How much does it cost to block 777,286 URLs, over ¾ of a million webpages? Your money: THB ฿1,340,500,000 [USD $43,000,000], more than a billion baht!
Since 2006, Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) has monitored ‘net freedom in Thailand.
In 2001, then-Prime Minister Thaksin, newly elected, established a new ministry for Information and Communication Technology. The PM’s purpose for the ministry was to cement his own personal telecoms contracts and make them legal, net profit in the billions.
Once this mission was accomplished the ICT ministry had nothing to do. So govt decided to censor the Internet.
MICT’s first blocklist in January 2004 listed 1,275 web pages of mostly pornography. Concealed amid the porn pages, govt started to block independent citizen groups calling for autonomy and independence for Patani, Thailand’s Muslim South.
This campaign was particularly directed at the Patani United Liberation Organisation (PULO) founded in 1968. Thailand was now blocking even PULO’s appeals to int’l rights bodies.
The January 2004 blocklist was the first and last ever made public by Thai govt. FACT published ten leaked blocklists from 2006-2009 which founded WikiLeaks. FACT founder CJ Hinke has served on the WikiLeaks int’l advisor board since early 2007.
In 2005, then-PM Thaksin announced plans to block “800,000 websites”. Of course, he meant URLs, but no matter because he was deposed by a military coup d’etat on September 19, 2006.
Ever-predictable, the coup govt’s fifth order of business was to censor the Internet with a vengeance. Most infamously, this effort included the total block of YouTube in Thailand for seven months in 2007 for sophomoric video satires of Thailand’s Royals which govt said constituted lèse majesté. The rule of law was suspended but, even so, all censorship was firmly unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
The first bill tabled before military-appointed National Legislative Assembly was the infamous, draconian Computer Crimes Act which had been waiting in the wings at MICT for just such a repressive moment in history. The CCA’s early drafts included the death penalty for computer “crimes”.
Although the maximum penalty was reduced to “only” 20 years when quickly passed in 2007, the CCA attempted to make govt censorship legal and even give the appearance of fairness. The CCA requires govt to seek court orders for web blocking. However, Thai courts merely rubber stamp these requests which have contained as many as 60,000 URLs at once. This sham allowed MICT to keep its blocklists and even the court orders secret from the public which pays for them.
Successive govts, both elected and appointed following the coup, were quick to implement as much censorship as humanly possible. Such censorship now incorporated social, cultural, religious, dress, gambling, online pharmacies and birth control information although all of these were adequately policed in Thailand’s Criminal Code.
Such censorship reached its most aggressive following the appointed then-PM Abhisit’s Emergency Decree on April 10, 2010. The decree granted the military emergency powers under martial law and once again suspended Thailand’s rule of law. The then-Deputy PM, Suthep Thaugsuban, oversaw the creation of two military agencies, the Orwellian-named CRES and CAPO as primary censorship bodies.
During the period of the 2010 “emergency”, two parallel censorship spheres emerged. CRES and CAPO censored Thailand’s Internet unregulated and unsupervised. MICT, as researched and documented by the iLaw Foundation, continued to seek court orders to block URLs even though it was not required to do so under military law.
When PM Abhisit lifted the “state of emergency” on December 22, 2010, we hoped Internet censorship would be reset to zero. If censorship were necessary, freedom of expression activists and netizens in Thailand hoped such decision would include peer, public and academic review by all stakeholders.
However, censorship remains Thailand’s biggest secret and not one Web page blocked in this period have been unblocked by govt.
For the first time, the money cost of censorship was published. The iLaw Foundation report stated that approximately 690 new URLs are blocked every day. The Nation on December 19 stated that govt spends THB ฿1,500,000 [USD $48,000] each day to block the Internet.
On November 12, Deputy PM Chalerm Yoobamrung proposed to Thailand’s Cabinet to spend THB ฿400,000,000 [USD $12,785,000] to purchase overseas tech equipment and software in order to expand Thailand’s censorship over Web pages hosted in foreign countries. In a display of unprecedented efficiency, this budget allocation was approved, with no debate, the very next day.
New Year in prison: US citizen Joe Gordon [Narong Sangnak/EPA]
On November 14, FACT wrote to US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, as well as Herman van Rompuy, president of the European Union. Both have been most outspoken in defence of Internet freedom and supported the funding of anti-censorship initiatives.
FACT expects the United States and the European Union to block the sale and export of any such technology and to impose trade sanctions on Thailand if our govt continues to pursue this disastrous course which cripples public debate and intellectual freedoms.
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) has incorporated iLaw figures and govt’s own media releases to determine the true current state of Thailand’s Internet censorship. This includes MICT’s announcements of blocking 26,000 Facebook URLs in August and September, 60,000 in October and November and a further 10,000 on November 23.
On December 28, Thai govt blocked 777,286 Web pages, nearly achieving Thaksin’s own goal. That’s more than ¾ of a million webpages.
At THB ฿1.5 million [USD $48,000] per day, Thai govt has spent THB ฿940,500,000 [USD $30,060,000] to block the Internet at taxpayers’ expence from April 10, 2010, spending THB ฿1,210 [USD $40] per Web page.
If one adds the latest spending of THB ฿400,000,000 [USD $12,785,000] on censorship totaling THB ฿1,340,500,000 [USD $43,000,000], Thailand spends THB ฿1,725 [USD $55] to block each URL.
Just one question remains: Why are you allowing this crime against democracy to continue in your name? Why do you continue to pay for govt censorship?
FACT closes this year with a quotation from Dante Alighieri’s epic 14th century poem, The Inferno: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”
The time to speak out is now…
CJ Hinke
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT)
His Majesty’s faithful companion and confidant, Khun Thongdaeng, has expressed her sympathy for Uncle SMS, Akong Ampon Tangnoppakul, who was sentenced November 23 to 20 years in prison.
A Google translation of Khun Thongdaeng’s statement reads, “My gracious master is the most compassionate man I know. All of us need to emulate his understanding for our fellows.
“Grandfathers are meant to take a break from a life of hard work to enjoy their families, not be locked up for the new year. This is not how civilised people should treat one another. We all just need to get along and listen to others with respect even if we disagree. Let’s be tolerant of others.
“My master is protected by his good deeds and virtues and karma. He certainly doesn’t need any protection from small-minded men or small-minded laws. He barely even needs my protection.
“I learned from the best. Even though I’m top dog here, I wouldn’t bully lesser dogs or even chase cats. I listen to my master’s wisdom and study his example. And my teeth and claws make me fearless.
“By the way, like the rest of my master’s children, I am not mentioned in the lèse majesté laws. But if you think I am not my master’s faithful servant, I’ll pee on your leg.
“Political prisoners? In my country? When Thai means ‘free’? I don’t think so! The answer is NO! Arfffffffff! [FACT: Sorry, does not translate.]
“I know some excellent police dogs. They all report to me they’ve never found evidence of a computer crime. They see terrible crimes but free speech is not one of them. ‘National security’ is something you can smell and can never be harmed by mere words. Security is something real: a safe home, good food, comfy bed and a loving family.
“Democracy needs freedom of expression. I intend to have someone write “Akong” on my paw for all grandfathers including my master.”
Khun Thongdaeng made no claims to be speaking for His Majesty. And any criticism of Thai court judgements is ruled contempt. However, it is unlikely Khun Thongdaeng will be charged over picking a bone with the courts due to her secure position in the palace.
Pravit Rojanaphruk, veteran journalist at the conservative English-language Bangkok daily, The Nation, a founding FACT signer in 2006 (one of the few journalists to do so to date), is one of only a handful who can call themselves independent reporters in Thailand’s mainstream media.
If the Royal Thai Police and Thai govt allow this to proceed to a criminal charge and prosecution, Thailand will be shown a police state where freedom of expression finds no voice. Obviously, this citizen is abusing the legal system and should himself be charged with filing false complaints and obstruction.
Thailand, the new Burma?
Will The Nation defend its own?
from Pravit’s Twitter account:
PravitR Pravit Rojanaphruk
I am pleased to inform all of u that I’m in the process of becoming the latest person to receive a lese majeste complaint
Then:
Still waiting for the LM police complaint although some suggested that I start planning now. Not running away though.
Then:
No way of checking it but the man is the most prolific user (abuser) of lese majeste law & said it will come ‘soon’
and then:
http://Prachatai.comwrote an article about the man a few weeks back.
http://prachatai3.info/english/comment/reply/2967
Excerpt:
Prachatai has followed up three charge sheets posted by I Pad to confirm that he really has filed charges, and found that he has charged 15 people, including other Prachatai comment users and the Prachatai webmaster and editor, at Roi Et Provincial Police Station. According to official documents, the complaint’s name is Wiphut Sukprasert, a resident of Roi Et, and a political activist with the PAD.
******
Our favourite comment:
REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Cyber surveillance vulnerable to abuse
Every single day, the government is spending almost Bt1.5 million to block undesirable websites and close down web content.
Kavi Chongkittavorn
The Nation: December 19, 2011
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Cyber-surveillance-vulnerable-to-abuse-30172137.html
The several cyber surveillance units know full well their painstaking actions would not help curb or ameliorate any of their concerns. But they are all happy and proud of their works following orders. Better still, the annual budget for their activities which began in earnest in 2001 with a few million baht start-up has now reached an amazing half a billion baht yearly with a special war room at Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. Under the Yingluck government, the snowball effect is getting worse, the cybercrime units will be further boost with extra personnel and budget. After a new panel was set up recently to fight against anti-monarchy on the Internet and headed by mercurial Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung including the procurement of Bt400-million lawful interception (LI) system, now the government has the licence to prey on all forms of voice communications, e-mails, SMS massages and chat rooms. In nutshell, nothing is out of reach for interception orders.
Thanked to the ridiculous ways the Thai bureaucrats think of Internet freedom and ways to control the flow of digital information, especially the anti-monarchy content, these money would obviously be laid waste and worsen still the individual security and privacy would be under threat. In the past, wire-tapping and telephone-tapping, which supposed to be use to track down criminals and other illegal activities, were abused and went after private matters. With the LI system, Chalerm will indeed become the most powerful man in Thailand as he literally will have access to all digital communications in this country. Unless, something are done now with checks and balances system to tightly regulate the use of LI. This system will definitely be abused and misused. In other democratic countries that allow the use of Internet interception, it is being done under strict rules and tight auditing. In the case of Thailand, as Chalerm put it, it will be used to track down the origins of anti-monarchy messages. The interception of Internet is considered unconstitutional without a court warrant.
After the Computer Crime Act came into effect in 2007, Thailand’s freedom of expression has suffered greatly. Gone were days when the country was considered one of the region’s freest media. Efforts to censor digital data and web sites have increased meteorically since then. Foreign-based media freedom indexes have continued to rank Thailand at the bottom end these days because of many lese majeste cases and heavy online filtering regime. Shut-down websites and pages have reached several hundred thousands, which showed the lack of efficacy. Truth be told, nearly 85 to 90 per cent of these blocked content came from the same sources and websites – they were mirror sites or remailers. A better system of scrutiny and monitoring would drastically reduce the numbers of online blockades. It must be noted that there are web operators aboard with undesirable content who have closed affiliations with quite a few leading personalities of current government.
Sad but true, quite often court officials are readily to grant permissions as required by law without checking seriously the real content of targeted sites. It has led to more workloads and additional shut-down of web pages, making the operation more expensive and impractical as more users are going online. With such a huge number of blocked sites, the country’s Internet freedom will be further downgraded which could have reaching repercussion on learning and social progress as well as the growth of information society.
At the moment, due to the Computer Crime Act, many leading government agencies such as Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Interior have set up their cyber police units. They are doing their own things without a common approach or strategy. With mobile technology, social media networking, wireless users have reached more nearly half of the 66-million population. With such huge numbers of online users, the government does not have sufficient bureaucratic arrangements to cope with the growing users. Therefore, ways must be found to enforce good governance, transparency and accountability at both ends users and enforcers. In the case of Internet, the best way must be done through self-regulatory framework. Obviously, whenever this concept is being mentioned in meetings among authorities concerned, there would be rows of laughter from them. Simply put, these people have a fixed mindset as they do not think the Thai online communities, comprising Internet hosts and service providers, software and hardware companies and users would be able to come together and agree among themselves on code of ethics and best practices. Only through them and their conservative methods are the ways to go.
Indeed, Thailand should learn from the good practices of our foreign friends. One of them is Australia’s self-regulation on the Internet, which is quite advance and effective ways to provide sanctions against those who are malfeasances. There are many categories of Thai online users, from the naïve to the most sophisticated groups of young and highly educated Net-savvy population. Whenever the latter groups counter problems or perceived misconducts, they either alert each other or take their own action such as delete the undesirable messages. Their social networks are very active and provide much needed information for their netizens – the recent flood was the case in point. Contrary to the official version that these social networks would perpetuate controversial content i.e. anti-royal spins et al to others. Of course, the case of 62-year-old man who received a 20-year sentence for four text messages sent from his mobile phone to a government official was a rare and isolated case.
In the past years, the Thai Journalist Association and its affiliated online related organisations have organised various workshops to increase the capacity and knowledge of computer crime law and responsibility for local users. Indeed, authorities who are dealing with Internet surveillance also need similar training in all areas, especially those related to sociological aspects. Most of them are thinking in terms of technical outcome rather than with a holistic approach that would produce better results. Heavy punitive measures are not the key. Currently, overall capacity of officials who monitor Internet is extremely low, they lack the kind of skills and knowledge to understand the impacts of filtering and other forms of censorship have on overall learning capacity of the Thai people.
[FACT comments: If any commoner had done this, we can guarantee they’d be arrested, held without bail for months to years and then sentenced to decades in prison for lèse majesté. We’re not sure we should read sinister intentions into this “mistake” but the fact remains that the gunshot death of King Ananda, King Bhumibol’s elder brother, in 1946 is the elephant in the room which is never to be mentioned. An entire bookshelf on Ananda’s death has been banned over intervening years, he is never mentioned and his death, a seminal event in Thai history akin to the shooting of US president John F. Kennedy is not even taught in schools or to tertiary history majors. Vast conspiracy theories have resulted from the three possibilities of murder, suicide or accident. In any case, three Royal servants were executed for regicide with absolutely no proof or Royal pardon and the “Father of Thai Democracy”, Pridi Banomyong, was exiled in a blatant powerplay by military strongman Plaek Pibulsongkhram, plunging Thailand into the depths of military tyranny from which the country still has not recovered. Not only was Thai democracy never allowed to return but, following Pridi's death in France, even his ashes were not permitted back to Thailand.]
Thai PM seeks King’s pardon for mistake on Facebook page
The Nation/Asia News Network: December 5, 2011
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20111205-314425.html
Pix: http://pics.manager.co.th/Images/554000016323001.JPEG
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has asked His Majesty the King for a royal pardon for a mistake on her Facebook page.
On Saturday her staff uploaded the wrong photo when she posted a Facebook message urging all Thais to join in the celebration of His Majesty’s birthday.
Yesterday she assigned PM’s Secretary-General Banthoon Suphakwanit to send an explanation to the Royal Household Bureau with a request for a royal pardon.
In the afternoon she travelled to Ayutthaya with Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit to launch the Beautiful Thailand tourism campaign at Srisanphet Temple.
Her aides informed reporters that she would not give media interviews for two days especially on political topics because the country was marking His Majesty’s birthday. She said she would focus on doing good deeds to honour the beloved monarch.
Two of nine events in the government-sponsored celebrations for His Majesty’s birthday have been cut short from seven days to two and three days.
The two performances were scheduled to run from last Saturday to Friday, a source from the organiser said.
Government Spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng confirmed with The Nation that the order came from Yongyuth.
The “Golden Culture of Rattanakosin on the Great King’s 84th Birthday” on the main stage at Sanam Luang had its last showing last night, she said.
The multimedia 3D panoramic movie on the prosperity of Bangkok, which was screened every night on a 200-metre stretch of the wall of the Grand Palace, would have its last viewing tonight.
[FACT comments: We ask readers to really take a good look at this picture. It may not look very comfortable for the PM but it doesn’t look comfortable for Princess Prathep, either. Respect should be expected but let’s not get all crazy about it!]
(Ouch! You’ll be hearing from my chiropractor!)
The Wat Pa Khao Suan Kwang forest temple (AKA Wat Tat Fah) in Khao Suan Kwang district of Khon Kaen near UDD village just repace the pictute of current His Majesty to King Anandamahidol or King Prajadhipok as the disguised attack on the current HM – and it also have a consequence to the FaceBook Incident that wreck havoc into Yinglux
http://www.oknation.net/blog/nanaja/2011/12/07/entry-1
http://www.oknation.net/blog/KPCO/2011/12/07/entry-2
http://www.manager.co.th/Politics/Vi…=9540000155783
http://www.oknation.net/blog/sigree/2011/12/07/entry-1
How to deal with the Facebook Incident?
[FACT comments: There’s been a lot of noise lately from ultraroyalists about a US law to prosecute those who threaten the president and vice-president with death or physical harm. Read that again: with death or physical harm. That’s not 15 years in prison for commenting on the monarchy. Furthermore, the US has suffered the greatest number of national leaders assassinated, no wonder in a country where guns are glorified. Many of the remainder of political assassinations worldwide were carried out by US agents. Unlike Thailand.]
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
TRCT chief urges leniency for lese majeste cases
Attapoom La-ongna, Piyanuch Thamnukasetchai
The Nation: December 19, 2011
Harsh enforcement of Article 112 could hurt monarchy, Kanit says
Kanit na Nakhon, chairman of the Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand, has called for judges to treat lese majeste offenders more leniently amid mounting revulsion against the “harsh” punishment meted out in recent cases.
“For certain offences, although there are affected parties, the judicial process does not have to take action at all – especially if the affected parties are public figures,” Kanit said in a recent exclusive interview with The Nation.
Judges should show mercy and suspend jail terms rather than impose penalties strictly in line with Article 112 of the Criminal Code, he said.
Invoking Article 112 too severely could backfire on the monarchy, especially now that certain groups in society are campaigning for the repeal of the article, which they said was being used as a tool by the powers-that-be against opponents, he said.
Kanit said he is writing an article about his stance towards Article 112 that he is certain would draw criticism when it is published.
As examples of clemency, he cited the decisions by former commerce minister Uthai Pimchaichon and former prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda not to take action after they were physically assaulted.
Uthai was attacked with a bag of excrement but did not press charges, while Prem was hit by a Ramkhamhaeng University student, but allowed the student to go home scot-free, he said.
Had police taken legal action against the two attackers, Uthai and Prem might have suffered a negative image, he said.
“These incidents may be applied to the case of the monarchy,” he said.
Although Article 112 prescribes the maximum jail terms, judges do not have to hand down sentences for imprisonment, he said.
Jintana Kaewkhao, an environmentalist, was another case where the principle of clemency should have been applied, he said.
Jintana served 59 days of a four-month prison sentence after she was convicted of participating in a violent protest against a power-plant project, but the judge should have completely suspended the jail term because it did not bode well for either side, he said.
In its latest report, the TRCT claimed that the main cause of the current political conflict was the violation of the rule of law related to the Constitution Court’s ruling in the first asset-concealment case against then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The court ruled in favour of Thaksin, saying he did not intend to conceal his shares.
Kanit said the Constitution Court erred when it counted the opinions of the two judges who declined to rule on the concealment charge as votes for acquittal, along with the votes of the six judges who ruled that Thaksin was not guilty. Thaksin was acquitted by a majority of eight votes.
The two judges violated legal principles by declining to consider and rule on whether Thaksin had concealed his shares. Worse still, the votes of the two judges were counted as acquittal votes for Thaksin, he said.
Had the Constitution Court followed the law, Thaksin would not have become as big an issue in Thai politics as he has, Kanit said.
Kanit said he did not fear that the TRCT’s report related to Thaksin’s asset-concealment case would stir up criticism against the TRCT and lead to the rejection of its proposals.
“The question of whether the TRCT’s study will fail will have to be answered by society and the media,” Kanit said.
“We have presented an academic view. We simply presented the fact that the court did not abide by the law in Thaksin’s case.”
Mahidol University’s Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies reports:
From January – October 2011, 122 lèse majesté cases have been reviewed by the [criminal] court of first instance, eight have been reviewed by the appeals court and three have been reviewed by the Supreme Court.
[FACT: Safe to assume nobody went home.]
As in the previous years, the real statistics are composed of extremely high numbers but only a few cases are reported by the media and are made known to the public.
Note: Cases and counts or charges (which are often multiple for each accused) are not necessarily the same.
How many accused of lèse majesté languish in gaol for months and years denied bail while middle-aged pop singer cum hardcore Redshirt leader charged with five counts of actual terrorism, Arisman Pongruangrong, is freed on bail spending less than three weeks in gaol after more than a year as a fugitive? How much did he pay the judge?!? Or the Opposition MP accused of shooting a political rival eight times in the head yesterday who walks free due to his Parliamentary immunity? Of course, gambling is illegal in Thailand but I’ll bet big baht both these high-profile accused quietly walk free. No name? No fame? Enjoy His Majesty’s hospitality!
Chalerm, military, and lese majeste – Part 2
Bangkok Pundit: December 28, 2011
http://asiancorrespondent.com/72036/chalerm-military-and-lese-majeste-part-2/
In the previous post, BP looked at the increasing government crackdown on lese majeste particularly the blocking of web sites. This arose after Chalerm’s meeting with the military – see also yesterday’s post about Yingluck and the military – which then led to the establishment of a new lese majeste suppression committee. Some slight background, before the establishment of this committee, lese majeste web sites were being actively blocked. NYT in October:
Down a maze of neon-lit corridors in a massive government complex here is a windowless room where computer technicians scour the Internet for photos, articles, Facebook postings — anything that might be deemed offensive to King Bhumibol Adulyadej and his family.
The technicians work in what is called the Office of Prevention and Suppression of Information Technology Crimes. The government that came to power in July prefers to call it the “war room,” the headquarters of a vigorous and expanding campaign to purify the Internet of royal insults.
The crackdown, which officials have vowed to intensify, is being carried out by a team of 10 computer specialists led by Surachai Nilsang, whose title is cyberinspector.
“The thing that drives us to do our duty is that we love and worship the monarchy,” Mr. Surachai said in a two-hour interview here. He and his colleagues showed a reporter around the war room and an adjacent space that contained computers seized as evidence from suspects charged with insulting the monarchy. It was the first visit by a journalist to the facilities.
…
Technicians in the war room have blocked 70,000 Internet pages over the past four years, and the vast majority — about 60,000 — were banned for insults to the monarchy, according to Mr. Surachai. (Most of the other pages were blocked for pornography.) Each blocked page requires a court order, a request that judges have never turned down, Mr. Surachai said.
….
Some cases of lèse-majesté are clear-cut, Mr. Surachai said. He does not hesitate to block a Web page that displays a picture of the king with a foot above his head, a grave insult. Also an obvious offense, Mr. Surachai said, is the practice of using a very informal pronoun before the king’s name, one of the many subtleties of the Thai language that are lost in translation.
But often the hunt for royal insults is more subtle. “They usually post metaphors,” Mr. Surachai said of suspected offenders. “They have their own code words.”
The government has increased the budget for the war room, and staff levels will soon increase to allow for a 24-hour operation. Many lèse-majesté comments are posted after midnight and in the early hours before dawn, technicians in the war room say.
….
In the war room, the technicians say they are being pressured from all sides. Their office receives anywhere from 20 to 100 e-mailed complaints a day. Like Thai society itself, the e-mails are split between supporters and detractors of the crackdown.
…
“Ninety percent are prank calls,” said Nut Payongsri, a technician in the war room.
Mr. Surachai, the head of the war room, says he often looks for guidance from his superiors. He uses a “spider,” a specialized computer program that trawls the Internet and flags potentially offensive content. He then often consults with a special military unit attached to the king’s palace to inquire about the veracity of some Internet postings.
BP: You can see how involved the military is – see also this Bangkok Post article from Wassana back in December 2008.
Reuters in early December:
From a windowless room in a Bangkok suburb, computer technicians scour thousands of websites, Facebook pages and tweets night and day. Their mission: to suppress what is regarded as one of Thailand’s most heinous crimes — insulting the monarchy.
The government calls this its “war room”, part of a zero-tolerance campaign that uses the world’s most draconian lese-majeste laws to stamp out even the faintest criticism of 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch.
…
The tough-sounding Cyber Security Operation Centre remains focused, however.
“We don’t have any impressive equipment to track suspicious Internet activity,” said Nut Payongsri, an official in the vast government complex. “In most cases, we hear about misuse via calls to our hotline. We check each case and report them to the police.”
…
An ICT Ministry official told Reuters that Thais who received anti-monarchy messages by email or on their personal Facebook walls and failed to delete them were also in violation.
“We would take them to court and prosecute them,” said the official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to the media. “It is against the law to do such a thing and as a result, they will be fined and jailed.”
The ICT Ministry said it was in talks with Facebook to block pages hosted outside Thailand carrying offensive content its cyber police were powerless to block. The U.S.-based social networking site did not respond to questions from Reuters.
The centre for monitoring lese majeste websites is offering advice to Thais on what to do and not to do when browsing the internet.
The centre, which will run 24 hours a day, has opened on the third floor of the Royal Thai Police headquarters.
Bringing together the country’s top police, it will be headed by the deputy commander of the technology crime suppression division, Pol Col Siripong Timula.
…Mr Chalerm asked committee members to send their ICT staff to man the 24-hour centre so they can trawl the internet and catch websites with lese majeste content.
He said his committee has set up three sub-committees to accelerate surveillance work.
The government has no intention to change the controversial Article 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law, which some critics say discourages freedom of speech, Mr Chalerm said. “This committee will never amend Article 112 and I see no point in talking about this issue any further. If anyone wants to launch an amendment proposal by collecting 20,000 signatures as allowed by law, let him do it,” he said.
“But it will not be easy. There’s no guarantee it [the proposal] will become law if the amendment does not benefit society as a whole.”
Senior police officers will chair the three sub-committees.
BP: So does the ICT Ministry still run a separate centre or has the new centre taken over its role?
VOA:
A new “war room” of 50 investigators scours the Internet for crimes including harassment and pornography. But on this first tour given to foreign television, investigators emphasized their main focus.
“So, the first priority is the monarchy. And, the other contents are important too, but the priority is later,” said computer technical officer Narongdej Watcharapasorn.
The evidence of alleged offenses is so sensitive it is kept in a sealed room.
They have so far blocked 60,000 web pages. His team now asks providers like Facebook and Google to help by removing offensive web pages at the source.
“If Facebook has 1,000 pictures, it may have 1,000 URLs and we have to suppress 1,000 URLs. But, if we ask Facebook to remove the content for us all 1,000 URLs will disappear without using the court order and will disappear forever,” Narongdej said.
Facebook tells VOA they restrict content in countries where it is considered illegal, but did not specify what content, if any, they are blocking in Thailand.
BP: Restrict as in block that page for someone from Thailand (i.e an IP address which shows they are in Thailand)?
[FACT comments: Notice the subtle shift in govt policing. Now one doesn’t have to create or host L-M content to be charged as a criminal, one merely needs to ‘Like’ or ‘Follow’ or even look at content more than once! The Depty PM throws down the gauntlet to stifle any opposition to unjust laws.]
Centre starts monitoring lese majeste
Public advised on how to browse within law
Achara Ashayagachat
Bangkok Post: December 24, 2011
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/272260/centre-starts-monitoring-lese-majeste
The centre for monitoring lese majeste websites is offering advice to Thais on what to do and not to do when browsing the internet.
The centre, which will run 24 hours a day, has opened on the third floor of the Royal Thai Police headquarters.
Bringing together the country’s top police, it will be headed by the deputy commander of the technology crime suppression division, Pol Col Siripong Timula.
The first advice the centre gives the public is: Do not forward, send a link or revisit websites – including Facebook, Twitter or YouTube – with lese majeste content. Those who do so can be regarded as supporting such websites.
“Never press ‘Like’ in Facebook or click ‘Follow’ on Twitter,” said Pol Col Siripong.
“If you Google certain key words such as ‘King Thailand’ and come across indecent content, do not activate the link because browsing those websites can upgrade the ranking of those lese majeste sites, eventually pushing them to the top of the list.”
He suggested the public check in to such websites as http://www.weloveking.com and http://www.welovekingonline.com.
On Dec 7, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra named an executive committee to oversee “illegal information sharing” through communications technology. The committee, headed by deputy prime minister Chalerm Yubamrung, comprises 22 high-ranking officers – the permanent secretaries of defence, foreign affairs, justice, interior and ICT, secretary-generals of the National Security Council and Drugs Control Commission, police chiefs and national intelligence agency directors.
Mr Chalerm asked committee members to send their ICT staff to man the 24-hour centre so they can trawl the internet and catch websites with lese majeste content.
He said his committee has set up three sub-committees to accelerate surveillance work.
The government has no intention to change the controversial Article 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law, which some critics say discourages freedom of speech, Mr Chalerm said. “This committee will never amend Article 112 and I see no point in talking about this issue any further. If anyone wants to launch an amendment proposal by collecting 20,000 signatures as allowed by law, let him do it,” he said.
“But it will not be easy. There’s no guarantee it [the proposal] will become law if the amendment does not benefit society as a whole.”
Senior police officers will chair the three sub-committees.
National police adviser Pol Gen Worapong Chiewpreecha will chair the one on web monitoring. Deputy national police chief Pol Gen Panupong Singhara na Ayudhaya will take the one verifying lese majeste content, while Pol Gen Ek Angsananont, national police adviser, and Pol Gen Pansiri Prapawat, deputy police chief, will co-chair the panel on investigation.
Pol Gen Worapong said the committee would accelerate the process of obtaining court orders to block websites, because all agencies are now working together under one roof.
“Usually, it takes a week for the ICT and police to gather information and for the ICT minister to file for a court order. Now they can do it within one day,” he said.
Pol Gen Worapong, who also serves as secretary-general to the lese majeste web closure executive committee, said people who come across inappropriate websites can alert authorities at http://www.police.go.th or http://www.mict.go.th or file an anonymous complaint at: http://123.242.139.201/main.php?filename= index – complaint.
People’s pardon: Petition to abolish Thailand LM 112 and release all LM and political prisoners
28-12-11
http://www.112victims.org [BLOCKED BY MICT!]
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION BELOW! IMPORTANT NOTE: Once you sign, your signature has been recorded. However, iPetitions then forwards you to a PayPal donation page. If you do not wish to donate, you may simply close this window—you’ve already signed!
รายงานต่อเนื่องจาก ACT4DEM “ขอ เชิญร่วมเป็นหนึ่งในคนเดือนธันวา 11,135 รายชื่อแรก เพื่อเรียกร้องยกเลิกมาตรา 112 และให้ปล่อยตัวนักโทษการเมืองและนักโทษคดีหมิ่นฯ”
เรายังคงเดินหน้าต่อไป แม้จะต้องฝ่าด่าน “ไม่ปลื้ม” ของเทวดา ของ NGOs ของเพื่อไทย หรือของพวกคลั่งสถาบันฯ
ข้อ เรียกร้องยกเลิกมาตรา 112 และปล่อยนักโทษคดีหมิ่นฯ และนักโทษการเมืองหยุดไม่อยู่แล้วค่ะ ตอนนี้ได้จัดทำฉบับสั้น กระขับ ที่ข้อเรียกร้องหนักแน่นไม่เปลี่ยนแปลง และจัดทำไปแล้ว 4 ภาษา คือ ไทย อังกฤษ ฝรั่งเศส และล่าสุดภาษาฟินน์ (ทั้งนี้ภาษาเยอรมัน และสเปน กำลังตามมาอย่างกระชั้นชิด)
The Petition to Abolish Thailand LM 112 and release all LM and political prisoners are now have gone global in 4 languages. See the links below;
ภาษาไทย http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petition-on-abolition-of-the-thai-law-of-lese/
Finnish http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/act4dem-vetoomus-thaimaan-hallitukselle-ja/
English http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/the-abolition-of-the-thai-law-of-lese-majeste/
French http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sil-vous-plait-aidez-nous-a-faire-abolir-les/
Petition in German and Spanish ready soon!
ไม่ควรมีแต่คนต่างชาติมาลงชื่อ เรียกร้องเสรีภาพให้ประเทศไทย คนไทยต้องกล้าพูดและกล้าแสดงความรู้สึก ถ้าท่านต้องการให้ยกเลิก 112 ขอเชิญลงชื่อได้ตามภาษาที่ถนัดได้เลย ตามลิงค์ด้านล่างนี้
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ขณะ นี้ผู้ร่วมลงชื่อกว่า 1,200 คน และจาก 50 กลุ่ม ทั้งนี้มีทั้งนักเขียน อาจารย์มหาลัยไทยและต่างประเทศ ที่เป็นที่รุ้จักกันดีมากมายและเรายังมีเวลาอีกเพียง 10 วันสำหรับกิจกรรมยื่น ซึ่งตามการประกาศของเราคือ 10 ธันวาคม
รายละเอียดกิจกรรม ขอให้ทุกท่านร่วมกันเสนอและงานนี้ ไม่มีเจ้าภาพ เพราะ “ทุกคนคือ 11,135″
เป็นการประกาศรูปแบบกิจกรรมแห่งการต่อสู้ของโลกศตวรรษที่ 21 ที่ไม่ยึดติดแกนนำ ไม่ยึดติดคนมีชื่อเสียง ไม่ยึดติดขาใหญ่เจ้าของประเด็น
เป็นการ แสดงเจตจำนงค์ของคนที่อาจจะเคยเป็นแค่ “จำนวน” ที่งานนี้จะเป็น “ตัวจริง” “เสียงจริง” “สู้จริง” “ไม่ดีแต่พูด” “ไม่เพียงแต่เฝ้ารอเทวดามานำการต่อสู้”
ถ้าตัวเลขผู้เสีย ชีวิตจากการสังหาร อุ้ม ฆ่า เผา เพราะพวกเขาขอมีส่วนร่วมทางการเมือง หรือเพราะถูกหมายหัวว่าเป็นภัยต่อ “ชาติ ศาส์น กษัตริย์ และการพัฒนาของชาติ” จำนวน 11,135 ที่เราค้นคว้ามาได้จนถึงช่วงเวลาปัจจุบ้นนี้ ซึ่งประมาณการณ์ว่าเป็นเพียง หนึ่งในสามของตัวเลขผู้สูญสูญที่แท้จริง ยังน้อยไป ต่ำกว่าเรวันดา หรือเขมร – ท่านจะเอาชีวิตประชาชนอีกเท่าไหร่ถึงจะสาสมใจ เพื่อสังเวยอำนาจที่ฉ้อฉล
โปรดช่วยกันลงชื่อ เพื่อร่วมเป็นหนึ่งใน 11 135 คนเดือนธันวาฯ เพื่อร่วมกันปลดล๊อคการเมืองไทย และฝากช่วยกระจายและแชร์วิธีการลงชื่อออนไลน์นี้ไปให้มากที่สุด
และถ้าท่านสามารถช่วยรวบรวมรายชื่อคนที่ไม่ใด้ใช้อินเตอร์เนต เราจะขอบคุณมาก โดยส่งรายชื่อมาได้ที่ savethaiand@gmail.com
ขอบคุณ แทนทีมงานและอาสาสมัครหลังไมค์หลายชีวิตที่ทำงานกันอย่างไม่เห็นแก่ เหน็ดเหนื่อยเพราะเชื่อร่วมกันว่า ถึงเวลาที่เราต้องขยับประเด็นเรื่อง มาตรา 112 มาสู่การพูดได้อย่่างเต็มปากเต็มคำว่า “ยกเลิกไปเถอะมาตรา 112″ “มันเป็นเครื่องมืออำมาตย์ทำร้ายประชาชนมานานเกินพอแล้ว”
ยกเลิก 112 ปล่อยนักโทษการเมืองและนักโทษคดีหม่ินฯในทันที!
ดูรายละเอียดเพิ่มเติม ACT4DEMเชิญลงชื่อเรียกร้องให้รัฐบาลยกเลิก112 ปล่อยตัวนักโทษการเมืองและนักโทษคดีหมิ่นฯ ที่นี่ค่ะ
http://thaienews.blogspot.com/2011/11/act4dem112.html
ด้วยความสมานฉันท์
จรรยา เล็ก ยิ้มประเสริฐ
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ภาษาอังกฤษค่ะ
Dear Friends and Comrades,
Call for Solidarity with the Working People of Thailand!
PLEASE HELP us with the task of abolishing Thailand’s archaic and cruel laws of lèse majesté (LM), and release the unknown hundreds of LM and political prisoners in Thai jails.
We wish to deliver at least 11,135 signatures (See poster below) to the Thai government, and to the ASEAN, on International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2011.
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION also help to circulate the petition as widely as possible.
Thank You.
Junya Lek Yimprasert
ACT4DEM
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To Read and SIGN the Petition in Thai, English and French.
Thai http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petition-on-abolition-of-the-thai-law-of-lese/
English http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/the-abolition-of-the-thai-law-of-lese-majeste/
French http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sil-vous-plait-aidez-nous-a-faire-abolir-les/
Petition in German and Spanish ready soon!
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NOTE ABOUT the ACT4DEM PETITION to the Government of Thailand and the ASEAN demanding the ABOLITION of the Thai law of lèse majesté: (ARTICLE 112 of the Thai Criminal Code) and the RELEASE of ALL LM and POLITICAL PRISONERS.
This petition has been initiated by organisations and people who are increasingly concerned about the future of democracy in Thailand.
Following the bloody military crackdown in Thailand in April – May 2010 that killed 93 people and wounded nearly 2000, lèse majesté laws have been increasingly used to silence the rising dissatisfaction with the justice system in Thailand. After the 2006 military coup the number of people charged with LM rose abruptly from less than 10 per year to 100 and in 2010 it had topped 500.
Today nobody knows how many hundreds of people are charged or being charged with LM– not even the lawyers. If not already in jail, almost all civil society leaders who opposed the Abhisit Government are now facing charges of lèse majesté.
Breaking strict taboo in Thai society, this petition addresses one of the root causes of the Thai Crisis: the impact of lèse majesté on the development of democracy.
The petition is open for signing by organisations and individuals all around the world.
The petition will remain open and on-going until all political prisoners in Thailand have been released and Article 112 has been abolished. The sovereignty of Thailand rests in the hands of the people. The struggle of the people to throw off the webs of corruption that limit and stifle their abilities to realise their democratic rights needs international solidarity now.
We are aiming to gather 11,135 signatures, the number of extra-judicial killings and political assassinations since 1947 revealed by our research. We estimate this is about one third of the actual number killed.
40 organisations and more than 1000 individuals have signed already (28.11. 2011).
We aim to deliver the petition to Thai Government and the ASEAN on 10 December 2011 – International Human Rights Day.
Please sign the petition.
Thank You.
Action for People’s Democracy in Thailand (ACT4DEM)
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Some information about some of the few known LM prisoners and their cases:
Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, a media woman turned anti-coup activist, has been in jail since August 2009. She faces severe health problems and is being denied proper treatment. She remains defiant.
Tanthawut Taweewarodomkul, a Red Shirt website designer and single father, was ambushed at his home by a gang of police and jailed immediately – in April 2010. The police claim that the ‘UDD-USA’ website he administered was ‘A threat to the monarchy’. From prison he wrote to his 10 year-old son that: “What Dad wishes You to know is that he is most troubled by not being with you. Web (the son’s name) must know that Dad has not killed anybody, not cheated anybody, not sold any drugs and not deceived anybody. Dad worked as best he could with the skills he had to help his friends, and for doing this he was arrested.”
Surachai Sae-Dan, a Red Siam leader is 68, suffering from many illnesses and now on hunger strike against his maltreatment in prison. He was jailed on 22 February 2011. In writing his will from prison he has told his young followers . . ‘Never give up, never loose hope. Keep fighting.”
Somyot Pruksakemsuk, a well-known labour activist and editor of Red Power, was arrested at the Thai-Cambodia border on 30 April 2011. In his letter from prison entitled ‘Victim of the Unjust’ he states ‘I shall fight for freedom until my last breath. I may agree to shed my freedom, but not my humanity.’ Somyot has faced serious abuse and has been continuously transferred to prisons in different parts of Thailand.
Lerpong Wichaikhammat (Joe Gordon) a Thai-US pensioner in Thailand for health treatment, was ambushed by a gang of 20 DSI agents in Northeast Thailand, charged for posting a Thai version of ‘The Thai King never smiles’ on a web-board in 2008 – 2009, and thrown into prison on 24 May 2011.
Ampon Tangnoppakul, a 61-year-old grandfather, was sentenced to 20-years in prison on November 23, 2011, for allegedly sending four SMS messages critical of the queen to Somkiat Klongwattanasak, the personal secretary of former prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva. Ampon, who is suffering from laryngeal cancer and has been unable to access proper treatment during his time in detention, strenuously denies sending the messages.
