Thais,govt rally to defend king against insults in twilight of his life

If you live in Thailand,you must be loyal, reads a sign suspended over the road. If you are not loyal,you are not Thai.

Thailand has always stood out for the deference that many Thais openly show toward their monarch. But in the twilight of the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej,84,now weakened and living in a specially outfitted suite in a Bangkok hospital,dedicated loyalists are leading a feverish,with-us-or-against-us campaign to defend him. At the same time,the government has intensified a crackdown on criticism of the monarchy,prosecuting a record number of people charged with royal insults.

Passions over the monarchy have escalated to the point where some Thais say they fear the situation could turn violent. We have reached a stage where people would want to drive you out of the country or even want to kill you for having different thoughts, said Anon Numpa,a lawyer who represents a dozen clients accused of royal insults.

The royalists say they feel under attack,most recently from outside the country. On the Internet,thousands of Thais have posted angry comments on the US embassys Facebook page since a Thai-born US citizen was convicted of insulting the king.

Please leave Thailand alone and manage your huge debt, said one visitor to the Facebook page,who identified herself as Narong Srichada.

The outpouring of anger,which has continued for more than a week,is a reaction to foreign criticism of the crackdown on royal insults.

Earlier this month,Joe Gordon,the US citizen who was convicted,was sentenced to two and a half years in prison,prompting the US Embassy to criticize the severity of the sentence. Last month,the European Unions office in Bangkok said it was deeply concerned about a separate case,a 20-year prison sentence given to a man convicted of sending text messages that a court ruled were critical of the monarchy.

And a UN official,Frank La Rue,issued a statement last month calling for a review of the laws that ban criticism of the monarchy,saying they put in jeopardy the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

These comments have riled royalists,who say the outside world does not understand the near godlike status that the king,who has reigned for more than six decades,has in the country.