In April 2024, the US State Department released the 2023 report on the Human
Rights Practices in Thailand. The report painted a grim picture of the Thai human
rights situation at a critical juncture in which the then government of Srettha Thavisin
failed to address the human rights problems and the monarchy continued to
challenge the constitution leading to intensifying application of laws to suppress its
critics. Since the release of the report, Thailand made another dangerous turn, with
Srettha forced to step down, the pro-reform opposition Move Forward Party
dissolved, and now with Paethongtarn Shinawatra becoming the prime minister.

This talk will focus on the human rights problems facing Thailand in a specific
context of the excessive use of lèse-majesté law, or Article 112 of the Criminal Code,
which forbids anyone to criticise the monarchy. Since the enthronement of King
Vajiralongkorn in 2016, there has been a sharp increase of lèse-majesté cases,
particularly against young activists who called for immediate reforms of the
monarchy and Article 112. In May 2024, a young activist, Netiporn Sanesangkhom,
charged with lèse-majesté, died in prison due to hunger strike. Her death reiterated
the fact that the monarchy has remained at the heart of the Thai political crisis.
Meanwhile, the new Paethongtarn government has announced that it would not
support the reform of Article 112, supposedly because of its close partnership with
the monarchy. The speaker will discuss the lèse-majesté situation and his own
international advocacy in raising awareness of the problems of lèse-majesté law.

The speaker will also bring with him a mobile exhibition. Titled “Objects of
Disruption,” this exhibition will showcase 10 images that convey the ongoing activism
among Thais who have sought to “disrupt” the political status quo. The speaker has
worked with a group of Thai artists in Thailand in the production of these artworks.