172 Final Country Report

Thailand’s Suppression of Democracy Via the Censorship of Media Resources

Human Rights in Free Fall

Deepening Repression of Rights – Failed Promises to Respect Free Expression, Assembly, Ban Torture

Introduction & History – 

Over the past couple of decades Thailand has been experiencing severe political instability, which is evident by the abundant number of charters and constitutions that the country has maintained since the abolition of their absolute monarchy in 1932. Thailand has supported a total of 20 constitutions over the past 90 years, making it one of the highest numbers in the world (Thavevong, 2017). Additionally, the country frequently employs the use of coups d’etat in order to overthrow the previously ruling government (Saragih et al., 2021). Most recently in 2014, the former government was ousted after a series of protests during an escalating political crisis. The military junta known as “The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)” seized control and appointed Prayuth Chan-Ocha to the position of Prime Minister (Saragih et al., 2021).

Prayuth Chan-Ocha served as Commander-in-Chief in the Royal Thai Army, before leading the 2014 coup d’etat and becoming the nation’s Prime Minister (BBC, 2020). Although Prayuth used his military administration to forcefully take control of the government, he promptly implemented methods to help control his public image and make him appear softer, like a more benevolent leader. Prayuth assured the public that after accomplishing political reform, he would restore public order and civilian democratic rule (Saragih et al., 2021). He even wrote a song that was aired on television and radio stations titled “Return Happiness to Thailand,” which guaranteed listeners that his government would succeed in their goals, as long as they were patient since it would take time (BBC, 2020).

However people quickly realized that Prayuth’s promises were empty words, as his actions did not align with the things that he had previously said. Under the NCPO’s rule, swift changes were made to limit the democratic participation of the public, while also strengthening the military’s role in the government (“Thailand: Human rights in free fall,” 2020). They declared martial law nationwide, banned political gatherings, and censored the media resources. Although Thailand has remained classified as a constitutional monarchy since 1932, the decades since then have experienced a widely varying range in the separation of powers used by each of the branches of government (Saragih et al., 2021). The current constitution that Thailand abides by was adopted in 2017, and is structured around a bicameral parliament. It allows for the NCPO to appoint individuals to a committee that has the power to select the 250 senators that will enact nationwide legislation (Bangprapa, 2016). Many people have criticized this system, as it means the military can effectively control the results of all future elections.

After being promised for many years, national elections were held in March of 2019. However, Thailand’s administrative government remained largely unchanged. Prayuth Chan-Ocha was re-elected as Prime Minister, in an election that is believed to have been manipulated in his favor. The Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organization that advocates for human rights, released an article highlighting the major problems in Thailand’s electoral process (“Thailand: Structural flaws subvert election,” 2020). Some of the factors that subverted the election include the strong media censorship; repressive laws hindering the freedom of speech, association, and assembly; the role of their junta-appointed Senate; and lack of independence for the national election commission, including the dissolution of major oppositional groups or political parties (“Thailand: Structural flaws subvert election,” 2020). The Freedom House points out that “the election process was widely considered to have been designed to prolong and legitimize the military’s dominant role in Thailand’s governance,” while feigning civilian participation in a genuinely democratic process (“Thailand: Country profile”).

Legislation & Lèse-Majesté Laws –

Thailand’s government, which is formally known as the Royal Thai Government, has changed the country’s legislation regarding the freedom of speech, placing restrictions on broadcasting systems, groups of people, and even individuals from speaking against the monarchy. According to the lèse-majesté laws described in Section 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code, “Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years,” (“Thailand Law Library”). Although these lèse-majesté laws have remained virtually unchanged since the country’s original creation of the first criminal code in 1908, the sanctions were made stricter in 1976, making Thailand the only country with a constitutional monarchy to strengthen these laws since World War II (BBC, 2017). Furthermore, since the legal framework does not clearly define what is considered to be an insult to the monarchy, authorities are able to interpret the law in a very broad manner (BBC, 2017). In Thailand, where the lèse-majesté laws are among the strictest in the world, complaints are always required to be formally investigated by the police, regardless of who they are filed by or against; due to these factors, these laws have acted as an effective legal instrument to suppress voices critical of the ruling military regime, especially prominent political opponents (Saragih et al., 2021).

Since the military-dominated NCPO government came to power in 2014, lèse-majesté laws have been increasingly enforced by authorities. There has been a drastic growth in the number of people prosecuted, along with harsher punishments being assigned (BBC, 2017). According to the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, the number of people investigated for insulting the monarchy has more than doubled when compared to previous years: Prior to NCPO’s rule, there were only 119 people investigated between 2011-2013, steeply contrasting the 285 investigated between 2014-2016 (United Nations Human Rights, 2017). Statistics have also indicated that significantly less people have been successful in defending themselves against lèse-majesté charges. Only 4% of people were acquitted of their charges within 2016, likely on account of the cases being tried before a military court (United Nations Human Rights, 2017). Most of these cases have hearings that are closed to the public, after detaining the accused in a pretrial detention center for an extensive period of time and denying them bail (United Nations Human Rights, 2017).

Many people and organizations, including the United Nations and Human Rights Watch, have criticized these laws arguing that they hand out sentences that are disproportionate to the crime committed, in addition to stifling the public’s freedom of speech which is an international human rights standard (Saragih et al., 2021). Especially since lèse-majesté laws can be applied to online activities, individuals may be prosecuted for conversations that they participate in over text messages, or postings that they have uploaded to their social media platforms (BBC, 2017). Offenders who have been found in violation of defamation towards the royal family may be imprisoned for each count they are charged with. This means that people who face multiple offenses may experience considerably lengthy prison sentences. A man named Wichai Thepwong was found guilty of breaking lèse-majesté laws with his Facebook postings, and was sentenced to 70 years in prison. The sentence was later reduced in half to 35 years, after he admittingly confessed to the charges (United Nations Human Rights, 2017).

Global Rankings – 

The World Press Freedom Index report published for 2021 ranked Thailand at 137 out of a total of 180 countries. This ranking means that the country’s journalists have a very low level of freedom available in the press, especially when compared to other nations around the globe. The international non-profit and non-governmental organization “Reporters Without Borders” determines the annual rankings assigned to each of the countries based on the responses that they pool from a questionnaire, which is completed from experts within the field. In their assessment, they consider factors such as media independence, pluralism, legislative framework, transparency, and more (“Detailed methodology: RSF”). The Reporters Without Borders organization gave Thailand a low score on account of the current government and their authoritarian rule, which restricts free speech and the media (“Gen. Prayuth: RSF”).

References – 

1. Bangprapa, M. (2016, March 24). NCPO to choose Senators Screening Committee. https://www.bangkokpost.com. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/909328/ncpo-to-choose-senators-screening-committee
2. BBC. (2017, October 6). Lese-Majeste explained: How Thailand forbids insult of its royalty. BBC News. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29628191
3. BBC. (2020, September 8). Prayuth Chan-OCHA: Thailand’s face of hybrid democracy. BBC News. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27526495
4. Detailed methodology: Reporters without borders. RSF. (2019, March 4). Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology
5. Saragih, H. M., Suhayatmi, S., & Zulham, M. (2021). THE POWER OF THAI DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST THE ROYAL FAMILY. Journal of Social Political Sciences, 2(2), 176-189.
6. Thailand: Country profile. Freedom House. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://freedomhouse.org/country/thailand
7. Thailand: Gen. Prayuth and monarchy in ever greater control: Reporters without borders. RSF. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://rsf.org/en/thailand
8. Thailand: Human rights in free fall. Human Rights Watch. (2020, October 28). Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/01/29/thailand-human-rights-free-fall
9. Thailand Law Library, Royal Family (Sections 107-112) Criminal Code. Thailand Law Library. (2015, March 16). Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://library.siam-legal.com/thai-law/criminal-code-royal-family-sections-107-112/
10. Thailand: Structural flaws subvert election. Human Rights Watch. (2020, October 28). Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/19/thailand-structural-flaws-subvert-election# 
11. Thavevong, K. (2017, June 10). With 20 constitutions, Thailand joins a Select League. The Nation Thailand. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.nationthailand.com/perspective/30317723
12. United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner. (2017, June 12). Press briefing note on Thailand: lèse Majesté . Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/2017/06/press-briefing-note-thailand