CNN:
A Thai court on Wednesday ordered the kingdom’s most popular political party to end its campaign to amend the country’s notoriously strict royal defamation law, dashing its supporters hopes for reform of the powerful monarchy.
The Constitutional Court in Bangkok ruled the progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in last year’s election, violated the constitution through its campaign to amend the lese majeste law.
It ruled Move Forward and its leaders, including former prime ministerial hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat, sought to overthrow the constitutional monarchy through their actions.
The ruling is considered a blow to the Southeast Asian country’s reform movement and the millions of young people who delivered a crushing defeat to the conservative, military-backed establishment by voting for change.
And analysts say it opens the door for further prosecutions to be brought, which could ultimately see Thailand’s most successful party at the last election dissolved, and bans and criminal charges levied at its leaders.
In its ruling, the court said many Move Forward lawmakers had campaigned to abolish the lese majeste law, face charges under the royal defamation legislation, or used their position to bail out others charged under it.
The court ordered the party to “stop any act, opinion expression via speech, writing, publishing or advertisement or conveying any message in other forms” with the aim to abolish or amend the law.
The ruling could now ensure that no party or person would legally be able to push for amendments to lese majeste, known as Section 112, without violating the constitution.
“This would effectively mean that the lese majeste law would become untouchable,” said Munin Pongsapan, associate professor at Thammasat University’s Faculty of Law. “The only way to amend it would be to get rid of the current constitution and draft a new one that reduces the Constitutional Court’s power and jurisdiction.”
Munin added that such a ruling “would severely violate the constitution itself that it meddles with the parliament’s sovereign legislative power.”
Ahead of the verdict, Move Forward spokesperson Parit Wacharasindhu told CNN the ruling could have “far-reaching implications or place potential restrictions on the actions of parliamentarians and political actors going into the future.”
