BANGKOK: & nbsp, The Thai king’s son has called for a public discussion of the nations strict laws prohibiting insulting the royal family, which has resulted in hundreds of people being charged with crimes in recent years.
The remarks were made by Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s second son, after seeing an exhibition in New York that featured individuals facing charges under the tight Thai royal libel laws.
The law protects the monarch and his close relatives from nearly all criticism and can result in lengthy prison terms. It is frequently referred to as 112 after the relevant part of the legal code.
Vacharaesorn wrote in Thai on Facebook,” I attended as a Thai national who loves and respects the monarchy, but I believe that” knowing” is better than” not knowing.”
” Based on various experience, people may share their opinions.”
He claimed that disregarded ideas does not cause them to vanish.
The 42-year-old wrote,” Because of that, I believe that listening to them is a good thing.”
Detractors have long maintained that objection has been silenced by the rules.
Thousands of people participated in significant protests in 2020 calling for legal reform, a call supported by the progressive Move Forward Party ( MFP ), which won the most seats in statewide elections in May.
The MFP’s resolve to change the laws ultimately resulted in it being prevented from gaining control by traditional pro-royalist forces in parliament.
Exiled Thai aristocratic scientific Pavin Chachavalpongpun, who confirmed to AFP that Vacharaesorn had attended as a guest, organized the” Faces of Victims of 112″ present at Columbia University.
He stated from New York,” He is interested in the matter and he said that, despite differences of opinion on this matter, there should be a way that we must communicate.”
After spending the majority of his life abroad after his parents’ divorce, Vacharaesorn made an unexpected trip to Thailand in August — his first in almost two decades.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the queen’s eldest daughter, was still in the hospital after collapsing and losing perception in December, so his attend came at a delicate moment for the Thai royal household.
The house made no remarks regarding the attend.
Despite the fact that children are preferred by Thai sequence laws, the monarch, who has seven kids from four marriages, has not officially named an successor.