Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s praise for a man who held up a royal portrait at a protest site in Bangkok has drawn controversy in Thailand, winning acclaim from monarchists and scorn from protesters.
The king has not made any public comment on more than three months of protests, which have increasingly targeted the Thai monarchy as well as the government.
However, in video recorded on Friday evening as the king greeted well-wishers outside the Grand Palace in Bangkok, he is heard praising Thitiwat Tanagaroon, who is introduced by Thai Queen Suthida as the man who held up the royal portrait while others were protesting.
Photo: AFP
“Very brave, very brave, very good, thank you,” the king said.
The Royal Palace made no comment, as it has not since the start of anti-government protests in July that have increasingly targeted the monarchy. Thai government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri declined to comment.
The video was posted on Facebook by Tanagaroon alongside several other videos of the event and pictures of him taken on Tuesday in which he is holding the portrait.
Photo: AP
“Their majesties recognized me. This is the highest point of my life,” Tanagaroon wrote.
The authenticity of the video of the king’s praise could not be independently verified. Several other people at the event recorded the encounter and posted videos online, but the king’s words were not clear amid the chanting.
However, the king’s comments drew a big response.
“Just seeing this picture, we are very touched,” royalist leader Warong Dechgitvigrom posted. “This is the Thai way and Thai society of caring, supporting and protecting. Today, it is considered that his institution has adapted to be very close to the people. That made the greatest impression.”
Among the top trending hashtags on Twitter in Thailand, tweeted more than 500,000 times, was #23OctEyesOpened — used by protesters and their supporters saying that the Palace had now made its position clear.
The hashtag #VeryBraveVeryGoodThankYou was also widely used — alongside sarcastic comments.
“Very brave, very brave, very good for such a clear expression,” a comment from protest leader Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree read.
He has put less emphasis than others on calls for royal reform.
Another protest leader, Piyarat Chongthep, commented: “The king has not been above political problems, but always sits at the heart of the problems.”
Protesters seek the removal of Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader they accuse of engineering an election last year to stay in power. He denies the accusation.
The protests also seek changes to the constitution and to reduce the powers of the monarchy, which they say has helped enable decades of military domination.
Under the Thai constitution, the monarchy is “enthroned in a position of revered worship,” but in principle, it does not engage in politics — a point that the king himself underlined during last year’s elections.
James Buchanan, a lecturer at Bangkok’s Mahidol University International College, said that the king’s comments marked his clearest intervention so far in the crisis.
“I interpret it as signaling that the king acknowledges the challenge to his authority by the protests, but will not back down,” Buchanan said.
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