Junta gets flak for sedition charge against Thanathorn

By KAS CHANWANPEN 
THE NATION

 

File photo

 

ILAW SAYS NCPO HAS A PATTERN OF GOING AFTER ITS POLITICAL OPPONENTS

 

RIGHTS advocates hit out at the junta yesterday after its legal officer filed a complaint against Future Forward Party (FWP) leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, accusing him of sedition.

 

Local rights watchdog iLaw yesterday hinted that the charges pressed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) or its officers were political in nature. 

 

Thanathorn, whose party won more than 80 seats in the Lower House on its electoral debut, posted a picture of the warrant on his social-media accounts. The document shows he is being accused of violating the sedition law that carries a maximum punishment of seven years in jail.

The warrant requested the politician to report to Pathum Wan Police Station in Bangkok on Saturday. 

 

Thanathorn wrote in the caption: “I will report to them as requested to prove that I have no guns, prison or laws at my disposal. I only have people who love justice by my side.” The post went viral soon after and #SaveThanathorn became the top trending hashtag in Thailand with more than 340,000 tweets.

 

The accusation reportedly dates back to an incident in 2015, when anti-junta student activists resisted detention by the authority. Thanathorn is accused of providing a vehicle for the students to flee.

 

A warrant was also issued yesterday for his colleague and FWP secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, summoning him to testify in another case related to the party’s statement on the dissolution of Thai Raksa Chart Party.

 

Thanathorn said he had anticipated that the authority would try to corner his party and colleagues with allegations and prosecution. 

 

“We have no fear and we will move in a straightforward manner. We might be a threat to anti-democracy military but not to national security,” he told reporters. 

 

“I wonder how the call for the restoration of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law could be regarded as extreme leftist,” Thanathorn said, referring to a provocative statement made by Army chief Apirat Kongsompong on Monday.

 

In a strong statement, the Army commander denounced foreign-educated individuals for bringing their extreme leftist ideology to topple the constitutional monarchy regime. The message, according to political observers, was a direct attack on the Future Forward Party for its popular movement against the junta.

 

“I don’t know what message Khun Apirat wants to convey and why he has to make people hate us and waste our time to clear his allegations,” Thanathorn said. “We want to save our time to work for the people.”

 

Fate of junta critics

 

Following the development, iLaw wrote on its Facebook page yesterday that this was not the first time someone who had opposed the ruling regime has been hit with a sedition charge.

 

After the 2014 coup, at least 66 people had been accused of this crime. Among them were prime opponents of the NCPO such as politician Chaturon Chaisang and activists Sombat Boonngamanong and Pansak Srithep.

 

“According to our records, it cannot be denied that those charged with these cases took a clear stance against the NCPO,” iLaw said. 

 

The organisation also published an article on the use of the sedition law against the regime’s opponents since 2015 to show its relevance to the current development.

 

According to the article, the legal actions could be aimed at intimidating, burdening, justifying their detention or to try the accused in a military court, whose conduct and judgements have often been questioned by rights advocates.

 

Senior researcher of Human Rights Watch in Thailand, Sunai Phasuk, yesterday said the criminal cases against the leader of Future Forward Party were the latest examples of the junta’s contempt for the right to freedom of expression and peaceful dissent. 

 

“The arbitrary prosecution of dissidents and critics that has been going on for more than four years shows the junta has no commitment to fulfil its promises to make Thailand a rights-respecting democratic country,” he told The Nation. “What happens in reality is entrenched dictatorship.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30367094

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-04

 

 

The already dim illusion that political life will be free and fair being extinguished. Shameful.

34 minutes ago, champers said:

The already dim illusion that political life will be free and fair being extinguished. Shameful.

But entirely expected. More fool the major parties for participating in this sham in the first place.

10 minutes ago, baboon said:

But entirely expected. More fool the major parties for participating in this sham in the first place.

How else were they to show the rulers that the population is unhappy.

 Now every one knows exactly how the ruling party feels about them.

The military is composed of conscripted men and most don't want to be there.

No one is happy except the rich and privileged. 

 Lots of the traditional influences are laughing stocks.

The sham reinforces opinions in the minds of the commoners.

And the commoners are the basic stock of Thai society. I had to chat obliquely in this post.

25 minutes ago, baboon said:

But entirely expected. More fool the major parties for participating in this sham in the first place.

A sham that needed participants, if a no show at the ballot box, then no one to keep some sort of pressure on the junta.

The change is coming I feel just not quick enough , having the patience to see through what the future forward party brings to government as well as others, is going to take more than one election, those that seek to destroy legitimate freely elected oppositions 

to the ruling party, in the end will be accountable, it is having the will to stay the course set by this election to have a change , a peaceful change!, 

Khun Thanathorn knows the dirty games that will be played out, and you can see by his demeanour he knows deep down the change is coming and from this he grows in strength, the generation change is happening the old do not like it , but in the end they will become obsolete, and  insignificant.

40 minutes ago, leeneeds said:

A sham that needed participants, if a no show at the ballot box, then no one to keep some sort of pressure on the junta.

The change is coming I feel just not quick enough , having the patience to see through what the future forward party brings to government as well as others, is going to take more than one election, those that seek to destroy legitimate freely elected oppositions 

to the ruling party, in the end will be accountable, it is having the will to stay the course set by this election to have a change , a peaceful change!, 

Khun Thanathorn knows the dirty games that will be played out, and you can see by his demeanour he knows deep down the change is coming and from this he grows in strength, the generation change is happening the old do not like it , but in the end they will become obsolete, and  insignificant.

I disagree with most of your post. Children are raised in conformist school environments.

It is the parents that are influencing the opinions, they are saying that change must happen and the children are listening.

In my small village and many others, not one vote counted.

My wife cautions me not to speak my mind even though she agrees with me.

The thing is that the children know what a sham everything is, from top to bottom.

We are too old now but the young may have some sway 

Here we go again. The leopard never changes its spots.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Army commander denounced foreign-educated individuals for bringing their extreme leftist ideology to topple the constitutional monarchy regime

And right there you have  it. Days  here may be numbered  Johnny  foreigner.

2 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

Here we go again. The leopard never changes its spots.

Well it does actually. 

 Singha beer celebrates a lion, the phantastical lion.

Leo beer ( being Leo the Lion.) celebrates the leopard. (Leo the leopard)

By some convoluted reasoning, the leopard changed its spots.

You work it out. lol

 Cheers

10 minutes ago, gunderhill said:

And right there you have  it. Days  here may be numbered  Johnny  foreigner.

It's the standard Thai/Chinese rallying cry. If you can think rationally/logically, have morals/ethics end do not unquestioningly kowtow to authority, 

 

then you are foreign and not Thai 

 

And, for Thais, nothing is more harmful and hurtful than being excommunicated from the in-group. 

 

"Farang. Them bad people."

Bullets will fly

blood will flow

men will die

but their women and children will not mourn

the sacrifice of the brave for the land to which they were born

birds will grow quiet and the wind will slow

but after interminable darkness will dawn the day

that sets Thailand free

and once the sun breaks on that fine morning

it will not set in a thousand years

 

 

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

ILAW SAYS NCPO HAS A PATTERN OF GOING AFTER ITS POLITICAL OPPONENTS

of course they do, it is a thai tradition

3 hours ago, webfact said:

denounced foreign-educated individuals for bringing their extreme leftist ideology

In this day and age it is impossible to keep an entire population ignorant.  The junta is running scared so each and every day they announce another trumped-up charge against a political party which they perceive as a threat to their corrupt ways.

What I find amazing is that the Army Chief’s children both studied overseas in the US.

 

You can be 100% sure that every one of these army generals kids would be studying overseas too.

And the famous final words of a "judge" will be: "banned from politics for the next 20 years! Next..."

2 hours ago, Prissana Pescud said:

I disagree with most of your post. Children are raised in conformist school environments.

It is the parents that are influencing the opinions, they are saying that change must happen and the children are listening.

In my small village and many others, not one vote counted.

My wife cautions me not to speak my mind even though she agrees with me.

The thing is that the children know what a sham everything is, from top to bottom.

We are too old now but the young may have some sway 

what do children have to do  with this vote just taken place,?  They did not vote, are you a member of the electoral commission?

That you can make the statement " not one vote counted and many others " did you spend your day driving to these villages to view who voted ? and while you where on route to such villages, did you leave a camera in situ to view non voters while you were absent from that particular village?

 and did you do this in every village you ventured to? did you go and look all day and actually watch who voted?

 Obviously you can have your opinion, but your  context is very lacking on the subject matter,

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Junta gets flak for sedition charge against Thanathorn

 

They deserve a whole lot more than just flak...

 

 

...the fundamental sham is that this guy is doing anything....'for the people'....

 

...only an *d*ot cannot see whose bidding he is really doing....

 

...the perfect candidate....his billions are not enough.....sound familiar.....???

Lets see how this works out an other hideous action of the junta, so far this guy is the most clean of them all. Putting his money in a blind trust something no other leader has ever done. 

 

They are running scared because if he gets even bigger next time he might make some changes that are not good for the army and that would hurt them in their pockets.

Shame on the junta, but it was expected. If I ever saw a thumped up charge its this one. They are sinking really low. I have no problem with actual crimes but this is nothing. 

I'm sort of glad that this happened and has been made public as, IMO, this time the sedition charges are going to do the Junta damage. This whole episode has come about because the army commander has lost face due to the reaction to his toxic comments about western educated Thai's bringing supposed leftist thought processes back to Thailand.

 

What were they thinking? The showing that Future Forward got in their first election should have told them (the Junta) that these people shouldn't be messed with on the political stage. The sedition charges (and other charges brought against other members of the party) are going to bring more support for FF and show the public once more what sort of tool the NCPO is for the Junta. Well done for that; I hope you have the soothing balm ready for the bite you are going to receive in the a$$ because of this.

 

As always, only in my humble opinion........................

peace and ORDER!!!!!

57 minutes ago, bowerboy said:

What I find amazing is that the Army Chief’s children both studied overseas in the US.

 

You can be 100% sure that every one of these army generals kids would be studying overseas too.

I agree with you in principle. But, the most successful Thai kids who school overseas are the ones who upon returning to Planet Thailand promptly forget all those Western ideas. 

 

In Thailand, education is purely for show. They all know it has NO BEARING on their future in Thailand where connections rule and incompetence is the norm. 

On the bus this morning and saw a few people on their phones scrolling through. Saw lots of Thanathorn images. I'm guessing these images with Thai writing on are in support of him. Amazing to look and see so many people glued to their phones on social media. 

 

My missus has always been apathetic to the situation with the junta. But since the election and all of this, she's becoming more vocal and p***** off. 

 

 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

the Army commander denounced foreign-educated individuals for bringing their extreme leftist ideology to topple the constitutional monarchy regime.

Hope the Thai Army does not have to fight a war. With a commander who cannot think outside of "the square", they're likely to lose, IMHO. ????

 

I would think that the vast majority of Thais want to keep their Royalty! They are the figurehead, represent the nation and Thai people are proud of them.

In a strong statement, the Army commander denounced foreign-educated individuals for bringing their extreme leftist ideology to topple the constitutional monarchy regime. The message, according to political observers, was a direct attack on the Future Forward Party for its popular movement against the junta.

 

Don't you just love a general talking constitutional as the cocks gather at the hen house????

If the powers that be did want the current Junta in place they would not be there - people still believe presidents and prime ministers have real power. Nope they are 'allowed' to be there as long as they do as they are told and don't upset the people in charge - the faceless owners of the world's Central Banking system. Money talks BS walks.

5 hours ago, champers said:

The already dim illusion that political life will be free and fair being extinguished. Shameful.

Excerpt from the lyrics of a song that describes the situation very well:

Call It Democracy

Bruce Cockburn

Padded with power here they come
International loan sharks backed by the guns
Of market hungry military profiteers
Whose word is a swamp and whose brow is smeared
With the blood of the poor

 

Who rob life of its quality
Who render rage a necessity
By turning countries into labour camps
Modern slavers in drag as champions of freedom

 

See the paid off local bottom feeders
Passing themselves off as leaders
Kiss the ladies, shake hands with the fellows
And it's open for business like a cheap bordello

 

And they call it democracy...
And they call it democracy...

5 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Regretting your support for the junta yet or are we still playing the Thaksin whataboutery game?

I have not been supporting the junta for a long time, and i still don't support Thaksin I place him next to the junta in a group of people who are crooks and damaging for the country. 

 

Is it hard for you to to wrap your mind around the fact that people can be anti Thaksin and anti junta ? Been years and years since i supported the junta, but I am still anti Thaksin too. 

26 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

Hope the Thai Army does not have to fight a war. With a commander who cannot think outside of "the square", they're likely to lose, IMHO. ????

 

I would think that the vast majority of Thais want to keep their Royalty! They are the figurehead, represent the nation and Thai people are proud of them.

Likely to lose, will have lost before they even get started, there would be such a stampede by the chief rushing to the rear out of harms way they would be tripping over each other without anyone left to give the one fundamental order - retreat guys and cover your <deleted>. 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

the junta yesterday after its legal officer filed a complaint against Future Forward Party (FWP) leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, accusing him of sedition.

Remember:

• the Chief of the NCPO (aka 'junta') is General Prayut, current PM (by his own appointment) and next candidate for PM.
• In 2018 Prayut declared himself a politician and no longer a soldier. Yet, the power behind the NCPO is the military.
• Prayut officially is registered with a political party which recently won seats in the Parliament - while still Chief of the NCPO.
• The NCPO governs with constitutional power over all branches of government. It has thus defined itself as a political institution.

Prayut has made clear through his leadership of the NCPO over the last five years that the Royal Thai Military is not apolitical. Yet the NCPO governs with political agendas through political processes using political institutions without regard to any structures of democratic governance.

Prayut's (let's drop the façade of NCPO as if it were an unrelated third person) accusation of Thanathorn of sedition is a political act against a political opponent and not an act of military neutrality to protect the democratic sovereignty of Thailand.

Prayut's accusation goes beyond a mere political conflict of interest to one that disenfranchises the nation from democracy that is mandated in the Constitution. Prayut should re-examine for himself and the RTM as to what "sedition" really means for Thailand and to whom it really applies.