BANGKOK — Thailand's new government on
Friday vowed to crack down on what it described as online insults
against the revered monarchy, despite widespread criticism of the
country's strict lese majeste rules.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm
Yubamrung said insulting Thailand's royals was "unacceptable" and
identified an online campaign as an immediate priority.

"The first thing I must tackle
as a matter of urgency are those lese majeste websites. They are not
allowed during this government," he told reporters in comments that come
within weeks of the new Thai government's taking power.

"I will set up a war room, a
working group to take care of this immediately, starting today. It must
be done as soon as possible."

Under Thailand's lese majeste
legislation, anybody convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or
regent faces up to 15 years in prison.

The laws have come under heavy
criticism from rights groups, which have expressed concern that they
were used to suppress freedom of expression under the last government,
considered close to the establishment.

Soon after winning the July 3 election, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the rules should not be abused.

But in a sign she did not want
direct confrontation with the country's powerful elites, Yingluck
stopped short of saying she would reform the legislation.

Tens of thousands of web pages have been removed from the Internet for allegedly insulting the monarchy in recent years.

Discussion of the monarchy's role is a long-standing taboo in politically divided Thailand.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 83, the world's longest-reigning monarch and revered as a demi-god by many Thais, has been in hospital since September 2009.