Traditionally, the King has made a speech on father's day. He was scheduled to make one this year, but it was cancelled at the last minute because he was ill.
CNN and the Bangkok Post each had an article about the cancellation on their website. Both discussed how many many Thais had pinned hopes for resolution of the airport seizure on the King.
One difference is that CNN discussed how the Thai people do not share the same love for the aging monarch's heir, the crown prince. The crown prince has been married three times and many quietly sympathized with his first wife upon their divorce. Of course the entire divorce was legally her fault, as to say derogatory things about the crown prince is illegal.
The King has played a stabilizing role in Thai politics for a long time. Although he has no Constitutional powers, he is beloved by his people and is the one person who can often bring opposing sides to some sort of agreement. The King is eighty-one today. Despite the fervent wishes of most Thais, he will not live forever.
What will happen when that stabilizing force of Thai society for the last sixty years is gone? How will Thais get together and talk about what the future holds? The problem is that they cannot publicly discuss it without fear of legal retribution. A politician was investigated for les majeste charges earlier this year talking about the role of the monarchy. His remarks, spoken in English to the foreign press, did not insult the King or his family, but rather talked about the role of the monarchy in a democratic society. That was enough for his enemies to pounce, using the les majeste laws as a weapon against him.
This is one of the reasons that I fervently despise the anti-les majeste laws. Twenty or thirty years ago, perhaps they were not as detrimental. Now, however, Thailand is approaching a cross-roads, and the les majeste laws handicap it from fully exploring how to proceed. Its a giant elephant in the room, and no-one can talk about it.
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