By Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation |
<p><em>Fear of lese majeste law may keep discussions very one-sided</em></p>
<p>With the setting up of the Students Centre of Thailand (SCT), university students will most probably become more politically active, and perhaps even put issues about the monarchy institution up for debate.</p>
<p>The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship has urged the government to take legal action against two Privy Councillors and a former Prime Minister for their comments about the Crown Prince. A staunch critic of the monarchy has criticized the move.</p>
By Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation |
<p>With the mainstream media mostly giving the National Reform Committee a blank cheque in terms of soft PR and uncritical reporting of its activities, it has been alternative media outlets like prachatai.com that have voiced criticism. </p>
<p>Two members of the reform committee - noted historian Nidhi Eoseewong and scholar-monk Venerable Phra Paisarn Visalo - recently came under fire on the news website.</p>
<p><em>Somsak Jeamtheerasakul’s analysis and observations of the current situation. Translated and shortened by Prachatai English.</em></p>
<p>The government’s use of force to crack down on the red shirts at Rajprasong now seems practically inevitable, as does the collision course taken by Thaksin and the red-shirt leaders, including the possible use of the black-clad men who are the latter’s secret weapons.</p>
<p>Somsak Jeamtheerasakul, a Thammasat University lecturer in history, told a public forum that in order to get rid of the so-called ‘Amat’ regime (traditional elitist rule), it was necessary to change the constitutional clause on the royal prerogatives to conform to the principles of democracy. This included two main points: the appointment of Privy Councillors and the succession, with the latter being changed after the 1991 coup.</p>