US ambassador expresses concern over law

Recently appointed US Ambassador Glyn Davies made the comments at a talk at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand in Bangkok as lese-majeste prosecutions skyrocket under the ruling military junta.

“We’re also concerned by the lengthy and unprecedented prison sentences handed down by Thai military courts against civilians for violating the lese-majeste law,” Davies told a packed audience after expressing worries about the way criminal-defamation laws are being more widely used to stifle public debate. Davies, who has only been in his role for about nine weeks, stressed the admiration the US held for the Thai monarch before asserting his point on the right to express opinions freely. 

“We believe no one should be jailed for peacefully expressing their views,” he said.

Since last year’s coup, the military has stepped up its patrol of alleged lese-majeste offences, especially on social media, which analysts say is being used to dole out harsher prison sentences. Under the legislation, anyone can launch a complaint and the police are duty-bound to investigate, with critics of the law saying it is often used to pursue political opponents of the country’s military and royalist elite.

Thailand is a long-time ally of the US but the relationship between the two nations has been strained since last year’s coup, which Washington strongly condemned. Maintaining these ties has posed a delicate balancing act for the US, which is reluctant to isolate its old friend in the region.

Davies reiterated the US call for a return to democracy in Thailand, but stressed that he did not want to “come across as wagging a finger”.