FACT - Freedom Against Censorship Thailand

Thai means free: FACT coordinator CJ Hinke comments on lèse majesté

Respect for the monarchy has become a crucial issue in Thai society in light of the human mortality of His Majesty King Bhumibol. Thailand is not unique in having lèse majesté law. Belarus, Brunei, Egypt, Germany, Kazakhstan, Maldives, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Syria, Turkey, Zimbabwe and others all have lèse majesté laws which are applied seldom and judiciously to the most outrageous of cases of insult to heads of state. What makes the Thai situation unique is that our government chooses to enforce these laws in an arbitrary and Draconian fashion.

The King does not expect or demand respect. In fact, it has become something of a Royal tradition for the King to pardon those convicted of lèse majesté. The King has even invited criticism. By and large, lèse majesté law is enforced by private citizens against their fellows. Most charges are initiated by private citizens.

This behavior was first classified as a criminal offense against the dignity of the Roman republic in ancient Rome. In time, as the Emperor became identified with the Roman state (the empire never formally became a monarchy), it was essentially applied to offenses against his person. Is this really a tradition of empire we want to continue?

The monarchy is an institution fundamental to Thai society. The King has exercised vast and respected influence over all layers of Thai life and shaped Thailand’s modern history. For nearly all of us, the King of Thailand has earned our respect. We consider him the father of the Thai nation with great fondness. But in all honesty, none of us can know what will happen with the revered King’s death. Will these “traditions” continue to be expected and enforced?

When government bureaucrats, police and private citizens charge lèse majesté, what they are doing is presuming to speak for the monarch. This is a basic definition of lèse majesté. Thus, they themselves commit the same crime! Read the rest of this entry »

ชาญวิทย์ เกษตรศิริ ตอบคำถาม เพลงสรรเสริญในโรงนั้นมีมาแต่หนใด
Prachatai: April 24, 2008

http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/11928

ดร.ชาญวิทย์ เกษตรศิริ นักวิชาการด้านประวัติศาสตร์อดีตอธิการบดี มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์ ตอบคำถามเรื่องธรรมเนียมการยืนเคารพเพลงสรรเสริญพระบารมีในโรงหนัง ในเมล์ลิสต์ของนักวิชาการและนักกิจกรรมกลุ่มหนึ่ง ดังนี้…ต่อคำถามที่ว่าธรรมเนียมการยืนเคารพเพลงสรรเสริญพระบารมีในโรงหนัง มีมาแต่เมื่อไร และมีขึ้นเพราะเหตุใดนั้น ขอตอบว่าธรรมเนียมนี้สยามประเทศ (ไทย) ลอกเลียนมาจากอังกฤษ เมื่อประมาณเกือบ 1 ร้อยปีมาแล้ว…กล่าวคือเมื่อประมาณทศวรรษ 1910 เมื่อเริ่มต้นมีโรงหนังนั้น เมื่อฉายหนังจบ อังกฤษก็ให้มีการฉายพระฉายาลักษณ์ของคิงยอร์ชแล้วก็ให้บรรเลงเพลง God Save the Kingธรรมเนียมนี้เกิดขึ้นในยุคสมัยที่อังกฤษต้องการปลุกระดมลัทธิชาตินิยมและความจงรักภักดีต่อกษัตริย์ ตามคำขวัญว่า God, King, and Country

Academic Says Standing for Royal Anthem Copied British Practice, and was Dropped There Long Ago
Prachatai: April 25, 2008

http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=618

A well-known Thai historian points out that the practice of standing for the Royal Anthem in Thai theatres was adopted from Britain about a hundred years ago, and was long dropped by the British people.
[FACT signer] Dr Charnvit Kasetsiri, a historian and former Rector of Thammasat University, said that in the 1910s, the early days of cinemas, when the showing of a movie was finished in Britain, the image of King George would be projected onto the screen, and the anthem ‘God Save the King’ would be played.  The practice came about when England wanted to promote nationalism and loyalty to the monarchy, under the motto ‘God, King, and Country’.

“โอลิมปิค” คือกีฬาแห่งสันติภาพของมนุษยชาติ

แต่ “จีน” เป็นประเทศที่มีการละเมิดสิทธิมนุษยชนอันดับต้นๆของโลก ไม่ว่าจะเป็นการกดขี่ชนชั้นแรงงาน การปิดกั้นเสรีภาพของสื่อมวลชน การใช้ความรุนแรงปราบปรามฝ่ายที่อยู่ตรงข้ามรัฐบาล ไปจนถึงการละเมิดสิทธิมนุษยชนในทิเบต และการสนับสนุนรัฐบาลเผด็จการในประเทศซูดาน

ร่วมจัดโดย : เครือข่ายทิเบตเสรี ศูนย์ประสานงานเยาวชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย(ศยป) คณะกรรมการประสานงานองค์การพัฒนาเอกชน(กป.อพช.) คณะกรรมการรณรงค์เพื่อสิทธิมนุษยชน(ครส.) คณะทำงานปกป้องนักต่อสู้เพื่อสิทธิมนุษยชน โครงการรณรงค์เพื่อแรงงานไทย กลุ่มสังคมวิจารณ์ จุฬาฯ กลุ่มประชาธิปไตยแรงงาน กลุ่มสังคมนิยมประชาธิปไตยแห่งมหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์ กลุ่มจัดตั้งชมรมนักสิทธิมนุษยชนรุ่นใหม่แห่งมหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์

สอบถา       สอบถามเพิ่มเติม“ต้อง ศยป”- โทร.0814062626 , ypdthai@gmail.com

Numerous Thai human rights organisations are expected in nonviolent protest against China’s Olympic torch despite heavy-handed tactics promised by police and government. 60% of the Thai population has Chinese ancestry and Thailand has such close economic ties to China, the government banned an anti-Communist book this year. However, Thailand also has a Constitution which guarantees free expression and political liberty.

Enough is enough! We cannot stand idly by while our government supports dictatorship. The modern Olympics were started in 1936 by the Nazis and now that lineage has fallen to the Chinese.

Friday, April 18, 6 pm: HRH Crown Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn will greet the Chinese Olympic torch at the Plaza Athenee Hotel on Witthayu Road

Saturday, April 19, Noon-3:15 pm: Speeches and events in advance of the torch run at Odeon Circle (Wongwian Odeon)

3:15 The torch leaves Odeon Circle and

passes through Chinatown (Yaowarat),

on to the Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaew),

along Ratchadamnoen Avenue,

past Democracy Monument

across Phanfa Bridge (Saphan Phanfa),

along Ratchadamnoen Nok

past the United Nations Building

past Uthong Nai and the Parliament Buildings

6 pm: The Olympic torch arrives at Royal Plaza, followed by events.

New PetitionOnLine for Siam and Thonburi

Respected Southeast Asian historian and FACT signer, Dr. Charnvit Kasetsiri, has been actively promoting a return to the country name Siam from Thailand. This would include all minorities and marginalised peoples who are not ethnic Tais.

Dr. Charnvit has  created a new PetitionOnLine for returning to Siam and Thonburi. Click to see and sign it, if you please:
http://www.petitiononline.com/SIAM2008/petition.html

The previous Siam PetitionOnLine may be found at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?siam2007&1

[FACT comments: FACT has been invited to participate.]

Announcing the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008
by Georgia Popplewell
Global Voices: March 13, 2008

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/03/13/announcing-the-global-voices-citizen-media-summit-2008/

Global Voices and Global Voices Advocacy are pleased to announce the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2008, which will take place in Budapest, Hungary on June 27-28, 2008 with the support of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and MediaHungaria.

The event will bring together the members of the Global Voices citizen media project and its wider community with a diverse group of bloggers, activists, technologists, journalists and others persons from around the world, for two days of public discussions and workshops around the theme “Citizen Media & Citizenhood”.

The Global Voices Summit provides an opportunity for us to share the knowledge in our dynamic global community with bloggers, activists, students and media professionals. The meeting will explore important developments in citizen media spearheaded by people outside North America and Western Europe and investigate how the growing number of people distributing information globally can help affect lasting social change.

The first day of the Summit, hosted by Global Voices’ Advocacy section, will be devoted to discussions about censorship and the challenges facing free expression online. The second day will highlight cutting-edge applications of Web 2.0 on electoral campaigns in emerging democracies; tackle issues of translation and the idea of the world wide web as a multi-lingual space; and showcase citizen media solutions in emergency situations. The day two program will also include a hands-on workshop in building activism tools using free, web-based services such as Google maps, Twitter and online video-sharing sites.

An overview of the Summit program is posted at the end of this message. A Summit web site with registration information and a updated program will be available within the next couple of weeks, but feel free to contact me at georgiap@globalvoicesonline.org if you have further questions or for information about sponsorship.
Please add the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit to your calendars. We hope you’ll join us in Budapest! Read the rest of this entry »

Anti-Thaksin media ‘face govt threat’
As division between supporters and opponents of Thaksin Shinawatra continues, any media critical of ousted premier Thaksin and the current government may soon be threatened by the Samak Sundaravej administration, warned Supinya Klangnarong, secretary of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform.
Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation: March 11, 2008

[Past FACT coordinator] Supinya said media at threat included broadcast media such as Channel 9, Thai PBS and community radio as well as the Internet and newspapers.

“They will try to put their people into Channel 9 and Thai PBS,” Supinya told The Nation. “With Thai PBS, they won’t find a way immediately due to legislative protection, and for Channel 9 there’s the board that needs to be replaced. But I believe they will definitely do it.”

Supinya said Thai PBS may escape the wrath of the new administration if it fails to attract enough viewers to pose a threat, but the government has been trying to force community radio stations to relay some of their programmes in a systematic manner. Read the rest of this entry »

[FACT comments: We always think the US State Department's annual human rights reports are curious anomalies--the US, of course, never comments on its own human rights record. Nevertheless, many issues are examined and this report would not have been possible were it not for the contributions of many Thai activists and NGOs. All of us are trying to bring about a better Thailand for everyone. FACT emphasis and commentary added below.]

Thailand–Country Reports on Human Rights Practices  - 2007
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
U.S. Department of State
March 11, 2008

Thailand Report: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100539.htm
Full report by country: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/index.htm

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a population of more than 65 million. The king is revered and exerts strong informal influence. The interim prime minister, appointed by military leaders of the September 2006 coup, who called themselves the Council for National Security (CNS), continued to govern together with a cabinet consisting mostly of technocrats. A royal command on January 1 convened a Constitutional Drafting Assembly, whose members were chosen by the CNS, to draft a new constitution. On August 19, a majority of voters approved the new constitution in a referendum that observers generally considered free and fair. On December 23, the interim government held multiparty elections for the lower house of Parliament in which the People’s Power Party, led by Samak Sundaravej, won a plurality of seats. The election process was generally viewed as free and fair, but there were widespread allegations of vote buying. The interim civilian authorities appointed by the September 2006 coup leaders generally maintained effective control of the security forces, although the military continued to play a role in maintaining internal security. Read the rest of this entry »

End Official Cover-Up in Lawyer’s ‘Disappearance’
Human Rights Watch: March 11, 2008

On the fourth anniversary of the enforced disappearance and presumed murder of prominent Muslim human rights lawyer Somchai Neelappaijit, the new Thai government should ensure that the police officers responsible for this crime are finally brought to justice, Human Rights Watch said today.

Somchai’s case is a clear test for the new Thai government.
Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch

On March 12, 2004, Somchai was pulled from his car in Bangkok, allegedly by five policemen, and never seen again.

He was chairman of Thailand’s Muslim Lawyers Association and vice-chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Lawyers Council of Thailand.

At the time, Somchai was involved in a lawsuit alleging widespread police torture of Muslims in the conflict-ridden southern border provinces.

Over the past four years, two prime ministers - Thaksin Shinawatra and General Surayud Chulanont - acknowledged that government officials were involved in Somchai’s abduction and killing. But neither pressed the Royal Thai Police and the Justice Ministry’s Department of Special Investigation to answer basic questions such as who ordered the abduction and killing of Somchai and who obstructed justice.

“Somchai’s case is a clear test for the new Thai government,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Successive governments have engaged in a cover-up to hide the identities of the authors of this heinous crime. Four years later, no steps have been taken to hold these officials accountable.” Read the rest of this entry »