Petition to Be Submitted to King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Date: ………………………………………….

We, the undersigned, are the Thai citizens who sincerely and unshakably love our native country and regard a true democracy as the best, long-term solutions to most sociopolitical, cultural and economic problems encountered in developing countries across the globe, including Thailand. As responsible citizens, we are deeply concerned about the sociopolitical development in Thailand that has divided the people ideologically, damaged harmony and peace, sabotaged the rules of law, abused the people’s democratic powers, and destroyed the economic strengths that we once had, etc.  With due respect and loyalty, we, along with a great number of foreign friends who care about Thailand’s progress, believe that you are in the best position to help alleviate the current situations and pave the ways for a better future of Thailand if you can kindly consider taking the following actions.

First of all, you should immediately announce your willingness to see the outdated lèse majesté abolished. Not only is the law considered as common courtesy, not a criminal law, in other democratic countries with constitutional monarchies, it is also regarded ridiculous, barbaric, uncivilized, ancient, undemocratic by democratic citizens in developed countries the world over.  Worse, lèse majesté has been abusively and politically enforced as an underlying motive for killing innocent Thais exercising their democratic rights as evidenced in the massacres of October  1973 and October 1976. In recent years, the unfair or ungrounded accusations against innocent people and politicians for political gains of the oppressive groups in power have led people to believe that the Thai monarchy has been behind the conspiracy to topple the democratically elected government under Dr. Thaksin Shinnawatra’s administration and all the political activities that have violated the democratic rights of Thai people through the disgusting actions by the unjust courts, uncontrollable military and civil servants, the rebellious and illegal PAD, biased mainstream media, and ignorant elitist bigots.  In addition, the abusive enforcement of this law on both Thais and foreigners has only tarnished the reputation of Your Majesty as a revolutionary and most beloved king.  It has led to imprisonment of many freedom fighters who exercised their freedom of speech, a main element of democracy.  Each case of execution reported in the media both in Thailand and overseas has been seen as the Thai king suppressing his people and, weirdly, citizens of other nations whose lèse majesté has long gone or been non-existent. Most importantly, we Thais do not see lèse majesté as either necessary or appropriate for the 21^st century Thailand. Thai people love their king, and only with their true love secured by the royal dhamma or the Ten Royal Virtues, not lèse majesté, under a democratic Thailand can the king be forever safely existent.  Therefore, we, the citizens of Thailand, would like to request your noble consideration for an appropriate act toward having lèse majesté abolished as soon as possible. We also beg your royal kindness in addressing, either in written or spoken, the Thai people clearly about your position on this issue and exactly what you would like to see happening in association with lèse majesté. An immediate action to follow your positive acceptance of this proposal will be an amendment of the 2007 Constitution. Meanwhile, you can manifest your great kindness by granting royal amnesty to all the accused and imprisoned under lèse majesté right away.

Another immediate action that we consider necessary in order to resolve the political turmoil of present days is to do with cessation of the king’s roles in all kinds of political involvement. The king should stop endorsing all undemocratic acts, such as coup d'etat , appointment of unelected or undemocratically derived prime minister, and appointment of any administrative, judicial and legislative body undemocratically submitted.  The royal involvement as ambiguously and equivocally stated in the 2007 Constitution must also be reconsidered and amended so as to keep the monarchy from all the political messes. We are very sad to see that the obligations by the Thai constitutions have put the monarchy at the center of all political problems and that the monarchy’s image has been tarnished to the worst degree possible in recent years.  To preserve the love and loyalty that Thai citizens have for Your Majesty and the royal family, we beg your keen attention to the proposal of practically removing the monarchy from all the ambiguous roles in politics so that the necessary steps, such as amending the constitution and beyond, can ensue.  Your noble wisdom and announced support for democracy, we believe, will lead to actions that can get rid of the vicious cycle that has persistently sabotaged Thai democracy and delayed the growth that Thailand very well deserves. We would very much love to see your position on this either in written or spoken forms at your convenience.

The other very crucial action that Your Majesty may consider taking has to do with limiting the roles of the Privy Council to only the palace’s businesses, not other military and political ones. Despite the written words about the council supposedly being politically neutral, it has appeared to the public eyes in Thailand and overseas that the Head and Members of Privy Council have intervened in appointments of military and civil officers, made partial political comments and given unwelcomed and inappropriate political advice that has caused confusion among those concerned. Oftentimes, they have depicted themselves as the representative voice of the monarchy, or Your Majesty’s, creating unfair advantages for those supported by the voice and frustration among those disadvantaged by such a voice. Your spoken or written statement regarding this issue will be very much appreciated by all Thais troubled by the perceived injustices in the Thai democracy that were triggered by the offside roles of the members of the Privy Council.

In conclusion, we, the undersigned, concerned Thai citizens residing in Thailand and overseas, would like to request your kindest considerations and actions regarding the aforementioned issues. We strongly believe that your appropriate responses will not only strengthen the love and loyalty that we Thais have reserved for Your Majesty and family, but they will also lead Thailand to a more peaceful, harmonious, prosperous and civilized future.