Thai junta charges rising political star
Military gov’t files sedition raps against billionaire whose Future Forward Party came in 3rd in the March elections
BANGKOK—
Thailand’s ruling junta charged rising political leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit with sedition after his party came in third in the March election.
BANGKOK— Thailand’s ruling junta charged a rising political leader with sedition on Saturday after the new party he founded garnered more than 6 million votes in the March 24 election.
The sedition charge was the second criminal case opened against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 40, since he formed the progressive, youth-oriented Future Forward Party last year.
2015 incident
Police said the charge stemmed from 2015 when Thanathorn, who was then running his family’s auto parts empire, backed a public protest against the military which staged a coup in 2014.
That coup was led by then Army chief Prayut Chan-ocha, who seized the prime ministership and sought a genuine electoral mandate in last March’s parliamentary elections.
Prayut’s junta subsequently revised the country’s electoral rules to favor the military and the pro-junta party won 8.4 million votes and 116 parliament seats.
Clear results
But even with the revised electoral rules, the Pheu Thai party, linked to the Shinawatra family that the junta ousted in 2014, won 137 seats and 7.9 million votes.
Thanathorn’s Future Forward party, which also opposes the junta, came in third with 80 parliament seats and 6.3 million popular votes.
Another anti-junta party, the Bumjaithai, won 51 seats and 3.7 million votes.
The Democrat Party, led by former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, won 52 seats and 3.9 million votes and is expected to support the junta party although Abhisit has declared otherwise.
It was still uncertain which party could form a government after the election with the ruling party saying the May 4 to 6 coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn should be prioritized.
Thanathorn’s Future Forward has joined an opposition “democratic front” that will try to form a government and block Prayuth from staying in power.
But the democratic front may not be able to get the prime ministership since that would require a majority vote from the Senate which is wholly appointed by the military.
Thanathorn, who appeared before the police on Saturday, said the charges against him were politically motivated.
Election related
“Why does this come a week after the election?” he told thousands of supporters after he emerged from the police station.
“This isn’t about me. This is about everyone who fights for justice,” he told supporters outside the police station.
They handed him flowers and cheered loudly as he emerged from the station, chanting “Thanathorn, keep going!”
Many wore orange clothing —the party’s color—and held up signs with “#SaveThanathorn”, which is also a trending hashtag on Twitter.
Thanathorn is accused of breaking Article 116 of the Thai criminal code, the equivalent of sedition; Article 189, for assisting others who committed a serious crime; and Article 215, for an assembly of more than 10 people.
He is set to submit a written testimony to police by May 15 but he will be tried by a military court. He faces up to nine years in prison if found guilty.
Possible disqualification
According to electoral law, a criminal conviction could also spell electoral disqualification for Thanathorn, who also faces a separate cybercrime charge over a Facebook post criticizing the junta in July.
Prosecutors will decide on April 26 whether to put him on trial for the cybercrime charge.