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Title: Thailand, Buddha, the King & I Author: Anonymous Language: en Topics: Thailand Source: Retrieved on 05/01/2017 from http://www.non-fides.fr/?Le-roi-de-Thailande-est-mort Notes: Translated from the original in french : Le roi de ThaĂŻlande est mort http://www.non-fides.fr/?Le-roi-de-Thailande-est-mort Published originally on Monday, October 24, 2016
On 30th October, The Guardian/Observer published the news that the state
of Thailand “has begun a search for people deemed to have defamed its
monarchy in the wake of the king’s death, investigating 20 new criminal
cases and seeking to extradite suspects from abroad” (here). The
following article published in French a week ago puts this in context.
The King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX alias) has died. More
than a king, he was the Devaraja, the God-King of Theravada Buddhism,
the state religion of Thailand and of the historical monarchies of
Southeast Asia (Siam, Burma, Laos, Cambodia) which established their
centres in the rice plain regions. Having ascended to the throne there
seventy years ago, he has since given his blessing to all authoritarian
regimes that have held power in Thailand, mostly linked to generals.
Whilst Thailand enjoyed some social unrest in the 20s and 30s (eg with
many strikes, especially in Bangkok), the cult of the God-King was
brought up to date and modernised as a function of the needs of
capitalist development for the country and of the social control of the
population after World War ll. This was coupled with the promotion of a
fervent nationalism, through the construction of the Thai nation around
a national identity.
Thailand, unlike its neighbours, was never colonised. During the Cold
War, it served as a base for the CIA for its operations in neighbouring
countries, and a flow of foreign capital (American and Japanese), at
that time, permitted the “modernisation” of its economy, and the
development of modern relations of exploitation – the wages system – via
the exodus from the countryside. In this way, reinforcing the cult of
the God-King allowed the rulers there to develop their legitimacy by
positioning themselves in the wake of a king coming from an ancient
dynasty, that of the Chakri, itself an indirect descendant of previous
dynasties. It was especially during the regime of General Sarit Thanarat
(1958-1963) that the monarchy was strengthened, in a partnership that
benefited Bhumibol as well as the military.
Rama IX has since become the richest monarch in the world. There is talk
of a fortune seventy times that of the Queen of England. The largest
landowner in the country, the head of lucrative businesses, his status
is not only symbolic, it is also perfectly compatible with capitalist
relations. On the religious side, the King appoints the leaders of the
Sangha, the Buddhist clergy, and has put into effect a development that
allowed him to attain a status which, in the eyes of the Thais, placed
him above Buddha himself [1] . All this on top of a hierarchical pyramid
which defines precisely the position of each individual in society.
All Thais are subject at birth to this very strict social hierarchy and
propaganda that bombards them with an infantilising worship of the royal
family. Alienation in this area penetrates deep: a dress code for
several days a week dedicated to the King and his wife Queen Sirikit
(yellow and blue polo shirts respectively), wearing an orange wristband
out of love of the monarch, a photo of the royal family in all homes and
public places, etc. The Thai language is replete with references to the
monarchy, and contemporary Thai culture has widely incorporated the cult
of the divine monarchy.
Thai Theravada Buddhism is in charge of instilling self-sacrifice and
respect for the powerful amongst the poor of Thailand whilst providing
full support to the promoters of the commodity. This is the scam of
karma: the more money one has, the more one can afford to donate to
temples, thus ensuring oneself a pleasant daily life in the next lives
(according to the cycle of reincarnations). Hence the incredible kitschy
temples that bloom everywhere, and the very religious cult of the
commodity in the “land of smiles”.
Since King Bhumibol’s accession to the throne, the order of things has
never seriously been threatened in Thailand. Even the movements of
Communist guerrillas close to Maoism in some areas in the 1970s did not
directly attack the personality and status of the King[2]. No more than
do emerging political movements (the “Red Shirts”) who give a gloss of
protest in order to gain power through the mobilisation of people from
the countryside, often shamelessly manipulated. Their exiled leader
Thaksin Shinawatra is a wealthy tycoon, former police colonel and former
prime minister. His “war on drugs” had impressed itself on people in
2003 – between two and three thousand died in extrajudicial executions.
The confrontation between political factions designated in terms of
“yellow shirts” and “red shirts”, which have taken place for several
years, have revealed, of course, class contradictions and class
antagonisms, but which would need to be moved outside these political
games by proletarians themselves, otherwise these oppositions are
condemned to the reproduction of the current social horror. Somehow, the
cult of the God-King supports the whole edifice of power, and the rulers
are concerned with the idea that spreading criticism of the king could
rapidly threaten the rest. Because no ideology is without flaws, not
even the most totalitarian like that of the Thai monarchy. That’s why
very heavy sentences have, in recent years, been handed out to those who
profess mostly indirect and minimal criticisms of the monarchy, through
the charge of the crime of “lèse majesté.” In this area, the authorities
had no difficulty in securing the collaboration of Internet web hosts,
and companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter. [see this]
Those who know Thailand know that all public comments critical of the
King fall within the domain of the impossible, and would mean the
suicide of its author. Even in people’s homes critiques are rare, and
you’d be well-advised not to risk asking, even innocently, what people
think of their King.
Hence the need for control of the internet, whose false anonymity can
give one the idea of making critiques that it would be impossible to
express in public …
Adhesion to the dominant ideology in Thailand is such that there are few
frank expressions of revolt against the system, whether individual or
collective. Theravada Buddhism promotes indifference to the fate of
others, and the submission of the individual to his fate, in a logic of
wholeness and harmony. Hence the naive goody goody ideology of fate, the
Mai pen rai (“never mind”) and the Sabai Sabai (“happy, happy”), current
phrases repeated in a loop by the authorities, by tourists and by Thais
themselves, that go perfectly with submission and exploitation.
In this context, struggles that have some continuity are rare, as the
ramifications of authority are strong and well established (with
cronyism and the influence of local paternalistic leaders, called chao
pho). Collective movements, for example around the defence of the land
against development projects are generally quickly brought under the
control of power, due to the lack of solidarity that enables a real
combative spirit and to stand ones ground against repression and power.
When determined individuals appear, they are simply eliminated.
Given this context the invasion of the commodity which has brought a
good economic situation to the country is hardly threatened by the level
of class struggle. This leaves the field open to the rulers to maintain
a maximum level of exploitation of women and men, which is even worse
when it comes to migrants from neighbouring countries. And the worst
manifestations of social horror remain almost unchanged since the 70s:
human trafficking, mass prostitution, massacres of migrants, etc.
In an incredible passage of a documentary in English on the famous Bang
Kwang Prison[3] , nicknamed the “Bangkok Hilton” ironically – because of
its medieval conditions of imprisonment, an embarrassed prison guard
explains that a wing of the jail contains a thousand prisoners for less
than fifteen guards, and if the prisoners were to decide to do
something, their jailers could not do much… Yet prison revolts are very
unusual in Thailand, which says a great deal about the ongoing
alienation and submission.
Bhumibol died in bed without having to be worried by criticism from his
subjects. Everything indicates that his death will be followed by a long
postmortem cult that could prolong the current alienation, even if Maha
Vajiralongkorn, the son and designated successor to Rama IX, is pretty
much hated by most.
Fortunately, domination, even the most elaborate, still has its flaws
and contradictions. In recent days, the fury of some crowds against
individuals accused of criticising the king on the internet means that
things are simmering …
It is up to rebels to seize the flaws in the system that oppresses and
exploits them, and to deepen the existing contradictions in fights that
get rid of mediations, and lead to an increasingly powerful critique of
the state of things.
Pending the possible deepening of antagonisms, it’s maybe the “mad” who
express with clarity things that few dare formulate. There’ve been
several cases, stifled by the authorities, which in recent years
concerned the “mentally ill” who criticised the monarchy. Well lucid was
the “madman” arrested in July 2014 for having torn a portrait of the
King at the entrance of his village![4]
For now, we wish strength and courage to those who do not comply with
the order of things, refuse courageously to submit to the obligations
and roles to which Authority, capitalism, society, the family demand,
and dare affirm their non-conformity, waiting for a better tomorrow …
Kyokai.
[1] An interesting book, banned in Thailand, explains well the history
of the cult of the God-King and its current aspects: The King never
smiles, by Paul M.Handley
[2] With the exception of the Marxist intellectual and activist Phumisak
Jit, close to the CPT (Communist Party of Thailand), killed (almost
certainly be sections of the state) in hiding in 1966.
[3] The Real Bangkok Hilton (video)
[4] See the following entry for 4th February in News of Opposition:
Thailand : Doctors say lèse majesté suspect with mental illness can face
trial
In the land of the Madness of the God-King, the accusations of
lèse-majesté currently unfolding, suggest that some Thais are beginning
to supersede, at least tentatively, the absolute taboo linked to
everything related to King Bhumibol.
The case is abject but interesting for two reasons. Firstly, because it
reminds us of the role of psychiatric institutions, which is the same in
Thailand as elsewhere, namely as a means of social control (of course
with specific local characteristics).
Secondly, in a country where any criticism of the king is subject to an
absolute taboo nationally, here we see that it is the “crazy man” (in
this case a man who says he can communicate telepathically with the
former Prime Minister) who has targeted major social taboos in the most
straightforward way. The man in question tore a King’s portrait at the
entrance of his village with a knife (the country is covered with such
portraits, which are also found in all forms of housing). This is, to
our knowledge, the most radical gesture directed against the King since
he was installed on the throne of the land of smiles, 69 years ago.