In Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union, brothers informing on brothers, families ratting out each other to state authorities, was encouraged. Then, off to the gulag with you.
News from Thailand over the last week would have made Stalin proud. The burning fire of the inferno must have felt just a bit cooler. He may have smiled a little.
We are not talking of informing about crimes like rape or murder. Rather, it’s the controversial issue of free speech.
Chatwadee Amornpat is a London hairstylist. According to reports, she holds British citizenship, is a red-shirt follower and a republican. On her Facebook page are video clips of her giving opinions on the Thai political conflict and attacking the monarchy.
Dr Rienthong Nanna and his "Rubbish Collection Organization" have launched a witch-hunt for lese majeste offenders, setting family members against each other. (Post Today photo)
Surapong and Somchintra Amornpat are her parents. They live in Thailand and receive threats and harassment from other Thais because of their daughter’s actions. They decided to solve the problem by filing a police complaint against their own daughter, accusing her of lese majeste.
Then there’s Mongkutwattana General Hospital director Maj Gen Rienthong Nanna. He unveiled his new Rubbish Collection Organization (RCO) last Wednesday. It was set up to "exterminate" people who "insult"’ the monarchy.
He urged his supporters to file lese majeste charges against Ms Chatwadee and to arm themselves with weapons for combat with what he called the anti-monarchy movement.
For certain the monarchy has a special place in the Thai society and should be protected. If society agrees there should be a law to protect the monarchy, then such a law we should have.
However, that protection should not also infringe on or abuse human rights, or encourage society to behave as if we live in Stalin’s Soviet Union.
Over the years I’ve written about how the law is exploited in the current political conflict by those with a political agenda. The Democrat Party, for one, has been accused of such actions.
Even before this political conflict, Thaksin Shinawatra was also accused of exploiting the law to ingratiate himself with the old establishment. And even before that, lese majeste was a tool used by various military regimes.
Rival political camps going at each other’s throat is one thing, a witch-hunt targeting ordinary people is quite another.
In the case of the Amornpat family, through harassment and intimidation certain members of society drove the parents to inform on their own daughter.
For those harassers and intimidators, a combination of deep devotion and fanatical hatred, fuelled by the current political conflict, propelled them on.
As for Maj Gen Rienthong, the hospital that he runs could really use a mental ward and at least one straitjacket.
If people were able to act sensibly most of the time, then we wouldn’t need laws. The laws are there because humans, when left to our own devices, go absolutely bonkers.
That’s why there isn’t such a thing as a utopian society, but plenty of anarchy when the laws break down. Theoretically, the laws make society sensible. But to have a sensible society, the laws must first be just. In this, we look at the lese majeste law.
Unless there’s a direct survey to prove otherwise, we shall hold that the monarchy is loved and revered by the majority of the Thais. Even the red-shirts have their own banners and t-shirts declaring love and loyalty to a member of the Royal family.
To get rid the law completely isn’t realistic at the present time, or in the foreseeable future given cultural values. Once political stability is returned to the kingdom, however, over the next three to five years, perhaps reforming the law would be possible. Provided that whoever is in government at the time has the courage and the sincerity.
I am no legal expert. Let the lawyers work on the details, but there are at least three issues that ought to be considered.
Firstly, if anyone can file a lese majeste charge, then surely anyone can exploit the law. Is this a recipe for a witch-hunt?
Secondly, the law should be swift, severe and certain. But the severity of crime and punishment must fit the concept of justice. Can three to 15 years imprisonment for lese majeste be considered justice?
Finally, should there be a legal penalty for those who exploit the law to serve their own political agenda?
The law should be obeyed, but just as importantly it should be just. If we are to build a democracy under the constitutional monarchy, then let’s do. But if our actions tend to make Stalin smile from the abyss, then we should take a pause.
The King loves his people. We, the people, should at least hate each other a little less.