UN human rights chief condemns Thailand for dissolving opposition party.

'No party or politician should ever face such penalties,' says Volker Turk

ISTANBUL:

The UN human rights chief on Thursday denounced Thailand's decision to dissolve the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP) and ban its senior figures from politics for several years.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called the act a troubling undermining of democratic processes and political pluralism.

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Wednesday found the MFP, which had won the most seats in the last election, guilty of jeopardizing the constitutional monarchy and national security due to its advocacy for reforming the country's lese-majeste law.

Lese-majeste refers to the crime of insulting or showing disrespect towards a reigning monarch or sovereign authority.

Turk said UN human rights mechanisms have long expressed concern that the lese-majeste prohibition is inconsistent with the country's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and should be reviewed.

"This decision seriously impacts fundamental freedoms of expression and association and people's right to participate in public affairs and political life in Thailand," he said. "No party or politician should ever face such penalties for peacefully advocating legal reform, particularly in support of human rights."

Turk called on the Thai government to ensure a "vibrant, strong and inclusive democracy" that respects the rights to freedom of expression and association and to end the use lese-majeste laws to suppress critical voices.

In addition to disbanding the party, the court on Wednesday barred its executives from politics for 10 years.

The Move Forward Party has become the ninth prominent political party to be dissolved since 2007 in Thailand.

The party had campaigned before last year’s elections to amend the lese-majeste law, which shields the king from criticism, if they formed the government.