Activists call on Pheu Thai, Democrat to back repeal of 1976 coup-era order
The October 6 Memorial Network went to Parliament yesterday (1 October) to file petitions calling on the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties to back the repeal of an order made following the military coup of 1976 which increased the penalty for royal defamation.
Network representatives submitting their petition to Pheu Thai representatives (Photo by Ginger Cat)
The activists said that laws and orders made by a junta should not be allowed to stand without review and called on the political parties to support the repeal of these relics of military coups to show that laws should come from the people and be made following a democratic process.
The Network visited Bhumjaithai Party and People’s Party headquarters on 22 September to file similar petitions. They initially planned to file the petitions at the Pheu Thai Party headquarters on 28 September and the Democrat Party on 29 September, but postponed the visits to 1 October and moved the location to Parliament due to heavy rain and floods affecting Bangkok.
The petition is part of a campaign marking the 50th anniversary of the 6 October 1976 Thammasat University Massacre, a violent crackdown and lynching by police and right-wing paramilitaries of protesters gathering at Thammasat University and nearby Sanam Luang to protest the return of Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn. The massacre resulted in the death of at least 45 people. That evening, Admiral Sangad Chaloryu ousted the government of Seni Pramoj in a military coup. He became head of the National Administrative Reform Council (NARC), the junta which would rule Thailand until 1980.
Within 15 days of the coup, the NARC issued Order 41, amending the Criminal Code to increase the penalties for several offences, such as defaming a foreign head of state, insulting a place of worship, flag desecration, defamation, and defamation by publication. It also increased the penalty for royal defamation from up to 7 years to between 3 and 15 years.
The October 6 Memorial Network plans to propose a bill repealing Order 41 and has launched an online campaign for voters to back the bill at https://decoup6octsins.com/. As of 1 October, the bill had over 31,000 signatures.
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