The Economist gets banned again

[Khor tose]

This time it concerns the Australian gentlemen accused of l├иse-majest├й laws, Mr Nicolaides.

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/dis ... d=12992577 (http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12992577)

[elephantspike]

In the interest of free speech and rational thought, and with the best interests for Thailand's future in mind, I have copied the article from The Economist below.


IS THE truth, the truth?тАЭ asks the cover of тАЬVerisimilitudeтАЭ, a novel by Harry Nicolaides. On January 19th a Thai criminal court ruled that it was a little too close for comfort. Citing a paragraph in the book on the lurid private life of an unnamed crown prince, the court convicted its author of dishonouring ThailandтАЩs royal family. By the standards of the countryтАЩs l├иse-majest├й laws, Mr Nicolaides, an Australian, got off lightly. He was sentenced to three years in jail, reduced from six years, after he pleaded guilty. He is now seeking a royal pardon and deportation to Australia.

He will not be the last in the dock. Police already have a bundle of l├иse-majest├й cases on the go. A left-wing academic, Giles Ungpakorn, was charged this week for defaming the monarchy in a book on the coup in 2006 that deposed Thaksin Shinawatra, then prime minister. ThailandтАЩs new government says defending the crown is a priority. Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, the justice minister, is creating a 24-hour тАЬwar-roomтАЭ to monitor online threats. Thousands of websites have been blocked for alleged l├иse-majest├й, though anti-censorship groups say the net is cast wide to stifle political debate. Some Thai bloggers have been detained after posting rebellious comments.

The political background to this frenzy is hard to miss. During last yearтАЩs protracted street rallies, a rowdy mob known as the PeopleтАЩs Alliance for Democracy (PAD) pinned its royalist colours firmly to the mast. It was rewarded, at a critical juncture, by the appearance by Queen Sirikit, wife of King Bhumibol, at the funeral of one of its supporters. The subsequent change of government appeared to seal a royalist victory for the PAD and its blue-blooded backers.

A backlash may be brewing, though, and not just among BangkokтАЩs chattering classes. Conventional wisdom holds that public reverence of Bhumibol, 81, is genuine and deeply felt. The same patently does not apply to the heir apparent, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn. Palace propagandists have struggled to burnish his image. Indeed, private gossip on the foibles of royals has never been sharper. Some intellectuals are pushing at the margins for freer speech. A petition signed by 128 academics from several countries calls for charges against Mr Ungpakorn to be dropped. But the biggest shift (though the hardest to measure) appears to be under way among ordinary Thais who are tiring of the royal charade. Repressive laws may not be enough to stop a tidal wave of straight talk.

Amid this soul-searching, Mr Nicolaides makes for an unlikely martyr. His self-published 2005 novel, a turgid English-language romance spiced with commentary on Thailand, sold fewer than ten copies. Its author, a former lecturer at a Thai university, says that it was later withdrawn from circulation in Thailand, on the orders of the Ministry of Justice. Case closed, or so he believedтАФuntil he was detained last August at Bangkok airport on a l├иse-majest├й charge. He says he meant no offence to the monarchy and was unaware of the law. He described his trial as an тАЬAlice in WonderlandтАЭ experience.

Thais who run foul of the law can expect worse. A female activist was sentenced in November to six years in jail for a speech at a rally in Bangkok. A fellow speaker whose fiery digs at the crown were cheered by onlookers is awaiting trial. Both have been denied bail, as was Mr Nicolaides. If this were Myanmar, governments like AustraliaтАЩs would line up to denounce the arbitrary use of archaic laws and defend the rights of dissidents. Instead, it is meekly waiting for a royal pardon so it can spirit its citizen back home.

A brave move, Spike - I sincerely hope you don't live to regret it.

Giles Ungphakorn is probably the most respected of those charged with lese majeste and the one whose trial will raise by far the most interest in Thailand. His views of Thaksin (not complimentary - "I hate Thaksin" - contrary to some expectations) and other aspects of Thailand (some also not complimentary!) are well thought out and thought provoking - http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=344 . He was the author of the book "A Coup for the Rich" concerning the military deposition of Thaksin as well as the article "A Second Coup for the Rich" concerning the Abhisit government ( http://celinejulie.wordpress.com/2008/1 ... -the-rich/ (http://celinejulie.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/giles-ungpakorn-a-second-coup-for-the-rich/) )

His father Dr. Puey Ungphakorn, also a University lecturer and political activist, was the author of "The Quality of Life from Womb to Tomb" - what I would consider to be a template for a modern Magna Carta in any country:

While in my mother's womb, I want her to have good nutrition and access to maternal and child welfare care.
I don't want to have as many brothers and sisters as my parents had before me, and I do not want my mother to have a child too soon after me.

I don't care whether my father and mother are formally married, but I need them to live together in reasonable harmony.

I want good nutrition for my mother and for me in my first two or three years when my capacity for future mental and physical development is determined.

I want to go to school, together with my sister, and to learn a trade, and to have the schools impart social values to me. If I happen to be suitable for higher education, that opportunity should be available.

When I leave school I want a job, a meaningful one in which I can feel the satisfaction of making a contribution.

I want to live in a law and order society, without molestation. I want my country to relate effectively and equitably to the outside world so that I can have access to the intellectual and technical knowledge of all mankind, as well as the capital from overseas.

I would like my country to get a fair price for the products that I and my fellow citizens create.

As a farmer, I would like to have my own plot of land, with a system which gives me access to credit, to new agricultural technology and to markets, and a fair price for my produce.

As a worker, I would want to have some share, some sense of participation in the factory in which I work.

As a human being, I would like inexpensive newspapers and paperback books, plus access to radio and TV (without too much advertising).

I want to enjoy good health, and I expect the Government to provide free preventive medical service and cheap and readily available good curative service.

I need some leisure time for myself, and to enjoy my family, and want access to some green parks, to the arts, and to traditional social or religious festivities. I want clean air to breathe and clean water to drink.

I would like to have the security of co-operative mechanisms in which I join to help others do things which they cannot do alone, and they do the same for me.

I need the opportunity to participate in the society around me, and to help shape the decisions of the economic and social as well as the political institutions that so affect my life.

I want my wife to have equal opportunity with me, and I want both of us to have access to the knowledge and means of family planning.

In my old age, it would be nice to have some form of social security to which I have contributed.

When I die, if I happen to have some money left, I would wish the Government to take some of it, leaving an adequate amount for my widow. With this money the Government should make it possible for others to enjoy life too.

These are what life is all about, and what development should seek to achieve for all.