Red Shirt protesters rally at Democracy Monument last month on the anniversary of the crackdown on 10 April 2010. Photo by Bernd Mechsner / Flickr.
Thailand's royal family faces a divisive anniversary ahead of the next national election, writes Nicholas Farrelly. "Delicious,? exclaimed Vuthithorn 'Woody' Milintachinda, a popular Thai talk show host, as he nibbled the cupcake being fed to Princess Chulabhorn Walailak's dog. This was one of the lighter moments in a televised interview in early April that saw the boyish host performing with all the reverence that might expected in a Thai-style royal audience. Genuflecting on the floor and deploying the ornate royal register of the national language, Woody shed tears as the princess reflected on the current troubles facing the country, her family's service to the nation and her pride in the achievements of her father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The king has been on Thailand's throne for almost sixty-five years; he is the longest-reigning monarch on earth. During those decades a once diminished and fragile monarchy has returned to the apex of Thai society and politics. Cries of 'Long live the king' now reverberate far and wide as royalist supporters of the frail and hospitalised monarch seek to monopolise discussion of national security, prosperity and identity.
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