A staunch royalist and former advisor to the House committee on legal affairs, Sonthiya Sawasdee, told the media today that he will submit a petition to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) tomorrow. It will seek an investigation of the ethical conduct of 44 Move Forward MPs, for their approval of a bill to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the lèse majesté law.
He said that he opposed the registration of the Future Forward party, the predecessor of the Move Forward party, because its secretary-general, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, entertained the idea of amending Article 112, but without success as the Election Commission accepted the registration.
Now that the Constitutional Court has ruled that the Move Forward party has attempted to undermine the monarchy with its campaign to amend the law, Sonthiya said that it is about time for all 44 MPs to be stripped of their right to contest elections for life.
Two anti-monarchy activists, Tantawan Tuatulanon and Orawan Phuphong, staged a mock performance at the offices of the Election Commission, with ropes tied to their hands and necks to protest against the Constitutional Court’s ruling, as Ruangkrai Leekitwattana was telling the Press about his petition.
They also displayed a poster which read “Do you think Article 112 should be amended or scrapped”.
The two activists said that they deserve to be “executed” for supporting amendment of the lèse majesté law. The two young women ended a 50-day hunger strike against the lèse majesté law in March last year.
