In the end, the Constitutional Court today acted out of fear, citing eventual concerns that the monarchy institution will be eventually abolished if the main opposition Move Forward was allowed to continue to exist and charismatic former leader Pita Limjaroenrat allowed to hold political office.
Thus the party was dissolved and Pita along with about ten others, including current party leader Chaithawat Tulathon were banned from from political office for 10 years.
This leads to the question as to whether Thailand can still call itself a democracy when disenfranchising 14 million voters, or the biggest winner in the May 2014 general election, means little or nothing as long as voters want to see the monarchy institution reformed instead of being treated like a semi-divine institution from the Middle Ages in Europe.
The Charter Court says it has no choice but to dissolve the party and ban party leaders from politics for 10 years in order to protect the monarchy. The court cited how party leaders, particularly Pita, identified themselves with the monarchy-reform movement, which included some anti-monarchists.
One wonders how fragile the Thai monarchy institution must be in the eyes of the court if a political party has to be dissolved, leaders removed from politics, for merely pledging to amend the royal defamation law which is deemed by many young Thai voters as anachronistic, disproportionately severe, unjust and cruel.
Also, it seems the court thinks if you can’t win the hearts of young Thais calling for change, then you have to make them fear, or at least make the politicians wanting to represent them be afraid and their movement leaders on the streets be very afraid, flee into exile or in prison for violating the very same law they want to amend.
Today’s ruling will definitely generate more negative sentiment towards not just the Charter Court but the monarchy institution, the very institution the court argues it is trying to protect by punishing the Move Forward Party in a way that undermines any attempt to bring about political change peacefully through the ballot box.
