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Royalists Work to Stifle Criticism of Thailand's Monarchy
“We have reached a stage where people would want to drive you out of the country or even want to kill you for having different thoughts,” said Anon Numpa, a lawyer who represents a dozen clients accused of insulting the monarchy.
In their zeal to protect the king, ultraroyalists in Thailand may be weakening the institution of the monarchy, he said.
“To protect God,” Mr. Kong wrote, “sometimes the self-appointed guardians risk despoiling his name.”
Some of the pieces of this article made me gulp a little, which is to say something about the ‘loyalty system’ I grew up in. Some would say I was brainwashed to believe the way I do. I’ve always known to love the king and the royal family, and they have a dear place in my nationalism. To read anything that spells negative thoughts about them makes me uncomfortable. That said, I do believe the punishments are getting to be extreme for this day and age. Someone from the royal family should step up to figure out a way to make the laws appropriate for today’s society without removing the national love for the royal family. There has to be a way for things to balance both without having to have people live in secrecy and fear.
