Bangkok - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday that he would examine the use of laws that protect the royal family from criticism after a petition this week saying the lese majeste regulations were being used for political purposes.

Abhisit told reporters there had been "some problems" with the way the laws had been implemented.

The minimum sentence under Thailand's lese majeste laws, which make it a criminal offence to insult or belittle the royal family, is three years in prison. The maximum sentence is 15 years.

The petition, presented Tuesday by 50 international scholars, alleged that the "frequent abuse of the lese majeste law against political opponents undermines democratic processes" and generates "heightened criticism of the monarchy and Thailand itself, both inside and outside the country."

The abuse of the laws has created a "climate of fear" in which many people are afraid they would become the "next victim," said one of the organizers, Thongchai Winichakul, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States.

The prime minister said any revision of the laws would be undertaken on Thai terms and not under pressure from foreigners.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban warned that reforming the laws would be difficult and not necessarily desirable.

"As a Thai, I see that the royal institute is the centre of Thai hearts," Suthep said. "The laws state that no one can look down on or defame the royal family, so I would be against any attempt to amend the laws."

The aggressive use of lese majeste laws became a phenomenon after a bloodless military coup against then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006, said Thongchai, the only Thai academic among the petitioners.

The laws define "insulting" the monarchy so loosely there is tremendous scope for partisan interpretation, Thongchai added.

The petition asks the government to consider reforming the laws, stop moves to increase penalties for insulting the monarchy on the internet, release people already convicted and to consider decriminalizing the offence of lese majeste.

The move was criticized by the editor of The Nation newspaper, Thanong Khanthong, in a commentary Friday, questioning the petition's motives.

Thanong said the laws themselves would not be a problem if they were enforced "with competence and without any political prejudice." (dpa)