Curses Target Thai Prime Minister

General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the new Prime Minister of Thailand, recently came to power in what his opponents have described as a military coup. Chan-Ocha has consolidated all three branches of government under his control, imposed martial law, and amended the constitution granting amnesty to his political party, which sure sounds like setting up a military dictatorship to me. Chan-Ocha now claims that his enemies are using magical curses against him, and that he has had to use spells of his own to ward them off.

Speaking at a meeting responsible for selecting members of the National Reform Council on Thursday, General Prayuth told those in attendance about the effects black magic was having on him, the Bangkok Post reported. The daily added that Gen. Prayuth made light of the black magic he alleges is being used against him:

“Today, I have a sore throat, a pain in my neck. Someone said there are some people putting curses on me. I had so much lustral water poured over my head, I shivered all over. I’m going to catch a cold now.”

Thailand and surrounding countries like Cambodia are known to have a deep black magic history. The use and practice of voodoo in Thailand, known as ‘barang’, is considered illegal in most of the country, but is still practiced by many black magic spell casters.

Another form of black magic that is performed in the northeastern part of Thailand, known as ‘ya sang’, is an old concept of black magic where poisonous plants are used with an aim to trigger abdominal disorders, intoxications, possible death, and as in Gen. Prayuth’s alleged case, bodily pain.

According to The Hindu, the Thai Premier added that he had conducted his own counter-spell ritual, which would help ward off the supernatural curses.

Just as a point, Thai barang and voodoo are completely different systems, which should have been made clearer in the article. Southeast Asia and New Orleans are a long way from each other, and the term "voodoo" does not generically mean magick, or even cursing. Media sloppiness surrounding this issue has led to a lot of confusion, even among practitioners who should be experienced enough to know better.

At any rate, given the history of military dictatorships and their use of propaganda it's hard to say whether this is true, or if Chan-Ocha is essentially accusing his opposition of invoking the powers of evil in a classic witch hunt. It is true, though, that magick is often the tool of last resort for oppressed people with no other effective way to fight back. I know that if a takeover like this happened in the United States, I'd be throwing curses at the aspiring dictator as well. I think a lot of us would.