Thai prof fights lese majeste charges

[FACT comments: Harry Nicolaides is just a red herring, an innocent pawn in their game. Ajarn Ji, Sulak Srivaraksa, Jonathan Head...Paul Handley and Rayne Kruger are all trying to explain and understand Thailand’s monarchy not insult it. Moral of the story: Bureaucrats are always narrow-minded, self-serving and never to be trusted. This is precisely why FACT promotes no censorship. Incidentally, the Printing Acts of 1941 and 2007 are quite clear on this issue. Books are to be seized for destruction pending appeal. There are no provisions for arrest. Ajarn Ji's case falls quite clearly under the Printing Act and not Criminal Code, just as Harry Nicolaides. We hope some lawyers have some fun with this.]

Associate Professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn will fight charges of lese majeste over his academic book “A Coup for the Rich”

Complaint and summons:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60433209@N00/3187445611/

Please see “What you can do” at end of this article.
 
I have been summonsed to Pathumwan police station for questioning and the new date and time is at 10.00 am on Tuesday 20th January 2009. The summons was issued as a result of a charge filed by Special Branch Police Lt Col. Pansak Sasana-anund. I have been accused of lese majeste. The charge arises from my book “A Coup for the Rich”, published in 2007, just after the 19th September 2006 military coup.
 
I have now sold all 1000 copies of “A Coup for the Rich”, but it is available to download from my blog http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/ and from the International Socialist Tendency website in the U.K. Just after publication, the book was withdrawn from sale by Chulalongkorn University bookshop and later by Thammasart University bookshop. This is a gross attack on academic freedom. I encourage people to read my book and judge for themselves whether I should face criminal charges over this book. Relevant passages can be found in Chapter 1, pages 15, 23-27 and Chapter 2. I have also sent them as attached files.
 
My most recent academic paper on the Monarchy appears on my blog. It argues that the Monarchy is not all powerful and that political and military factions claim Royal legitimacy in order to boost their own power and interests. Their recent actions may be bringing the institution of the Monarchy into crisis because they created an image of the Monarchy being directly involved in politics. I presented a Thai version of this paper at the National Thai Political Science Conference at Chulalongkorn University in December 2008.
 
The Monarchy has been quoted and used by various political factions in Thailand to legitimise their actions. The most notable cases are the 19th September 2006 military coup and the illegal protests by the yellow-shirted P.A.D., which included violent protests and the shutting down the international airports. Lese majeste charges in Thailand are notorious for being used by different political factions to attack their opponents. Many believe that this law is actually counter-productive to defending the Monarchy. This is why it is very important that political scientists attempt to analyse the real role and nature of the Thai Monarchy in an atmosphere of freedom and democracy.
 
I am prepared to fight any lese majeste charges in order to defend academic freedom, the freedom of expression and democracy in Thailand.
 
Since this accusation was filed by a Special Branch officer, the present Democrat Party Government should be questioned about its role in this and many other cases. The new Prime Minister has stated that he wants to see a firm crackdown on les majesty and many recent cases have been filed by the police.

1. The Lese Majeste Law in Thailand does not allow the for the proper functioning of a Democratic Constitutional Monarchy, since it restricts freedom of speech and expression and does not allow for public accountability and transparency of the institution of the Monarchy. The Thai population are encouraged to believe that we live under an “ancient system of Monarchy”, a cross between a Sakdina, Absolute and Constitutional Monarchy system.

2. The use of the lese majeste law in Thailand is an attempt to prevent any discussion about one of the most important institutions. It attempts to prevent critical thought and encourage a system of “learning by rote” among the population. For example, once the Monarch has given his blessing to the “Sufficiency Economy”, we are all supposed to accept it and praise it without question. Luckily, this type of brain-washing does not work very well in Thai society, for a society which cannot openly discuss economic and political policies will remain backward and under-developed.
 
3. The Military often claim that they are the “defenders of the Constitutional Monarchy”, yet the Thai Military has a long history of making un-constitutional coups. These are often “legitimised” by claiming to protect the Monarchy. The 19th September 2006 coup is a good example. Rather than defending the Monarchy as such, the military sought to legitimise themselves by referring to the Monarch. The lese majeste law is thus used as a tool by the military, and other authoritarian elites, in order to protect their interests instead of preserving the Constitutional Monarchy. The promotion of an image that the Monarchy is all powerful (an un-constitutional image), is part of this self-legitimisation by the military and other forces.
 
4. Constitutional Monarchs in most democratic countries enjoy stability while being subjected to public scrutiny. Therefore we must conclude that the Thai lese majeste laws are not in place in order to bring stability to the institution, but serve another purpose.
 
5. Those who charge me with lese majeste are doing so because I have shown a principled and unyielding opposition to military coups and dictatorships. Many other activists are facing similar charges for the same reason. We must not forget their plight. We must wage an international and national political campaign to defend democratic rights in Thailand and for the abolition of the lese majeste law.
 
My book, “A Coup for the Rich”
I wrote and published this book a few months after the 19th September 2006 military coup. The book was an attempt to write an academic analysis of the Thai political crisis from a pro-democracy point of view. While constantly criticising the Thaksin government’s gross abuses of Human Rights, I argued that the coup was totally unjustified. I argued that those who supported the coup: the military, the PAD, disgruntled businessmen, neo-liberals and conservative civil servants, were united in their contempt for the poor. They have no faith in democracy because they believe that the poor do not deserve the right to vote. They also hate Thaksin’s party because it could win elections, while they could not.
 
Another important theme in my book is the questioning of the perceived “fact” that the crisis was a result of a dispute between the Monarchy and Thaksin. It is this argument of mine that may have enraged the military most of all, since they wished to use Royal legitimacy for their coup. I also attempted to stimulate a discussion about whether a Constitutional Monarchy should defend the Constitution and democracy. In another section of the book I tried to paint an historical account of the Monarchy and to argue that it is now a modern institution, not a feudal one.
 
I reject totally the accusation that I have committed any crime by writing and publishing this book. I am prepared to fight any Lese Majeste charges in order to defend academic freedom, the freedom of expression and democracy in Thailand.
 
Since this accusation was filed by a Special Branch officer, the present Democrat Party Government should be questioned about its role in this and many other cases. The new Prime Minister has stated that he wants to see a firm crackdown on les majesty and many recent cases have been filed by the police.
 
 
Giles Ji Ungpakorn
13 January 2009
 
What you can do
1.   Write a letter of protest/concern to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Government House, Bangkok, Thailand. Fax number +66(0)29727751
2.   Write a letter of protest/concern to the Ambassador, The Royal Thai Embassy, in your country.
3.   Demand that Amnesty International take up all Lees Majeste cases in Thailand.
4.   Demand the abolition of the lese majeste law.