Lèse majesté ruling on past monarchs a research blow

Thai historians researching the country’s past and present monarchies are concerned that a recent ruling by Thailand’s Supreme Court will affect their work, after it ruled that defaming past monarchs is a crime under Article 112 of the criminal code, the lèse majesté law.

The ruling contradicts a previous understanding that the country’s harsh lèse majesté law applies only to the present king, queen, crown prince and regent. Those found to have violated the law may receive prison terms of between three and 15 years.

“In the past, most history and social science academics exercised self-censorship in how they described the present monarch. The latest ruling would render all future study impossible, whether dealing with the monarchy only in the present or in the past,” said Kullada Kesboonchoo Mead, a political scientist from Chulalongkorn University.

The landmark decision by the court in May, but with details made public only on 8 November, came during the case of a man who criticised slavery during the regime of King Rama IV – also known as King Mongkut – who reigned from 1851-68.

During a radio broadcast in 2005 the defendant, whose full name has been withheld by the court, expressed the opinion that people should live in freedom unlike society in the past – slavery was abolished in 1905 under King Rama V.

But this view was judged by the court to be defaming the monarchy.

The judge said such remarks could lead to the misunderstanding that the country was badly governed during the era of King Rama IV, and had no freedom at the time.

In its verdict, the court reasoned that “defaming the former king can affect the current king”, and “King Mongkut was the great-grandfather of the current king”.

The court also described the law as relating to national security.

“People still revere and worship kings after they are deceased,” said the court, and added: “Therefore, if there are insults or defamation of a deceased king, they may still have repercussions on the feelings of the people [and] that may lead to dissatisfaction and may have repercussions on the national security of the kingdom.”

The defendant received a four year prison sentence under the lèse majesté law – later reduced to a two-year suspended sentence.

Effect on historical work

Kullada, author of The Rise and Decline of Thai Absolutism, said the ruling directly affected her work, which looks at past monarchies.

She said she has been advised that her book, currently available in English and now being translated into Thai, should be reviewed to ensure it complies with the wider interpretation of the law.

“Of course I am worried, but I also believe in offering the educated public a different narrative from previous ones,” Kullada told University World News.

She said it had been confirmed that the Thai studies programme at Chulalongkorn University had banned her book, along with those of Somsak Jeamteerasakul and Suthachai Yimprasert, Thai historians known for their critical research on the Thai monarchy.

Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a history professor at Thammasat University, was charged under the lèse majesté law in 2011 for criticising the appearance of the Thai princess on television. The prosecution surprised many academics and lawyers, as it was understood that Article 112 does not cover the princess.

Article 112 in the Criminal Code clearly states: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent shall be punished [with] imprisonment of three to 15 years."

Thongchai Winichakul, Southeast Asian History professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Siam Mapped, said it would depend on how the authorities enforce the law, but the ruling could be open to political abuse.

Academic freedom

“Theoretically and legally speaking, historical research could be done only on certain subjects, and has to be done in particular ways, that is, hagiography, to avoid trouble,” he said. “It won’t be academic work anymore. It will become part of the propaganda of hyper-royalism – the extreme conservative ideology pervasive in Thailand nowadays.

“Academic freedom and freedom of expression for the media and for Thai citizens is already limited. Everybody, the whole society, has no choice but to learn to live under self-censorship or be punished by the authorities. This ruling makes it much worse.”

Thikan Srinara, a historian at Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok, said the law should be abolished because it severely limited academic freedom, especially in history and political science.

“The ruling definitely affects historical research, because Thai political history during the era of the Rattanakosin Kingdom [from 1782] and Rama IV needs to be examined critically in many aspects,” he said.

He added that it would make it impossible for historians to examine the historical facts from all sides, and if academics were unable to “tell the whole truth” it would amount to telling untruths.

Under Thailand’s system of absolute monarchy, which lasted till 1932, the monarch played a key role in political decision-making.

Prosecutions under the lèse majesté law increased about 15-fold after the 2006 coup which overthrew then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.