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Thai royalists call on government to expel Amnesty International from the country

ROYALISTS in Thailand say they will present a petition with 1.2 million signatures to the government on Thursday, calling for it to shut down the country’s branch of the human rights organisation Amnesty International.

The royalists say Amnesty is a threat because it criticised a court ruling that said calls for reform of the country’s constitutional monarchy are illegal.

The monarchy’s reputation is fiercely guarded by Thailand’s ruling elite, including the courts and the military, but critics say it has too much influence in politics and is not accountable.

The petition against Amnesty International has been organised alongside a longer-term effort to enact a law to increase regulation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), an action critics say threatens free expression and is meant to intimidate criticism of the government.

“These 1.2 million names don’t want to see [Amnesty] undermine national security, destroy the monarchy and create conflicts in the country,” said Seksakol Atthawong, a vice-minister in the Office of the Prime Minister who has been active in both the petition campaign and efforts to control NGOs.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a 2014 military coup, has not commented on the petition but said in November that he had asked police and the interior ministry to see if Amnesty has broken any laws in its support for protesters advocating reforms of the monarchy.

The petition was launched after Amnesty criticised the Constitutional Court for ruling that three pro-democracy activists who called for reform of the monarchy were committing sedition by attempting to overthrow the nation’s system of government with the king as head of state.

The ruling banned any similar activities in the future by the activists and their organisations and also appeared to effectively prohibit any other calls for reform of the monarchy.

Thailand already has a royal anti-defamation law frequently applied against members of the youth-led pro-democracy movement, which sprung up in 2020. It provides a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for insulting the king and his immediate family.

At least 170 people, including 14 minors, have been charged under the law since November 2020, according to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

Amnesty International said in an emailed statement it acknowledges the government’s duty to protect public order and national security.

But it said the authorities “must do so in a manner that is in accordance with international human rights law, and that is proportionate, necessary and fulfills the government’s obligations to ensure and facilitate respect for human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

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