Thai minister calls for monarchy reform

Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 13 April 2010 - 5:19pm, by Johan van Slooten

(Photo: ANP)

Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has called for a review of the role of the Thai monarchy. He said that reform should be discussed following the country's worst civil violence in almost 20 years. It would include a smaller role for the royal family and greater involvement in the political arena for the country's rural poor.

“We have to talk about the institution of the monarchy and how it would have to reform itself to the modern globalised world,” Mr Piromya told reporters in Washington. He cited the Dutch and British monarchies as examples of a more modern approach.

Divine figure

His comments are highly unusual for someone from Thailand where King Bhumibol is regarded as a divine figure by many. Insulting the royal family or even questioning their role are crimes, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The fact that even the king’s role is now open for debate underlines the major internal problems Thailand is facing, says Dutch ethnologist and Thai monarchy expert Irene Stengs.

“It actually shows how strongly divided Thai society is and how uncertain it is who will align with who in the future,” she told Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

Illness

The king’s role has already been weakened by his illness, which has kept him out of the spotlight since September. In December, he could not even deliver his traditional birthday speech, which led to further speculation on the state of the king’s health.

A complicating factor is the king’s son, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. “He is not very popular among the Thai population,” says Ms Strengs. “In fact, there’s a strong divide in society about him, between people who support the royal family and people who really feel the future of the monarchy will be at stake when he becomes king”.

The prince’s lack of popularity shows how vulnerable the monarchy is at the moment. “The palace is slowly losing grip on society,” Ms Strengs says.

Civil war?

She even thinks a civil war may ensue once the king is dead, and not just because of the crown prince. “People really feel the crown prince is not a suitable successor. That fear has been around for the past ten years, but it has become stronger now that the whole nation finds itself in its worst political turmoil in two decades.”

The political unrest, in which anti-government protestors are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit, has a strong destabilising effect on the country. “Nobody really knows where the Palace is, where the military are and who is who in this powerfield,” Ms Strengs says. “From the foreign minister’s point of view, he couldn’t have picked a better moment to express his doubts over the Thai monarchy”.