Thai opposition set for court battle over royal insults law
Reuters Videos
STORY: Thailand's main opposition is facing a potential order to dissolve from the country's Constitutional Court in the coming weeks. But its figurehead, Pita Limjaroenrat, told Reuters this week that he's hopeful that it will survive. He led the Move Forward party to victory in elections last year, but was blocked from taking power by army-appointed lawmakers. Pita warned another investigation case could leave the party decimated. And in a Thursday interview he said Thailand's conservative establishment is again trying to control popular leaders: "This is the fifth vicious cycle in 20 years. It's been a way that the conservative elites have found a way to keep elected officials at bay. This will be the fifth time, it’s almost like an old record playing the same song over and over again" Thailand's politics has been defined by a two-decade-long struggle between the military-backed conservative establishment and popular parties like Move Forward. In January, the Constitutional Court found that a plan by Move Forward to amend the royal insult law was an attempt to undermine the crown and ordered them to drop it. The law - also called lese majeste - protects the monarchy from criticism and carries harsh jail sentences. The party now faces a possible dissolution by the same court over the same issue, with a verdict due on August 7. Move Forward however denies any wrongdoing. “I still believe in judicial fairness and judicial consistency. I think it will be dismissed by technicality. The update from our last interview and to today is that our legal team has been working the details and we found that the complaint process was legally flawed.” Pita says his party faces another challenge from a complaint by conservative activists to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The commission hasn't said if or when it will take the case to court. But it could lead to lifetime bans for 44 lawmakers accused of breaching ethics by supporting changes to the strict royal insult law. The case could seriously weaken the progressive movement, which supports ending military conscription and breaking up monopolies. In the last two decades, a total of four Thai political parties, including those backed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have been dissolved. The most recent was Future Forward, disbanded in 2020, with 16 senior members banned for 10 years over a loan from its founder. “Maybe it's time to stop this vicious cycle. And if the worst case scenario were to happen, I'm hoping that I'm the last one that gets this kind of treatment. Our party is the last party that gets dissolved in Thai democracy.” Pita remains Thailand's top choice for prime minister, with 46% support in a recent survey, compared to 13% for Srettha Thavisin.
3 hours ago
