In a long comment posted today Portman makes a thought-provoking point:

One of the first acts of new Thaksin government might be to block New Mandala and arrest those in Thailand who have posted articles deemed disrespectful of the monarchy and declare those outside the country persona non grata.

I would be interested to hear New Mandala reader opinions on this matter.

Would a Red Shirt government take a manifestly different approach to lese majeste prosecutions? Would it likely maintain the current spirit of the lese majeste provisions? Has much changed since the Red Shirt protests explicitly targeted the Privy Councillors earlier in the month? Are there now new rules? Or would a Red Shirt government, whether Thaksin was back in charge or not, seek to use lese majeste to batter its own opponents? Is lese majeste too powerful a weapon for any government to give up? What does this mean for a campaign calling for the reform of this law?

Your views are very welcome here.