Call for review of Thai royal insults law sparks rare debate

FILE PHOTO: Protesters flash three-finger salutes during a pro-democracy rally demanding reforms of the monarchy, in Bangkok, Thailand, November 25, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Nine political parties in Thailand have taken a position on reform of a strict royal insults law in recent days, bringing into the mainstream a controversial debate that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

The catalyst for the discussion has been a youth-led anti-government protest movement that emerged late last year and openly called for a reform of the monarchy - a bold move in a country that traditionally upholds the king as semi-divine and above criticism.