Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat said, during an interview with the BBC, that he believes that Thai people now have “some maturity and some tolerance to speak up about the monarchy” and to discuss the country’s controversial lèse majesté law.
While acknowledging that even “mild” criticism or questioning when discussing the country’s highest institution used to be unacceptable, the Move Forward Party’s prime ministerial candidate believes that this has started to change, with more discussion taking place in parliament and in the media.
“Nowadays, talking (about the monarchy) in parliament is starting to become possible. Talking with the media is now possible. If we speak about this in the most mature and careful way, I think people will start to understand. Even the conservatives understand what the role of the monarchy in the modern 21st century should be and how a constitutional monarchy should be governed. I think that’s when we’re starting to have a good conversation and dialogue, and that takes time, which I understand.”
Pita reaffirmed that his party will push ahead with its draft bill to amend the relevant article of the Constitution (112), to reduce the penalty for offenders and to prevent it from being used as a political tool.
Pita said that with 14 million voters behind them in the general election, his party has a clear mandate to pursue its agenda, which includes amending Article 112.
Currently, the Move Forward party and its coalition partners have a comfortable majority in the House, with 313 of the 500 seats, but he needs support from the military-appointed 250 member senate to become Thailand’s next prime minister. Some of the senators have declared that they will not vote for Pita because of his party’s stand on the lèse majesté law.
He described as “a quick brush of the picture” the widespread belief that most senators would not vote for him because of this. He said he has explained the details of the proposed amendment to some of the senators, who later agreed that they don’t want the monarchy to be used as a political weapon either.
“It’s about dialogue, it’s about conversation, but to assume that all Thais or all senators agree or disagree, that’s a bit of a quick brush all over,” he said.
“I think, if I get a chance to sit down and talk to the people who are opposing it, or the people who actually want to increase the penalty for royal defamation, I think we would be able to find common ground or a consensus going forward. The best place to have a dialogue about this, with maturity and transparency, is in parliament.”
The BBC interview with Pita was broadcast yesterday (Tuesday) on BBC News, but the segment was blocked by the Thai satellite TV provider, True Visions, possibly due to concerns over what might have been said. Other international news channels, such as CNN, NHK, Al Jazeera and ABC Australia have also been subjected to such censorship when it comes to news related to the Thai monarchy.
ทรูวิชั่นส์ เมื่อไหร่จะเลิกถือวิสาสะบล็อคข่าวจากสำนักข่าวต่างประเทศเกี่ยวกับเมืองไทยนะ? ก่อนหน้านี้ CNN ABC ก็โดน เช้านี้เซ็นเซอร์บีบีซีสัมภาษณ์พิธา | Here is what’s being shown on screen during @BBCWorld’s segment that features @pakhead interviewing @Pita_MFP from @MFPThailand: pic.twitter.com/daUyvdBvWY
— Thanyarat Doksone (@8td) May 30, 2023
The full interview, with Thai subtitles, was published by BBC Thai and was the highest trending video on Youtube in Thailand today (Wednesday).
