Democracy is dying in Thailand, or perhaps it’s already dead. Thailand’s constitutional court this week ordered the dissolution of the country’s most dynamic and popular political party. This ruling is a decisive blow to an already wounded Thai democracy.
The Move Forward party’s (MFP) ‘crime’, according to the court, was to call for the country’s strict ‘lèse-majesté’ laws to be reformed. The judges imposed ten-year political bans on all of its leading party members, including former leader Pita Limjaroenrat.
Thailand has always been able to present the illusion that it is a democratic country
Human rights groups and huge swathes of the voting population view the allegations as politically motivated and unfounded in evidence. So why did the nine judges make this deliberation?
The case mostly boils down to protecting the royal family from any form of criticism. In Thailand, scrutiny of the royal palace is deeply taboo. Speaking out against it can be legally tenuous, and in some cases physically dangerous.
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