BANGKOK – In one of its first major pieces of legislation as the elected government of the Kingdom of Thailand, the House of Representatives has voted unanimously to abolish any acknowledgement, reporting, or discussion of the recent decision by Nepal to abolish its own monarchy and become a republic.
In a prepared statement read at a press conference, speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat announced that the assembly had passed a resolution to “just not talk about this non-event, which as far as the Kingdom of Thailand is concerned, has not happened and would never happen.” The vote was 500 – 0.
Former King Gyanendra of Nepal was stripped of his powers on December 27 when the country’s provisional parliament voted to abolish the 239-year-old monarchy, but remained in his palace as a meaningless figurehead until this month’s elections, which ratified the decision to establish Nepal as a democratic federal republic.
The decision was passed by an overwhelming majority of 270 votes to three, with 56 abstentions in the new parliament, which included leaders of a insurgency that began in 1996.
The conversion from king to tax-paying private citizen marks the end of a six-year downward spiral for an institution that was once regarded as infallible. On June 1, 2001, Crown Prince Dipendra went on an alcohol-related shooting spree inside the royal palace, killing nine members of the royal family, including his father and then-King Birendra, mother Queen Aiswarya, brother Prince Nirajan, and sister Princess Shruti, before, allegedly, turning the gun on himself.
Gyanendra was the sole heir-qualified survivor of the massacre, as well as its only witness. His account remains the official version of events, which coincidentally made him king – if only for a short while.
However, under the terms of the new NLA legislation, Thai newspapers will carry no news of the decision by Nepal, or the sordid history behind its incompetent and outdated monarchy system, or the results of this month’s groundbreaking election, nor will any reference be made to events in Nepalese politics after 2000.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Ambassador to Nepal, will continue to refer to Nepal as a “beautiful and majestic place”, and “our mountain-dwelling friends to the north”, but make no specific reference to it as either a kingdom or a republic. However, historical references to the bloodshed caused by the Maoist-communist insurgency will remain highly encouraged.
When asked whether the abolition would ever be lifted, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the possibility was open.
“When these subjects are less sensitive, we may go ahead and reprint ‘Republic of Nepal’ on our official documents and quietly slip them in,” he said. “If anyone asks, we’ll just pretend it was always like that. But we’re pretty sure no one will ask.”
