THE MONARCHY: ACCESSORIES, LESE MAJESTY, AND THE ONE BOOK
Organizer: Thongchai Winichakul, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Despite the significance of the monarchy to Thai political and social life, critical scholarship on this subject has been inadequate. Owing to fear of the lese majesty law and concerns about undesirable consequences, open discussion in public on the subject is rare. The three panels under this subject are created to emphasize the urgent necessity for scholarship in Thai studies to address issues concerning the monarchy. The first panel features some important political, economic and cultural mechanisms and practices that constitute the monarchy as an institution. The second panel highlights the lese majesty law as a prime instrument in shaping and limiting the range of discourse on the monarchy in Thai public life. The final panel is a discussion forum on the recent and controversial book that has had a huge impact in Thai studies. The three panels explore the parameters of engaging with the nature and significance of the monarchy in academic discussion and beyond.
MONARCHY I: THE ACCESSORIES OF THE MONARCHY AS AN INSTITUTION Chair/Discussant: Chris Baker, independent scholar, writer, and editor
How did the Crown Property Bureau Survive the 1997 Economic Crisis?
Porphant Ouyyanont,
The Crown Property Bureau (CPB), which provides the economic underpinning of the monarchy, is one of the
Princes, Politicians, Bureaucrats, Generals: The Evolution of the Privy Council under the Constitutional Monarchy
Paul Handley, journalist (paper to be read by the Chair)
While thought of at first as an advisory board for the young kings in the post-1932 environment, the Thai Privy Council is more of a "Royal Interests Section" which not only collects information to provide to His Majesty but also to defend the monarchy's position and discreetly propagate its message. The expansion from a handful of councilors to the current 19, and the types of people chosen to serve on it, reflect the evolution of the Council’s role and the needs of the monarchy at various times. This paper outlines the growth and composition of its members to the current day.
Celebrating Kingship, Worrying about the Monarchy
Irene Stengs, Meertens Institute,
The cult of King Chulalongkorn and the ever-increasing adulation for King Bhumibol draw upon the same source: exalted expectations of what Buddhist kingship can do for the nation and the people. These expectations are expressed in a counter-discourse of worries about the monarchy, which is fallible by nature of a human being. The mutual veneration of both kings is traced back to the celebrations of royal jubilees in the 1980s, when both monarchs were first promoted jointly and in comparison. The cocktail of economic growth, political instability and popular imagination has given the duplex cults an impetus, withdrawing them from full state control while feeding them into state propaganda.
MONARCHY II: THE LESE MAJESTY LAW: HOW IT WORKS AND HOW IT FAILS
Chair: Narumol Thapchumpon,
Discussant: Somchai Homla-or, human rights lawyer
The Lese Majesty Law in
Somchai Preechasilpakul,
Although a lese majesty law has been around for more than 100 years, there is no comprehensible set of guidelines to help police officers, state prosecutors, or judges decide whether to charge and try such cases. Without guidelines, the law inevitably becomes a tool for silencing political opponents. Although those targeted may well be innocent of violating this law, they inevitably become more victims than violators.
Moreover, the larger implications of the lese majesty law lie in the ways it has affected Thai understanding of politics and history. The law has distorted the way that Thai society understands history, and the way that politics is discussed. The distortion is reflected in two concrete instances: the debate over “The King and I”, and the debate over what should constitute royal power, as delineated by Thirayuth Boonmee, Kasian Tejapira, and others.
The paper concludes by arguing that there is little hope for those prosecuted by this law, or for Thai society to more fully understand its history and develop its political maturity, until serious attention is given to revising the law or the conditions under which it is invoked. The abolition of the law should also be considered.
Lese Majesty Law and the Thai Print Media: The Rodolf Jufer Case and Beyond
Pravit Rojanapruk, The Nation
How Thai print media deal with the lese majesty law can be seen from their selective reporting of the Jufer case. The Swiss national, who was a resident of
MONARCHY III: CRITICAL COMMENTS ON PAUL HANDLEY’S THE KING NEVER SMILES
Moderator: Michael Herzfeld,
Speakers: Nithi Eoseewong,
Craig Reynolds,
Annette Hamilton,
Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian, Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris/UPSI.
This discussion forum will serve two purposes. First, Paul Handley's The King Never Smiles (2006) has had an unavoidable impact on Thai studies both inside and outside the country. It is likely that the book will remain a widely-read title for some years to come. It cannot be ignored and so should be evaluated critically. Secondly, despite the significance of the monarchy to Thai political and social life, open and responsible discussion in public on the subject has been minimal, even as other forms of discourse about the monarchy are in fact widespread. The forum can highlight that public discussion on this subject is possible, even necessary, through critical intellectual commentary on Handley’s book, without being bound up by ideological strictures. Distinguished speakers and the moderator, among the most respected scholars in Thai studies, are chosen for this occasion. They may comment on the substance of the book, its themes, analyses, interpretations, uses of evidence, contribution or damage to studies on
