'Political earthquake' as Thai princess runs for PM against military junta
Surprise move pits Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Varnavadi against leader of 2014 coup
Leonie KijewskiFri 8 Feb 2019 02.54 GMT
Surprise move pits Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Varnavadi against leader of 2014 coup
The sister of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been unveiled as a prime ministerial candidate in next month’s elections in a country where strict lèse-majesté laws make criticism of the royal family in effect illegal.
On Friday, the Thai Raksa Chart party confirmed princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi had joined the race, a move one expert said had created a “political earthquake”.
She is the first member of the royal family to run for the office and will face coup leader and head of Thailand’s military junta, Prayut Chan-o-cha, who said on Friday he would run to “maintain peace and order”.
Ubolratana’s party, Thai Raksa Chart, is allied to former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, but has led the party from exile. The party was created by Thaksin’s Peu Chart party after the military junta threatened to dissolve it. Ubolratana has openly maintained close ties with Thaksin.
The announcement was a profound and unprecedented development that had created a “political earthquake”, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University.
Before the surprise announcement, the election had been viewed as a battle between Thaksin’s populists and their allies, and the royalist-military establishment.
Thailand's lèse-majesté laws
Strict lèse-majesté laws make it a crime to criticise, defame or insult members of the royal family.
In practice, this means open discussion or critical reporting about the royal family is considered illegal.
The military junta, which seized power in 2014, has been criticised for using the law – which can see people jailed for up to 15 years on each count – to stifle opposition.
In 2015, a man was jailed for 30 years over six Facebook posts and the local printer of the New York Times refused to publish an edition with a story on the king.
Thitinan said the move had catapulted the previously small Thai Raksa Chart into the spotlight. “It is the leading contender for the election now,” he said.
Ubolratana, 67, is the older sister of King Vajiralongkorn and eldest child of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, although she relinquished her official royal title when she married a foreigner in 1972. She is still considered part of the royal family, which is traditionally seen as being above politics, although highly influential.
Ubolratana had a career as a film star in Thailand. Photograph: imdb
The Thai Raksa Chart party said it was “deeply honoured” that Ubolratana had accepted its nomination. “She is concerned and wishes to take part in lifting Thais out of poverty,” her statement said, according to a translation by local news outlet Khaosod.
Thai Raksa Chart Party leader Preechapol Pongpanich said the princess was: “knowledgeable and is highly suitable”.
“I believe there will be no legal problems in terms of her qualification, but we have to wait for the Election Commission to endorse her candidacy.”
It was unclear at this point, Thitinan said, whether her candidacy would create more division in Thai politics, or the opposite. He said the princess could help bridge a divide in Thai politics as an outsider, but it also bore the risk of even more polarisation with the royal family on the one side and the military on the other. “Whether it leads to a more reconcilable political environment, we will have to see whether the other main political players are included in the government,” he said in a phone interview.
Paul Chambers, a lecturer at the college of Asean community studies at Thailand’s Naresuan University, said that although Ubolratana did not fall under the restrictive lèse-majesté law, which prohibits criticism of the royal family, open disapproval of her and her policies would become difficult. “Who would dare campaign against the king’s sister?” he said in an email to the Guardian. “She is a definite threat for Prayut because she holds much more legitimacy to Thais than does a coup leader.”
Surprise move pits Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Varnavadi against leader of 2014 coup
Leonie KijewskiFri 8 Feb 2019 02.54 GMT
Surprise move pits Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Varnavadi against leader of 2014 coup
The sister of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been unveiled as a prime ministerial candidate in next month’s elections in a country where strict lèse-majesté laws make criticism of the royal family in effect illegal.
On Friday, the Thai Raksa Chart party confirmed princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi had joined the race, a move one expert said had created a “political earthquake”.
She is the first member of the royal family to run for the office and will face coup leader and head of Thailand’s military junta, Prayut Chan-o-cha, who said on Friday he would run to “maintain peace and order”.
Ubolratana’s party, Thai Raksa Chart, is allied to former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, but has led the party from exile. The party was created by Thaksin’s Peu Chart party after the military junta threatened to dissolve it. Ubolratana has openly maintained close ties with Thaksin.
The announcement was a profound and unprecedented development that had created a “political earthquake”, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University.
Before the surprise announcement, the election had been viewed as a battle between Thaksin’s populists and their allies, and the royalist-military establishment.
Thailand's lèse-majesté laws
Strict lèse-majesté laws make it a crime to criticise, defame or insult members of the royal family.
In practice, this means open discussion or critical reporting about the royal family is considered illegal.
The military junta, which seized power in 2014, has been criticised for using the law – which can see people jailed for up to 15 years on each count – to stifle opposition.
In 2015, a man was jailed for 30 years over six Facebook posts and the local printer of the New York Times refused to publish an edition with a story on the king.
Thitinan said the move had catapulted the previously small Thai Raksa Chart into the spotlight. “It is the leading contender for the election now,” he said.
Ubolratana, 67, is the older sister of King Vajiralongkorn and eldest child of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, although she relinquished her official royal title when she married a foreigner in 1972. She is still considered part of the royal family, which is traditionally seen as being above politics, although highly influential.
The Thai Raksa Chart party said it was “deeply honoured” that Ubolratana had accepted its nomination. “She is concerned and wishes to take part in lifting Thais out of poverty,” her statement said, according to a translation by local news outlet Khaosod.
Thai Raksa Chart Party leader Preechapol Pongpanich said the princess was: “knowledgeable and is highly suitable”.
“I believe there will be no legal problems in terms of her qualification, but we have to wait for the Election Commission to endorse her candidacy.”
It was unclear at this point, Thitinan said, whether her candidacy would create more division in Thai politics, or the opposite. He said the princess could help bridge a divide in Thai politics as an outsider, but it also bore the risk of even more polarisation with the royal family on the one side and the military on the other. “Whether it leads to a more reconcilable political environment, we will have to see whether the other main political players are included in the government,” he said in a phone interview.
Paul Chambers, a lecturer at the college of Asean community studies at Thailand’s Naresuan University, said that although Ubolratana did not fall under the restrictive lèse-majesté law, which prohibits criticism of the royal family, open disapproval of her and her policies would become difficult. “Who would dare campaign against the king’s sister?” he said in an email to the Guardian. “She is a definite threat for Prayut because she holds much more legitimacy to Thais than does a coup leader.”
