Relax Your Majesty, it's only another massacre.

The popular story goes something like this: "The king of Thailand is a constitutional monarch with no legislative power, but, on rare occasions he has intervened to stop further bloodshed and restore order." Yeah, right! And the moon is made of cheese.

It's not that I'm trying to be awkward or anything, but I beg to differ. The king, not only has the power to legitimise military coups by signing their approval, but he also hasn't prevented any of the bloodbaths in Thailand's recent history.

Take this video from Diediechakri for example. Exactly when did the Thai king "intervene"? I'll tell you. King Bhumibol "intervened" when the streets of Bangkok were flowing with blood and it was more than obvious that the army had won.

Which is not surprising really, as the Thai army are the ones with guns. So let me just repeat that for the benefit of those who have not quite understood. If the Thai king had "intervened" in time, no-one would have died. As it is, many Thai people lost their lives on Black May 1992.

Now watch this video. It's unpleasant I know, but the ending reveals just what sort of person King Bhumibol really is and how things have worked in Thailand for the last 60 years. Oh! And if you're wondering why the king should have "intervened" in the first place, I'll tell you. The law in Thailand states that all public protests must be "pro-monarchy" in nature. That was the excuse used by the army in Black May 1992 to brutally crush the student protests.

So you see, Thai royalist can't have it both ways. They can't say the king is "above politics" one moment, then legislate to involve the Thai king in political matters. It doesn't make any sense. Now you may ask: What's it got to do with us? We're not Thai! Well I'll tell you.

Not only are Thai people entitled to the same basic human rights as the rest of us, but as westerners we have a moral duty to question lese majeste law, and the Thai government's justification for having such a law, rather than quietly accepting the harsh prison sentences dished out on Oliver Jufer and Harry Nicolaides, Da Torpedo, my friends Suwicha Thakhor and Nat Sattayapornpisut.

Personally, I believe you can drive a horse and cart through the Thai government's arguments for having this law. Before we accept this law being imposed on us, it's important for farangs to question the moral, legal, historical, and political use of lese majeste law. And if in the process we "injure" the great king of Thailand, that's too fucking bad!



Pearl of Wisdom from Y34r


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