On 18 May, Anand Panyarachun, former Prime Minister and Chair of the National Reform Committee, held a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand to discuss the work of his committee which resigned on 15 May.

Anand said that the unequal structure of power in terms of economics, politics, society and resources was the root cause of inequalities in Thai society.  His committee has come up with a 38-page proposal for reforms including a reduction in the power and role of the military, decentralization of administrative power, and land reform.

He said that he and the committee members had resigned in accordance with political etiquette. The next government is free to decide whether it will implement reforms in its own way, or as proposed by his committee, or not at all.  However, in the run up to the general elections, the public should question candidates and political parties about reforms, and help make the reforms a national agenda for the development of democracy and empowerment of the people, he said.

Asked by a reporter from the Financial Times whether the lèse majesté law should be reformed, he said that the existence of the law was not a problem, but the problem was its enforcement as it allowed anybody to make complaints, which opened opportunities for abuse by those who made use of the law and the institution for their own gain.  If this is solved, problems should be reduced, he said.

Most Thais love, respect and worship the monarchy.  People from other countries may view that the Thais love and respect the institution in a peculiar way.  Regardless of foreigners’ views, this is the Thai people’s culture, he said.

Others should have respect for diversity according to the principle of cultural plurality, and should not make judgments on what is good or bad, he said.

‘Likewise, it’s not my job to make judgments about monarchies elsewhere, such as the UK or Norway, because that is their monarch and their people.  I think that to apply a universal rule to constitutional monarchies everywhere is not right, because they differ in the details.  However, there should be a certain commonly accepted standard,’ he said.

In response to a reporter from the Christian Science Monitor who asked about reform of the power of the monarchy, he said that the power of the monarch was clearly stated in the constitution and the monarch would use his power through the legislative, executive and judicial branches according to conventional practice.

‘The power of the monarch is not something that has been demanded, but has been acquired through the people and the constitution.  I’m prepared to defend that idea that the Thai monarchy under the constitution has no more power than the monarchies in any other countries in the world.  I don’t think that the power of the monarchy is part of the unequal power relationships in society,’ he said.”