Thai royalists claim that lese majeste law is "by Thai people, for Thai people". The king, in whose name many people are now being sentenced to prison for a ridiculous number of years, is supposedly totally against this law.
I don't believe this is true for one moment. Whilst it's true that King bhumibol usually pardons foreigners, it is also true that lese majeste law serves the king's interests well. Over his 60 year reign, king Bhumibol has been more than just a ceremonial monarch.
In his book: "The king Never Smiles", Paul Handley revealed how in 1976, king Bhumibol endorsed both the massacre of students at Thammasat University, and the arrests and witch hunts against left-wing Thais which followed the massacre.
The King of Thailand needs this law to silence his critics and to uphold the myth that he is a "constitutional" monarch with no executive powers, and therefore beyond criticism. How else could Bhumibol have endorsed the 2006 military coup against Thailand's democratic goverment?
But King Bhumibol has crossed the line. His initial silence, followed his theatrical signing of "royal pardons" for Oliver Jufer and Harry nicolaides, while remaining silent in the case of Thai prisoners like Da Torpedo and Suwicha Thakhor, demonstrate that Bhumibol is a bully who exploits lese majeste law to forment his image as the "compassionate king".
To Thai royalists I say: the people of Thailand in no way benefit from having lese majeste law. Many Thais would like to gently criticise their monarch's past actions, but they would surely wind up in prison. Meanwhile, King Bhumibol claims to welcome criticisim, but then he remains silent when his critics are arrested and sent to prison.
So I'll say it again: King bhumibol Adulyadej endorses lese majeste law by pardoning only foreigners, and by not using his substacial moral influence over Thais to help abolish this cruel law. I'm ready for my punishment now, but please note, unlike other foreigners, I will never kneel before a portrait of the Thai king and beg "forgivenes" for exercising my right to free speech. Never.
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