Thailand Politics
Paranoia and Conspiracy, Thailand Under Military Rule
General Prayuth Chan-ocha, center, addresses reporters at the Royal Thai Army Headquarters
BANGKOK – Two months after the military coup, the Thai junta continues to interrogate, detain, and persecute activists, journalists, and academics. The period of “attitude adjustment”, as the military dictatorship calls these arbitrary detentions, may vary from a few hours to seven days, depending on how far removed the victims are from the fairy tale of peace, unity, and happiness that the junta wants them to repeat.
While these “conversations” have been quite effective in silencing opposition, they also reveal the army’s paranoid belief in the existence of an organized plot to bring down the Thai monarchy. Many among the summoned reported that the interrogators attempted to identify and expose such an organization. Pitch Pongsawat was among them. A professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University and the host of the popular satellite TV program “Wake Up Thailand”, Pitch wrote of being called up to meet with the army and hearing about an alleged plot to take down the monarchy put together by a structured organization.
This belief in the existence of an organization revolving around former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, republican intellectuals, and fringes of the Red Shirts, is providing both legitimacy and urgency for unprecedented repressive measures by the Thai military, which has historically presented the protection of the monarchy as their top priority.
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an outspoken professor at Kyoto University, who refused to return to Thailand after being summoned, told me:
“The exploitation of the monarchy has characterized the strategy of the Thai army in maintaining its role in politics. Since the Cold War, the military has been able to use the royal institution to guarantee its power position. So long as the monarchy is being viewed as under threat, this will give legitimacy to the military to intervene in politics and undermine its political enemies. However, the important part of it is to create, recreate the faces of enemies. Anyone disagreeing with the coup now could be perceived as anti-monarchist, thus being an enemy of the Thai state.”
The political use of the monarchy to silence critical voices is not a novelty in Thailand. The infamous lèse majesté law, which punishes anyone who defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, crown prince or regent with up to 15 years of jail, has been used heavily for this purpose, especially since the Red Shirt mobilization in 2010.
In that year, 478 cases were filed, three times as many as in 2009. Since the coup on May 22, the junta led by General Prayut Chan-ocha has elevated this strategy to an unprecedented degree and set out to crush the imagined plot against the monarchy. Only in the last few months, 17 lese majeste cases were filled. In the military paranoia, enemies of the state are everywhere, from students protesting the coup to media commentators, from vocal taxi drivers to academics advocating for a reform of the law.
The revival of the idea of “enemies of the state” to describe anybody who voices criticism, an important tool for violent military repression of progressive forces during the Cold War, is a sign of Thailand’s slow descent into a new dark era. Once the monarchy and the nation are perceived to be under attack, any form of dissent can be deemed by the military as a real challenge to Thai identity and repressed with any means possible.
Last time this happened was in the mid-1970s and it concluded with ultra-royalist paramilitary forces beating, raping, and killing hundreds of students and activists, who eventually fled in the jungle and started an armed struggle.
Thailand today is still distant from that level of violence, but the first worrying signs of the junta’s paranoia are starting to emerge. Pavin, together with famed Thai historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul, to whom General Prayut referred early this year as “a mentally ill academic [who] is intent on overthrowing the institution,” and the exiled leaders of the Seri Thai resistance movement have been accused of being part of this imagined plot, forced to leave the country, and seen their passports and citizenships revoked.
Similarly, critics of the coup are threatened with lese majeste charges, and face trials in military courts, notoriously lacking accountability and the right to appeal.
Unfortunately, human history is dotted with similar authoritarian regimes and the disastrous consequences of their quixotic fights against imagined conspiracies. It is undeniable that the Thai monarchy has lost popularity since the palace has been seen as taking sides in the present political crisis, and often voiced to be the mind behind it. However, this discontent is a dispersed murmur rather than an actual conspiracy.
Whether the junta truly believes in the existence of this plot or is just using it as a way to legitimizing repression, the effects of this paranoia are real and the current witch-hunt gives an eerie preview of things to come in Thailand.
Claudio Sopranzetti is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Oxford University All Souls College and the author of “Red Journeys: Inside the Thai Red-Shirt Movement”.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Chiang Rai Times editorial policy.
(CTN News) – Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin continues to make local and international visits to try to solve problems and promote Thailand, but he has failed to impress most voters, according to a Nida poll. The poll also revealed the declining popularity of Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the rise of the Move Forward Party.
According to a poll released on Sunday, only 12.85% of people supported the prime minister, down from 17.75% in the previous survey. The daughter of convicted former Prime Minister Thaksin, currently on parole, saw her popularity drop from 6% to 4.85%.
The National Institute of Development Administration conducts a quarterly survey of the public’s preferred political leaders. The last survey was released at the end of March.
According to the survey, supporters of the prime minister described Mr Srettha as a resolute decision-maker determined to address their problems. Ms Paetongtarn was complimented for her vision, leadership, knowledge, and grasp of the country’s difficulties.
This weekend, the prime minister will be in the northeast region listening to citizens’ concerns. The journey occurred only a few days after he had visited northern provinces earlier in the week.
Despite criticism, he has reduced his abroad trips, citing the need to showcase Thailand to investors and traders.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the chief advisor of the Move Forward Party, remained the top candidate for prime minister with 45.50% of the vote, up slightly from 42.75% in the previous quarter’s poll.
Pirapan Salirathavibhaga was the huge winner. The leader of the United Thai National Party saw his popularity nearly quadruple from 3.55% to 6.85%.
The sampled voters stated they appreciated Mr Pita’s political beliefs and thought he had broad knowledge. They praised Mr Pirapan’s credibility, claiming he was clean and honest.
Two other probable prime minister candidates were Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan of the Thai Sang Thai Party and Anutin Chanvirakul, leader of Bhumjaithai. However, they were less popular than others.
About 20% of voters still did not believe any candidate was qualified to lead the country, which is the same percentage as in the last survey.
Move Forward Party was the most popular party with 49.20%, up slightly from three months ago, while Pheu Thai fell around five percentage points to 16.85% from 22.10%.
The poll, issued on Sunday, surveyed 2,000 ineligible voters between June 14 and June 18.
More in: Move Forward Party
Thailand Politics
Move Forward Party MP Jirat Thongsuwan Appeals Suspended Jail Sentence for Defamation
(CTN News) – Jirat Thongsuwan, a Move Forward Party MP, says he would appeal his one-year suspended jail sentence for defaming a former senior defense ministry official concerning the state’s procurement of bogus bomb detectors.
The Criminal Court also fined Mr Jirat 100,000 baht for falsely accusing ACM Tharet Punsri, a former Air Force chief-of-staff who later became the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, of being the chairman and shareholder of a company that supplied the military with the infamous GT200 bomb detectors.
The Chachoengsao MP claimed a July 20, 2022, no-confidence vote against cabinet ministers in Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government. ACM Tharet was not a cabinet member.
Jirat Thongsuwan also identified ACM Tharet as a key figure in the 2006 coup headed by then-army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, which overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra.
ACM Tharet told the court that Jirat Thongsuwan’s charges were false and harmed his reputation. He denied involvement with the bomb detection company and said he was not the company’s senior chairman or shareholder.
In addition to the suspended jail term and fine, the court ordered Jirat Thongsuwan to pay $ 500,000 baht in damages to ACM Tharet and publish an apology in three newspapers for five days.
Jirat Thongsuwan later announced on his X account that he had challenged the verdict with the hashtag “An injustice is infuriating”.
The MP has also been accused of dodging required military conscription. He admitted to the accusation on May 8.
A British business promoted the GT200 as a “remote substance detector” and sold it in several countries. Between 2004 and 2009, fourteen Thai government organizations, most of which were military, were projected to spend 1.4 billion baht on the units.
Concerns about the GT200 and related gadgets arose after the National Science and Technology Development Agency discovered they lacked electronic components.
The devices were later revealed to be “divining rods”.
Thailand Politics
Thaksin Shinawatra Files 100 Million Baht Defamation Lawsuit Against Warong Dechgitvigrom
(CTN News) – Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, has launched a defamation action against Warong Dechgitvigrom, the head of the Thai Pakdee Party, accusing him of paying a bribe to be released on bail in a lese majeste case.
Thaksin’s attorney, Winyat Chartmontree, filed a lawsuit against Warong, seeking 100 million baht in damages.
Warong, a long-time Thaksin Shinawatra critic, gave a public statement and posted on social media, saying that 2 billion baht was paid to judicial officials in exchange for release on bail in the lese majeste case.
Thaksin Shinawatra Granted Release on 500,000 Baht Bond
Thaksin was granted release on a 500,000 baht bond last week and told not to leave the country without court authorization after pleading innocent to charges of defaming King Rama IX in a 2015 interview with South Korean media.
Winyat stated that, while Warong did not identify Thaksin Shinawatra by name in his speech or post, he did include a hashtag with Thaksin’s name as well as the date Thaksin must appear in court, allowing readers to connect Thaksin to the allegations.
Winyat further stated that he was investigating the fact that Warong mentioned the specific aircraft and automobiles utilized by Thaksin Shinawatra to violate the Personal Data Protection Act.
“I have requested Mr Warong to provide proof as to where he received the data. “If it turns out that it came from state officials, there will be legal consequences,” he warned.
The Criminal Court has scheduled the case’s preliminary hearing for September 30.
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