2022 Thai Revolution
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| Date | 10 February 2022 | ||
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The 2022 Thai Revolution (Thai: การปฏิวัติไทย พ.ศ. 2565) was a series of events that initially arose from widespread protests and demonstrations that eventually culminated in the overthrow of the ruling Chakri dynasty and the subsequent establishment of a republican form of government, effectively replacing the Kingdom of Thailand with the present-day Republic of Thailand. Consequently, the Thai monarchy, first established in 1238 by the Phra Ruang dynasty, came to an end in 2022, roughly 784 years later under the Chakri dynasty.
The revolution was initially preceded by a series of protests and demonstrations brought on by the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that demanded the dissolution of the country's military-controlled parliament, an end to intimidation of civilians, and the drafting of a more inclusive and democratic constitution. In addition, longstanding reforms for Thailand's restrictive and draconian lèse majesté laws also gained in importance, with calls to release those detained or imprisoned under said laws by the government.
In response to mass rallies which were largely centered in the capital city of Bangkok, the government responded by implementing a severe state of emergency, seeking to crush opposition and dissent brought on by the protests and demonstrations. Consequently, protesters frequently clashed with security forces in and around Bangkok while critics of the government were systematically arrested and detained.
In spite of harsh crackdown efforts by the government, over the course of roughly two years long, protesters persisted and, following an increase in momentum that soon led to vocal foreign involvement via statements of condemnation and threats of economic sanctions, eventually compelled the unpopular King Vajiralongkorn to abdicate in favour of his adolescent son and heir presumptive Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti. After initially ascending to the throne as Rama XI, a subsequent referendum resulted in the abolition of the monarchy in favour of a parliamentary republic with an elected president replacing the monarch as head of state. Consequently, the longstanding power and authority jointly held by the military and monarchy was effectively diminished in favour of a democratic framework that has since been in place. For their actions during the revolution, numerous government and military leaders, including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, Royal Thai Armed Forces' Chief of the Defence Forces General Chalermpol Srisawat, and numerous others were tried and sentenced for crimes against humanity and other offences. Moreover, after being detained by German authorities while attempting to escape to China, Vajiralongkorn was extradited back to Thailand where he was charged and later sentenced to life imprisonment by the republican government charged for crimes against humanity and other offences.
In line with the country's transition from a monarchy to a republic, the country's national day, traditionally celebrated on 5 December, the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was changed to 10 February to commemorate the date of the revolution. While officially known as National Day, it has also been popularly referred to as Republic Day or Revolution Day.
Background
For much of its modern history, especially since the Siamese revolution of 1932 which replaced the longstanding absolute monarchy with a constitutional monarchy, Thailand has alternated between democratic elected governments and military rule with the total record of successful military coups being thirteen.
The most recent military coup took place in 2014 where Prayut Chan-o-cha, head of the Royal Thai Army, deposed the government of Yingluck Shinawatra, younger sister of another former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Consequently, Prayut was later appointed prime minister, a post that he held uninterrupted since the aftermath of the coup until his eventual removal from office in 2022.
In the meantime, Prayut's conservative and royalist government actively worked to suppress internal dissent, promoted an authoritarian style of government, and espoused mostly conservative values that were known as the "twelve values". Meanwhile, the popular Future Forward Party, which came third in the 2019 Thai general election, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand which claimed that the party had violated election laws by accepting a loan from its leader, a claim that party officials strenuously deny while pointing to the military junta's corruption and involvement in the 1MDB scandal in neighbouring Malaysia.
In March 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 virus prompted the government to invoke an emergency decree that led to a nationwide curfew with the main aim of curbing the spread of the virus. In addition, a travel ban was issued on all foreigners entering Thailand as a cautionary measure. Regardless, despite a relatively successful response against the virus, international rights groups have criticised the emergency decree as a means to suppress free speech. Meanwhile, the absence of tourists and restrictions on movement heavily affected the country's tourism sector, leaving Thailand with its worst economic downturn in almost three decades since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Moreover, members of the public were also infuriated by the perceived privileged treatment of "VIP guests" who were later revealed to be positive for COVID-19. During a visit by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to the Rayong Province, protesters who held up banners calling for his resignation were immediately arrested, sparking much criticism.
On the monarchy's part, the institution has also come under fire from critics who lambasted its strict use of the lèse majesté laws to silence critics of the monarchy, often very arbitrarily and with little to no due process. Moreover, the apparent excesses of the reigning King Vajiralongkorn, which stands in stark contrast to the relative humbleness of his late father, has also invited criticism from members of the public especially in light of the hardships faced by many in the recent decade. In 2009, controversy emerged when Vajiralongkorn, then the crown prince, was pictured alongside his then-wife Srirasmi Suwadee celebrating the birthday of his poodle, namely Air Chief Marshal Fufu. In particular, while Vajiralongkorn himself was casually dressed, Srirasmi Suwadee sparked controversy by wearing nothing but a g-string undergarment whereas her exposed chest was laid bare.
Event
Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, the deeply unpopular and controversial King Vajiralongkorn was compelled to abdicate the throne, which he officially did on 15 February 2022, five days after the revolution via a televised speech from the Grand Palace. Consequently, his heir presumptive Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, only seventeen years old and believed by many to have a developmental disorder, ascended to the throne as Rama XI while the new government planned a referendum due to take place within a few days to decide the country's future. For the ensuing fifteeen-day period, at seventeen, Dipangkorn was briefly the world's youngest serving state leader and the world's youngest reigning monarch, temporarily surpassing the United Kingdom's Queen Alexandra, who later regained both distinctions upon Dipangkorn's abdication afterward.
On 20 February 2022, a nationwide referendum was held by the new government which initially styled itself as the "National Transitional Council for Thailand". Consisting of two parts, the first part asked voters to either decide on either preserving or abolishing the monarchy and if so, further decide between a presidential republic, in which an elected president would serve as both head of state and head of government, and a parliamentary republic in which an elected president serves as head of state while the prime minister continues to serve as head of government. In the end, the results showed a decisive victory in favour of abolishing the monarchy with a ratio of 66%-34% and a victory for a system of parliamentary republic over a presidential republic, namely with 54%-46%. The following day, Dipangkorn abdicated the throne after just six days and the government announced the official establishment of the "Republic of Thailand", bringing to an end Thailand's seven-centuries-long monarchical system that began in 1238 with Si Inthrathit of the Sukhothai Kingdom and ended in 2022 with Dipangkorn of the modern-day Kingdom of Thailand.
In the months that followed, numerous government and military officials were prosecuted for their role in the revolution, including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, Royal Thai Armed Forces' Chief of the Defence Forces General Chalermpol Srisawat, as well as numerous others. Meanwhile, the deposed Vajiralongkorn, who was in Germany during the later stages of the revolution, was detained by German officials and handed back to Thailand under strict supervision and security to stand trial for his crimes. In the meantime, Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was allowed to return to the country from his self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates for the first time in almost fifteen years with the new government stating that they will conduct a "thorough" review of Thaksin's convictions and "follow up on it appropriately". Numerous political prisoners were also released from detention and their convictions overturned by the new government which deemed them to be "spurious" and "lacking in clear evidence".
In the immediate context of ASEAN geopolitics, the revolution is believed to have motivated ongoing protests against the ruling military junta government in Myanmar as well as anti-government protesters in Cambodia, both of which are countries that directly border Thailand. With the effective abolition of the Thai monarchy, among Southeast Asian countries, only Cambodia, Malaysia, and Brunei remain the only ones still operating as monarchies, with both Cambodia and Malaysia directly bordering Thailand itself, a fact that has raised concerns of increasing republicanism in both countries respectively. In addition, both countries are constitutional monarchies whereas Brunei is an absolute monarchy. In this, while met with strong opposition from the governments of Myanmar and Cambodia and some disapproval from China, the republican government has received political and diplomatic support from India, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union. On 17 February 2022, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken became the first foreign official to visit Thailand after the revolution, followed by Japan's foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on 22 February, and the United Kingdom's Queen Alexandra on 25 February. On 14 May 2023, roughly a year after the revolution, King Abdullah, the head of state of neighbouring Malaysia, conducted a state visit to the country while the likes of Singapore's Halimah Yacob, India's Droupadi Murmu, Indonesia's Joko Widodo, and Brunei's Hassanal Bolkiah have also done the same, thereby indicating majority support for the new regime in the region.
While the former royal residences of Grand Palace and Dusit Palace have been seized and remade into the official residences for the country's president and vice president, Vajiralongkorn's two villas in Bavaria, Germany, which he previously frequented, have also been seized by German authorities who had previously criticised him for seemingly executing his duties as king from abroad. Both properties were later auctioned off to private bidders.