Germany Bans Thailand's King From Managing Government From Europe

Raja Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn

JAKARTA - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has banned Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn from managing his country from his country. Vajiralongkorn is known to have spent much of his time in this European country.

Previously, it was known that the Thai government was being protested by thousands of demonstrators in recent months. The people called for monarchical reforms to curb the king's power and remove the Thai Prime Minister (PM) Prayuth Chan-ocha. He is a former leader of the Thai military junta.

Then in such critical times King Vajiralongkorn instead chose to leave his country and rule in Germany. Therefore, launching Reuters on Friday, October 9 The German Foreign Minister issued a ban on governing his country in response to questions from Green Party MPs in the Bundestag. Maas was alluded to by King Vajiralongkorn, who is facing calls for reform from Thai demonstrators.

"Why does the German government tolerate the behavior of foreign heads of state who conduct politics on German soil and in my opinion this is illegal. We have made it clear that Thai politics cannot be carried out from German soil," Maas told parliament.

Green Party MP Frithjof Schmidt also asked Maas if Germany was ready to have discussions with the European Union's EU freeze free trade talks with Thailand. The EU firmly stated that it would shut down communications as long as democracy in Thailand was not enforced.

"If there are guests in our country who run their state business from our land, we will always want to act to counter that," he added.

The European Union previously cut contact at all levels with Thailand following the 2014 coup. But the two sides resumed trade talks after elections in 2019 which saw Prayuth return as Prime Minister of Thailand.

Maas said stopping negotiations was an "option" to exert pressure. But they still have the right to discuss with Thailand first. Neither the Royal Palace in Bangkok nor the Thai government immediately responded to this.

Thai polemic

Protesters challenged the Kingdom of Thailand and raided the palace building which was dominated by soldiers. This broke an old taboo by demanding reforms to the monarchy that had been in place since August.

King Vajiralongkorn took the throne since 2016, but spends most of his time in Bavaria, where his 15-year-old son attends school. Thai protesters have complained about the cost of the king's stay in Europe as well as his absence in Thailand.

The protesters are trying to reduce the king's powers under the constitution, which specifically allows him to exercise power when he is outside Thailand without appointing a regent. The protesters also want to relinquish direct control of the kingdom's fortune worth tens of billions of dollars and several army units. The palace did not comment on the protests.

Protesters in Thailand said they would gather again next Wednesday. They will bring in large numbers of protesters to pressure the government to step down and suppress their calls for monarchical reform.