All hail the King of Sham

How have Thai people arrived at this point? Why has an entire nation chosen to blindfold itself for six decades, refusing to question the official truth? Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's former Prime Minister, knows the answer: "The problem in Thailand is dishonesty", he recently said.

The ex premier's words are spot on! The consequence of this dishonesty, is that Thailand's monarchy is fast becoming the laughing stock of the world. Their king especially, once deeply respected by the international community, is now ridiculed and mocked by bloggers, as he deserves to be, for remaining silent on the issue of lese majeste law.

Many Thai people have simply closed their eyes and ears to the sham that has become the Thai monarchy. "The king must be protected at all cost!" They say, though they never specify what he has done wrong to merit such protection. The king is "above politics", they say, yet evidently he endorses military coups and lese majeste law. "He lives a simple life", they retort angrily. Yet, Forbes magazine has named him the richest monarch in the world two years running.

This self deception, even goes so far as to think that their "faith" in the Thai king is being "tested" in some way, so that when the cold facts are presented to them, they accuse detractors of Bhumibol Adulyadej of "trying to make then stop loving their king." When all we're trying to do is to demonstrate that the king is no saint.

Saints, the Thai king and his family are certainly not. While Thailand's elite: the urban middle class, the army, big business, the monarchy, etc, have been having a knees up for the last sixty years, most Thai people live a life of misery, often turning to prostitution just to feed their families. This is what Bhumibol mockingly calls the: "Sufficiency economy".

The biggest sham of all, however, is not "Sufficiency theory" - which is nothing more than Thailand's equivalent of "Let them eat cake!" dressed up with speudo economic rhetoric. No. It's not even Bhumibol's excesses: he owns a Rolls Royce, the Jubilee diamond, 35 billion dollars, the luxurious "Grand" palace, etc, ect.

The biggest sham of all, is Thailand's draconian lese majeste law: An anachronism from Thailand's past (though French in origin) which the king's supporters use to punish without mercy anyone who "insults" their king or refuses to participate in this sham. If you're lucky, you'll be put down by Thai royalists with a dismissive: "Shut up!", or even, "You know nothing!". Even though, you are simply trying to argue your point.

Yet nobody, apart from a few Thai people, know what Da Torpedo actually said in her rally speech: apart from a few snippets that have been translated into English, her speech has never been fully translated. To do so, is lese majeste, and a risk to "National security". But what is clear, is that Da Torpedo was trying to argue her point. Where's the "insult" in that?

As we await Da Torpedo's lese majeste verdict, Westerners should remember that her trial is being held behind closed doors: No journalists allowed! Newspaper readers won't even know what her "crime" is, only that she is guilty of "insulting" the king. This is what Thailand's Prime Minister calls "Thai culture".

I disagree. Abhisit Vejjajiva can demand respect for the Thai king and his family all he wants, but most people know the difference between "culture" and "cult". Thailand is a "cult" society. Thai royalists expect blind obedience not only from Thai subjects, but from foreigners too, while they deny both any semblance of justice. Well, we're not going to take it any more. We're going to take your advice and stay away from Thailand.

The Thai government's humiliation of Da Torpedo, Suwicha Thakhor, Oliver Jufer, and Harry Nicolaides, is an abuse of human rights. Not Thai culture. It's time supporters of the Thai king realised that neither Thai people nor foreigners, are prepared to go along with this dishonest sham any longer. Keep your "royal yellow" blindfolds Mr Abhisit, we don't love the king.

Free Da Torpedo! From FuketTheRama.