The German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is against Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn (or Rama X) ruling from Bavaria where he stays with his harem in a hotel.
The government official was asked by a Greens MP in the Bundestag about the King conducting politics in Germany instead of in his own country.
“Why does the German government tolerate this extremely unusual – and in my opinion illegal – behaviour of a foreign head of state conducting politics on German soil?” was the question posed by the MP.
Maas told the Bundestag: “We have made it clear that politics concerning Thailand should not be conducted from German soil.”
He added: “If there are guests in our country that conduct their state business from our soil, we would always want to act to counteract that.”
Maas was also quizzed by Frithjof Schmidt, a Greens MP, on if Germany was ready to talk to the European Union about halting free trade talks with Thailand once more “as long as the junta continues to block the path to democracy in Thailand.” Maas said it was an option but that they should discuss it with Thailand first.
This comes at a time when protests against the monarchy continue to gain steam in the Asian kingdom. Demonstrators want a curb on the monarch’s increasing powers, a new constitution and democracy.
Thailand is not a country with freedom of speech, especially when it comes to the Thai Royal Family. The nation has stringent lèse majesté laws that carry up to a 15-year prison sentence for insulting or defaming the monarch or member of the Royal Family. Those who protest have been arrested and insulted by many of the royals’ supporters.
