Thailand has suffered ‘judicial coup’: opposition leader

BANGKOK: Thailand´s main opposition leader on Wednesday accused judges of mounting a “judicial coup”, after court rulings that ousted the kingdom´s prime minister and dissolved its most popular party.

The Constitutional Court earlier this month disbanded the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) and banned its leaders from politics, before throwing then-premier Srettha Thavisin out of office for ethics violations.

MFP, which won most seats in last year´s election, swiftly relaunched as the People´s Party (PP), and its new leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told AFP that reform was needed for the kingdom to progress.

“The Constitutional Court has ousted the PM, and also ousted the ex-executives of MFP -- we call it a judicial coup,” he said in an interview at the Thai parliament.

“A power that is not accountable to the people overruled the executive branch and legislative branch which are elected by the people. This is a sign that Thailand is not a full democracy,” he added.

Natthaphong, a 37-year-old tech entrepreneur, said his party will push for reforms to limit the Constitutional Court´s powers to vet legislation -- removing its ability to dissolve political parties or sack prime ministers.

Thailand´s politics over the past two decades has been scarred by a bitter struggle between populist progressive parties and the kingdom´s pro-military, pro-royalist elite.

MFP´s popular leader Pita Limjaroenrat led the party to a surprise first place in last year´s election promising to reform Thailand´s tough lese-majeste laws, reduce military influence and tackle powerful business monopolies.

But he was blocked from forming a government by senators appointed by the last military junta, ostensibly because of concerns about the party´s plans for the royal insult laws.

A court later ruled that the proposals amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, and on August 7, MFP became the latest in a series of Thai political parties to be dissolved by judges.

The European Union, United States, United Nations and human rights groups blasted the court´s dissolution of MFP, with the EU saying it harmed democratic openness in Thailand.

Natthaphong urged the international community not to stint in its criticism when Thailand breached democratic norms, saying the kingdom “deserves to know when it´s doing wrong”.

Natthaphong said the new party would talk to conservative groups and courts to try to convince them about its plans for reform.

But he insisted PP would not back down on the substance, even on the sensitive subject of royal defamation laws -- known in Thailand as 112 from the relevant section of the criminal code. “The only thing we are going to change is the methodology or the approach,” he said.