All Rise

Thailand is one of only a handful of countries where lese majeste is still prosecuted. Lese majeste is the French expression meaning injury to the Majesty. It is essentially offenses against the king and royalty. Thailand’s lese majeste is codified in article 112 of its 2007 constitution which makes it a criminal offense punishable by three to fifteen years in prison for insulting, defaming or threatening the King, Queen, Heir to the Throne or royal regent.

Thai police have charged twenty-seven year old Chotisak Onsoong with lese majeste for an offense occurring in September of 2007. What insult, offense or threat did Mr. Chotisak give against the throne? He refused to stand at the playing of the King’s anthem at the start of a movie.

At the start of every movie here in Thailand, there is a musical and pictorial tribute to the King, at which time all patrons are expected to stand and pay their respects. When Mr. Chotisak refused to rise, one of his fellow patrons became incensed and demanded the movie theater owner take some action. Unsatisfied at the movie theater’s lack of action, this patriotic fellow called the police and demanded that Mr. Chotisak be prosecuted for lese majeste. Six months later, the police did just that.

It’s not certain if the case will be successful. Does failing to rise during the tribute really offer offense to the royal family? Mr. Chotisak has stated that he did not intend to give any offense, but rather thought that everyone had the right to decide for themselves whether to rise or not. Part of the case may hinge on a sixty-five year old degree requiring one to stand during the Royal anthem at public events.

The case is interesting for a few reasons. First, lese majeste is a pretty foreign concept to Americans. The ability to criticize our leadership is a cornerstone of American free speech and democracy (okay, we are really a republic, but let’s not split hairs for the moment). Can you imagine if it were against the law to offer insult to a U.S. President? Rush Limbaugh would be serving consecutive life sentences for his words during the Clinton administration, and Air America would have their own wing in some federal prison for their “thoughtful” critiques of the Bush administration.

As I have mentioned before, Thais love their king. It’s a kind of reverence which I honestly don’t understand. They are very upset by any perceived slight against the king.

To me, this case is a lot like the flag burning cases in the U.S. A lot of people, particularly those who have served in the military get very upset by someone burning the flag. Let me first state that I don’t support burning the flag (except for the proper disposition of the flag) and I think that those who do it are generally jack asses who are starved for attention and largely bereft of reason. They perhaps do not appreciate the irony that the flag they are burning is a symbol of what gives them the right to do the burning in the first place.

I do, however, support the flag burners’ right to burn a flag. The Supreme Court has found it protected speech, and I concur. To prevent someone from burning a flag as political speech would be a restriction of the rights that the flag symbolizes. It’s not necessarily a popular stand, but it seems pretty obvious to me. And before you start filling out my applications for the ACLU and the American Communist Party for me, just remember that Justice Scalia joined the Supreme Court’s decision protecting flag burning. Justice Scalia may be accused of many things, but one of them is not making up rights not in the constitution. I don’t think you’ll find a stricter constructionist than Justice Scalia. Of course, I have no problem with charging the jack asses for burning it in public if burning is against the law there.

Part of the reason for the case may be that it was Mr. Chotisak. He was a former student activist and was involved in an anti-coup group. Although I don’t know a lot about him, I’m speculating that his activism is the type that probably rubs a lot of people the wrong way. My guess is that there are probably people in power who are not sad to see him in trouble. At first I thought that perhaps he was instigating the case for publicity or to challenge the law. The Bangkok Post article makes it sound, however, like the other patron is the one who pushed the issue.

One issue with lese majeste is that it is pretty vague and can encompass a lot of behavior. It can make an excellent tool for discrediting one’s political enemies, as a charge of lese majeste could severely diminish one in the public’s eye. One of the charges against Thaksin by the 2006 coup makers was lese majeste. The King himself said in 2005 that he didn’t take lese majeste very seriously, but apparently some of his more ardent supporters have a different opinion.

When I go to the movies here I stand when they play the King’s anthem. I’m guessing that if, as a falang, you didn’t stand, that you would not face lese majeste charged. The Thais around you might politely indicate to you to stand, or more likely just think you are a stupid falang. In any case, if it takes six months to prosecute, you may well already be gone. I don’t think the U.S. would extradite you for that.