Opinion published on govt website may affect verdict, says MFP
Opposition party claims a deputy spokesperson’s personal thoughts on the charter court’s role could well affect the ruling pending on Wednesday
Opposition leader Move Forward Party (MFP) slammed the authorities for publishing deputy government spokesperson Karom Phonphonklang’s personal opinions on the role of the charter court, saying it could potentially damage its case.
The article, published on the Government House website but removed as of press time, could potentially affect the court’s verdict on the party dissolution case, MFP spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu said on Monday.
The court is scheduled to issue a verdict on Wednesday (August 7) in a case where MFP was accused by the Election Commission (EC) of violating the Political Party Act in a manner that can be seen as a move to overthrow the country’s constitutional monarchy as well as a hostile act against the monarchy.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Parit questioned the government’s integrity and impartiality in publishing a personal opinion on a platform designated for government news and announcements.
According to Move Forward, Karom’s opinion, which was published on the www.thaigov.go.th website, stated: “If the Constitutional Court is afraid to dissolve a political party, even when the party has violated the law and the law grants the court such authority, due to fear of pressure and public opinions the party has created, or international scrutiny, it may lead to a phenomenon where political parties campaign irresponsibly towards the public.”
Parit said that comments such as these could influence the court’s verdict, especially after being published on a website of the government, which holds administrative power and is not the affected party in this case.
Parit also accused the government of not fully understanding Move Forward’s campaign to amend Section 112 of the Penal Code or the draconian lese majeste law, adding that the proposed amendment would not have left the monarchy vulnerable to insults as all Thais are already protected under Section 326 of the Penal Code.
Parit also questioned the government’s stance on international scrutiny, which if based on Karom’s opinion, seems to contradict the administration’s bid of securing a seat for Thailand in the United Nations’ Human Rights Council.
“I hope this serves as a lesson for the government to ensure that the personal opinions of individuals, which do not reflect the government’s views, should never be published on the government website,” he added.
