Thai activist urges probe into coup defence and adultery of minister nominee

A Thai political activist accused a member of the People’s Party of defending a military coup and committing adultery, calling on the party to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations.

As part of its General Election campaign, the People’s Party recently launched a series of interviews titled The Professionals across its social media platforms. The series aims to present the party’s vision, introduce its proposed administrative team, and outline 12 priority missions it says will be implemented immediately if it forms the government.

One of the figures featured in the series is Pisan Manawapat, who the party has positioned as its proposed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Pisan previously served as Thailand’s ambassador to the United States, Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union, India, and Canada.

Pisan’s introduction prompted criticism from Thai political activist Pavin Chachavalpongpun, who is currently living in exile in Japan and works as a professor at Kyoto University. On Tuesday, January 7, Pavin published an open letter on his Facebook account addressed to the People’s Party and media organisations.

In the letter, Pavin questioned Pisan’s suitability for a senior political role and urged both the party and the media to scrutinise his political ethics.

Pavin accused Pisan of defending the 2014 coup led by former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha during his tenure as Thailand’s ambassador to the United States. He claimed that Pisan had sent a letter to the editor of The Washington Post stating that Thailand had no political prisoners at the time, an assertion Pavin said was untrue.

Aside from defending the coup, Pavin also accused Pisan of spreading false information that the Thai monarchy conducts itself strictly according to the constitution.

The activist also raised allegations of an adultery scandal, claiming that Pisan had an extramarital affair and that a woman later filed a complaint against him at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Pavin called on the People’s Party to apply the same ethical standards to its own members as it demanded of politicians from other parties. He later posted a direct message to party figure Rakchanok Srinork, writing…

“Rakchanok Srinork, you are good at investigating the ethics of other political parties. Why don’t you look at the ethics of Pisan Manawapat?”

Rakchanok replied in the comments that she had only learned of the allegations after Pavin made them public.

Following the controversy, the People’s Party released a clarification from Pisan. He said that the letter sent to The Washington Post was drafted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that he was just instructed to forward it in his official capacity.

Pisan added that he gave interviews to two television channels regarding the coup but insisted that he had never expressed support for it.

Addressing the adultery allegation, Pisan acknowledged that the incident occurred more than 20 years ago. He said he took responsibility at the time, went through the appropriate accountability process, and received forgiveness and support from his family.