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Thai minister calls for talks on royal reform

By Tim Johnston in Bangkok

Thailand's foreign minister has challenged one of the country's most lasting taboos by calling for an open

discussion on reforming the monarchy.

For years, Thailand's royal family has stood above reproach, venerated by most subjects and protected

from the irreverent by draconian lese majesty laws. But King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest

reigning monarch, is 82 and in failing health.

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, , 82 Even as Thailand struggles to find a political accommodation with thousands of anti-government

demonstrators on the streets, pressure is also growing for a reassessment of the role of what many Thais

refer to as the high institution.

, I think we have to talk about the institution of the monarchy, how it would have to reform itself to the

modern globalised world, Kasit Piromya, the foreign minister, told a seminar in the US.

, , , It is a process that we have to go through and I think we should be brave enough to go through all of this

and to talk about even the taboo subject of the institution of the monarchy, he said.

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King Bhumibol reigns over a country that has changed almost beyond recognition since he came to the

throne in 1946, as economic growth has raised standards of living and education, yet the institution itself

has stuck fast to its traditions.

.. 2489, , Although the king's powers are limited by the constitution, he has earned almost absolute moral authority

over the years.

, Even the red-shirted anti-government protesters who are at present demonstrating in the streets of

Bangkok and who are often criticized by their opponents as a republican fifth column, halt their protests

twice a day, at 8 am and 6 pm, to stand at attention and listen to the royal anthem as it plays over the city-

wide public address system.

, 2 , 8.00 . 18.00 ., But that sort of respect does not yet extend to Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 57, the king's expected

heir.

, 57

, The international media have long been fascinated by the royal family and many have published critical

pieces, including a recent Australian documentary showing controversial scenes from a video of a royal

birthday party that is banned in Thailand.

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The debate about the shape of a post-Bhumibol Thailand rages behind closed doors - few private

gatherings go without at least some discussion - but any public deliberation has been muted by fear of the

vague and arbitrary lese majesty laws, which carry a penalty of 15 years in prison for those found guilty of

insulting the monarchy.

- - , 15 Even though the king himself has said he is not above criticism, accusations of lese majesty are frequently

used by public figures as a weapon to attack their opponents, creating a crippling straitjacket of orthodoxy

that circumscribes public discussion.

, ,But the debate is finding other outlets. The Thai ministry of communication blocks access to thousands of

websites because their content is deemed potentially insulting to the monarchy.

Even Abhisit Vejjajiva, the prime minister who said on assuming power 16 months ago that his primary

responsibility was to protect the monarchy, rather than serving the people or solving the country's

economic problems, admits that change is needed.

, 16 , ,

We have been very fortunate that his majesty has been an incredible unifying force, but the Thai people

have got to learn, and Thai society has got to mature to a point where we can sort out our own problems,

Mr Abhisit said earlier this year.

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