Leader of the far-right Thai Pakdee Party Warong Dechgitvigrom has displayed an official letter from parliament on his Facebook page, announcing that his request to collect signatures to propose an amendment to Section 112 of the Criminal Code has been authorized.

Warong and his associates submitted the request on 18 January and it was approved on 7 February. According to the current constitution, a petition must carry at least 10,000 signatures before it may be considered in the House of Representatives.

The Thai Pakdee Party thinks that Section 112 should cover not only "the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent", but also "former Thai kings of the current Chakri Dynasty and princes and princesses with the rank of Pra Ong Chao or above" and also the word "monarchy" itself.

Warong also pledged that if his party’s MP candidates get elected to the next parliament, they will amend the Code of Conduct for MPs to prevent them from using their position as security when requesting bail for political activists.

The parliament said that eligible voters and campaigners can also request the Secretariat of the House of Representatives to receive documents directly from the signatories. However, Warong asked his supporters to submit documents to the Thai Pakdee Party's office.

While parliament supports ultraroyalist efforts to broaden Section 112, opposition party MPs regularly encounter barriers when trying to debate the law, while a number of political activists engage in prolonged hunger strikes and sleep deprivation to demand the right to bail.

On 1 Feb, Amarat Chokepamitkul, a Move Forward Party MP, protested to Chuan Leekpai, the Speaker of the House, for omitting her party's motion to diminish the scope of Section 112 from the parliamentary agenda since February last year.

When she was arguing that the lèse-majesté law, like any other laws, can be discussed, amended or ultimately abolished, Chuan turned off her microphone, saying that "let me warn you, with good intentions, to be careful not to violate the monarchy."

In mid-February, Thanalop, a 14-year-old girl, became the youngest person ever charged with royal defamation in Thailand following repeated police harassment and a complaint against her by a royalist activist.

The opposition parties remain divided on the subject. The largest opposition party, Pheu Thai, argues that the problem is more with the implementation of the law and it would be easier to solve by an order from the executive branch if they win a "landslide" victory in the next general election.

On the other hand, the Move Forward Party has suggested an amendment that will reduce penalties and restrict who may file charges. However, none of these meet the activists' demand for abolition of the law.

Who loves monarchy the most?

On Valentine's Day, Prachatai reported in its Thai section who, besides the authorities, files the most complaints under the lèse-majesté law. Anon Klinkaew, who is enamoured with the monarchy and who filed the charge against 14-year-old Thanalop, barely made joint fourth place.

The analysis was based on a database of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). Thailand has seen 135 royal defamation charges brought by the authorities and 114 brought by ordinary civilians since the use of lèse majesté law was reinstated in the aftermath of pro-democracy protests in 2020.

Anon, head of the People’s Centre to Protect the Monarchy (PCPM), tied with Uraporn Sunthorapoj, a citizen from Samut Prakan who also filed five charges. These two were surpassed by Siwapan Manitkul (9), Pasit Chanhuatone and Apiwat Khanthong (each with 8), and Nopadol Prompasit (7).

Nangnoi Atsawakittikorn, a former leader of Thailand Help Centre for Cyberbullying Victims (THCV) and a former MP candidate for the right-wing Action Coalition for Thailand Party, came in fifth place, filing four charges, the same as Kanbongkot Mekhapraphatsakun from PCPM.

In joint sixth place with 3 charges each are Warissanan Sribowornthanakit (THCV), Raphiphong Chaiyarat and Piyakul Wongsing (both PCPM), Sub-Lt Narin Sakcharoenchaikun from the Thai Pakdee party, and serial petitioner Srisuwan Janya.