Definition of LÈSE-MAJESTÉ

1

a : a crime (as treason) committed against a sovereign power

b : an offense violating the dignity of a ruler as the representative of a sovereign power

2

: a detraction from or affront to dignity or importance

It's not as described in the article. It's insulting the dignity of a ruler as the representative of sovereign power, not the country I watched the interviews, he never said anything disparaging about the King nor the country. Unless the PM feels his dignity has been insulted of course as Thaksin said he wasn't impressed so far by them. If he ever does return these police will be performing the "turn-coat" manoeuvre! Mind you, they've probably been instructed to say and do this.

He suggested that the Privy Council was behind the coup. The members of the Privy Council are appointed directly by the King. Get it?

He "fled" to Dubai with their blessings: how else can you explain allowing him to go to Beijing Olympics? Everybody happy. Ying Luck is so stupid or brave or ? that she was given an exit strategy but declined to take it & came back to face the atonal music.

Taking away his police job... boy they really know how to hurt a guy. I'm sure he will lose plenty of sleep over that. Does that mean his slice of tea money cake will be cut off too?

Would you care to explain which government was in power at the time to let him go with their blessings.

Surely it could not have been a Thaksin government under his brother in law Somchai, could it?

Nah, they would never be that stupid, would they?

As for his police job, he has not been an active policeman for decades, even though he held the rank and probably got the pension for it. The rank and the pension don't matter to him but being stripped of the rank by a police force he no longer has control of hurts but not as much as the loss of face does.

First, the police force was in Thaksin's pocket and continued to be so during his period in exile. The current announcement is that those days are over and that the police leadership are reporting to someone else now. If Thaksin's control over the police force is broken then this announcement highly significant. Secondly it is a 'screw you' marker that Thaksin kicked off his assault on the state institutions of power by aiming four-squarely at the leadership of the army which he has now not only lost (twice) but is now on the retreat by losing the leadership of the police. Long may it continue.