about me, personally. It’s not just about our party, it’s about the future. It’s about the health of Thailand’s democracy and the political landscape going forward.”
Party supporters say he has been unfairly targeted.
“I think what Move Forward is asking is not to abolish the monarchy, but instead they want to protect the monarchy and put the institution above politics,” Chayanut Panmak, 62, said outside the court before the hearing of the verdict. “Right now, anyone can use 112 to report anyone. This brings down the monarchy.”
Move Forward was the first political party to make the amendment to the lèse-majesté law a major campaign push. The law criminalizing criticism of the monarchy is one of the harshest in the world and carries a minimum sentence of three years for violation – the only law in Thailand that carries a minimum jail term – and a maximum sentence of 15 years for a single charge.
Mr Pita and Move Forward pledged to reduce prison sentences for those who break the law and to designate the Bureau of the Royal Household as the only agency allowed to bring prosecutions. (Any Thai citizen can file complaints under the current version of the law.)
After Move Forward won the election last May, the military-appointed Senate, which appoints the prime minister, blocked Mr Pitta in an initial vote. Hours before a vote was to be held, the Constitutional Court ordered him out of parliament, pending a review of a case in which he was accused of violating electoral law for holding shares in a damaged media company.
Mr Pita was reinstated as an MP last week after the Constitutional Court ruled in his favour.
After the 2020 protests, authorities charged at least 262 people with violating the law, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a legal watchdog. Earlier this month, a Thai man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for sharing content deemed offensive to the monarchy, the harshest sentence yet handed down under the law.
Ryn Jirenuwat contributed to the report.
