The infamous "legal department" of the military regime has unveiled its new target of political bullying: The Future Forward Party. Led by Col Burin Thongprapai, the National Council for Peace and Order's (NCPO) legal team has filed a police complaint against three members of the party accusing them of provoking public disturbances and violating the Computer Crime Act over some remarks on June 29.
No matter how laughable and baseless the criminal accusations are, the NCPO does not seem to care much as long as the means justifies the end: The needs to stifle criticism and clip the wings of its political rivals.
Obviously, the remark disturbed the NCPO more than it did public order as claimed. It was aired via a live broadcast on two Facebook accounts, one of the party and another of its leader, former automotive tycoon Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
During their talks, Mr Thanathorn and the other two merely talked about the ongoing effort to woo former MPs into the fold of the Phalang Pracharath Party, which is known for its support of NCPO leader and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha rising to power again after a general election planned for February. Before their remark, this had been a popular topic commented on by politicians, observers and almost all media outlets in the country, but no one had faced legal threats.
The Future Forward trio said lawsuit threats against those former MPs had been used as a bargaining chip in the attempt to poach them and asked their Facebook followers to sign up to revamp the judicial system.
But the NCPO has accused them of "importing false information into the computer system" on issues which may compromise national security and public safety among others, an offence which is subject to a prison term of up to five years and/or a fine of up to 100,000 baht.
It is no surprise that the NCPO would treat Future Forward as its enemy. The party stands as a rival to Gen Prayut's pathway to power after the poll. With its pro-democracy and anti-military stance, the party, which is still in the process of being registered, is appealing to a young and liberal electorate.
Earlier, another thorn in the political side of the NCPO met a similar fate. In May, Col Burin filed an equally nonsensical police complaint against eight leaders of the Pheu Thai Party for violating the political activities ban by holding a press conference criticising the regime's performance during the past four years as "a failure". Police have been investigating whether the sedition and computer crime offences levelled against the eight politicians have grounds for them to proceed further.
While NCPO senior leaders tried to distance themselves from the moves, saying it was up to the discretion of the legal team, they did not discourage them. This is disappointing. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon even hinted that Pheu Thai should be careful to ensure their future remarks "do not violate the laws".
The NCPO's legal threats send a message to both parties that they need to watch their step. If police decide to proceed with the cases, the parties' leadership and future might be placed in limbo. This is critical for their survival, let alone competitiveness, in the period leading up to the election.
The NCPO is wrong for making these empty accusations against rival politicians whose remarks amount to neither misdemeanours or indictable offences. No one should face the prospect of criminal charges for criticising the government. The NCPO should instead use its ample media channels to defend itself against the criticism. That will enable members of the public to make their own judgement.
Ahead of the poll, Gen Prayut's several mobile cabinet trips have already given him an unfair advantage over other politicians who face a ban from conducting political activities. The pursuit of these legal actions implies the lead-up to the poll will not just be unfair but also potentially tricky.
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