Thai political crisis: can King Vajiralongkorn and monarchy emerge unscathed from their greatest challenge?

Name: Thai protesters rally at German embassy, calling for Berlin to investigate Thai king
Uploaded: 2020-10-31T04:00:40.000Z
Duration: 2 min 27 s
Description: Thai protesters rally at German embassy, calling for Berlin to investigate Thai king

Thai king’s best option in responding to pro-democracy groups’ demands – and preserving the monarchy – could turn on mass-mobilising royalist supporters

Analysts fear the worst should he take action against protesters, with one warning, ‘He is known for his willingness to use violence against people who displease him’

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King Maha Vajiralongkorn at the graduation ceremony of Thammasat University in Bangkok on Friday. Photo: AFP

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Published: 12:00pm, 31 Oct 2020Updated: 1:41pm, 31 Oct 2020

King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s visit to Thailand this month has been marked by many pivotal moments.

Just over a year after his official coronation ceremony and barely four years since he ascended the throne after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Vajiralongkorn is faced with a challenge on a scale not seen since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932.

For the first time in history, a Thai king is under scrutiny by a foreign country after tens of thousands of disillusioned Thais marched to the German embassy in Bangkok on Monday, demanding action from the German government.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said amid the heightened political tension that Germany was “continuously checking if there are things that we find to be illegal”, adding that there would be “immediate consequences” if so.

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Thai protesters rally at German embassy, calling for Berlin to investigate Thai king

A letter submitted to the German ambassador to Thailand by the activist group Khana Ratsadon (People’s Party) International called on Berlin to declare Vajiralongkorn persona non grata because the king’s exercising of royal authority on German soil contradicts Article 1 of Germany’s constitution, though German legal experts said it would be almost impossible to prove such violations.

Another open letter from the activist group Fellow Thai Citizens called for Germany to disclose the king’s entry and departure records, declare if the king is required to pay inheritance tax according to the German law and verify if he approves of alleged human rights violations that have occurred in Thailand during his years of living in Germany.