Thai Army advises law scholars, Nitirat, to shut up

Thai Army advises law scholars, Nitirat, to shut up

Bangkok Post, February 6, 2012

The seven Thammasat law professors known as the Nitirat (enlightened jurists) group, have been warned to stop calling for a change in the lese majeste law by national army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha.

National army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)

"I don't understand their objective, because when a law is violated officials have to take legal action, without any exceptions, and the process is all in line with legal procedures," Gen Prayuth said on Monday.

He called on Nitirat not to put the monarchy in the middle of "the conflict" because the monarchy is above it.

"The monarchy is not involved in accusing anyone. If a person makes a mistake, His Majesty the King can still grant a royal pardon," the army chief said.

He said offenders could not make the excuse that they did not know the law, or had no bad intentions.

"I want to ask the Nitirat academics this - if someone curses at their guardians, parents or relatives, would they accept it?

"Thai society cannot continue to exist if we let people violate the defamation law, and as a Thai person I don't want to see more damage to the country.

"I ask the Nitirat to stop their movement and stop linking the army with everything," Gen Prayuth said.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the Nitirat group has the right to gather 10,000 signatures for a petition demanding reform of the lese majeste law, but warned that its members must abide by the law.

Ms Yingluck said the group's exercise of academic freedom and the right to freedom of expression must be respected.

However the movement should ensure a peaceful campaign and proceed within the framework of law. No one should exploit the royal institution and people must help protect it, she said.

Democrat Party leader and former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (Photo by Patipat Janthong)

Nitirat plans to launch campaigns in the provinces to gather signatures of people supporting the amendment of Section 112 of the Criminal Code despite having faced strong opposition from many people and groups.

Asked if the controversial proposals driven by Nitirat will cause escalating unrest, the premier declined to answer.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva warned the government that if it decided to proceed with the call for a change in Section 112 of the Criminal Code relating to lese majeste, it could ignite conflict in the country.

"To prevent conflict, the government has to make it clear that it will not touch Chapter 2 of the constitution, which covers the monarchy, and that it's not just an attempt to grant amnesty to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"The government should not amend the charter at this time as there is a lot of mistrust in society. Doing so will raise tensions throughout the country," the opposition leader said.

He said Prime Minister Yingluck had said she would use her femininity to help resolve the conflict but she had yet to do so.

"The government and Pheu Thai should be able realise that society and the Thaksin issue have been around for a long time, and if we can overcome the Thaksin issue it will benefit everyone, including the government," Mr Abhisit said.