- By Tammy, Thai Intel’s humanity journalist
When Uncle SMS, who says he does not know how to send mobile phone SMS messages, was sent to jail for 20 years for lese majeste for sending insulting SMS messages about the Thai Royalty, and the court said, quote: “Uncle SMS failed to prove he did not send it,” one knows Thailand has taken lese majeste to a very in-humane level.
Apart from the argument if 20 years for insult is humane or not, with uncle SMS, it is no longer, innocent until proven guilty, but guilty until proven innocent.
But the situation is not as hopeless as the Thai courts make it out to be.
Here in Thailand, even the highly pro-establishment and pro-Royalism, Thai media, is now reporting that discussion on lese majeste laws in Thailand, is being used for politics.
That use for politics, is mainly about using debate on lese majeste, to spark a confrontation between the Thai people, to kick-out an elected government of Yingluck.
And while, locally, in Thailand, most people realize that the issue is not just about the reputation of the Thai Royalty, but also about politics-globally, the outrage against Thai lese majeste has reached a boiling point.
A group of about 200 global academic, many specialist on Thai study, have also called for the amending of the lese majeste laws. That call by the academics, off course, follows calls by the UN, EU, USA and just about every global level rights and freedom bodies-for amending the lese majeste laws.
Thus here, clearly, lese majeste, meant to protect Thai Royalty reputations, is viewed very negatively globally.
So the obvious question is, what is all of the above doing to the reputation of Thai royalty-whose, lese majeste laws is protecting their reputation. Meaning, what is their reputation, globally.
Fortunately, many have come out to defend the Thai Royalty. David Striuckfuss, for example, say members of Thai Royalty, are the biggest critic of lese majeste laws.
In fact, I was having a conversation with a foreigner in Thailand, and she said she just read in Bangkok Post, that Thai Royalty are against a strict lese majeste laws. It is also unclear, however, there are rumors going on in Thailand, that members of the Thai Royalty, in fact, have called on previous Thai government, to amend the lese majeste law, to make it less potent-meaning, less of a punishment.
Then also, several iconic Thai Royalist, like Anumnd Panyarachun, highly respected globally, have also said that he was in favor of a less strict enforcement of lese majestre laws.
So what is the message the global people are getting? Again, locally, most have accepted that lese majeste, increasingly, has to do with politics. And globally, it is an outcry against the in-humane Thai behavior.
Globally, perhaps it is a mixed message.
First, the Thai King, continues to get a great deal of respect for his talk of “Sufficiency Economy.” That Thai King concept, while little have been made to transform it into a comprehensive economic model, have called for moderation. And in the face of a globe, overly consumed, the message rings with a great deal of credibility.
Secondly, as the globe watch Thailand, questioning the future of Thai Royalism, many can not escape the fact that the Thai people, greatly respect the Thai King. And in the end, Thailand still is Thailand, where the local Thais, ultimately, are responsible for their future. And thus, many globally, have also taken the cue from the Thais, and also have exhibited a great deal of respect for the Thai King.
Yet, thirdly, clearly, people are being treated very in-humanely for lese majeste, which is seen, more and more locally and globally as a political issue. And lese majeste is there to protect the reputation of Thai royalty. And thus, some globally, have linked in-humane behavior, with Thai Royalism. Thus, for many, the equation is, quote: “Thai Royalism, in-humane, and politics.”
Thus in conclusion, the grand equation, floating globally, could be something like, “A respected Thai King of Global Good, A Thai King highly respected by the Thai people, and gross violation of human rights relating to politics.”
As always, Thai Intel readers be the final judge.
The Following is from Reuters:
Chomsky, scholars urge Thai reform of lese majeste law
BANGKOK | Thu Feb 2, 2012 12:14pm IST
(Reuters) – American linguist Noam Chomsky, Princeton University professor Cornell West and 221 other foreign scholars have urged Thailand’s prime minister to revise laws that shield the country’s monarchy from criticism, lending their voice to a controversial campaign.
In a letter seen on Thursday and sent to Yingluck Shinawatra a day earlier, the mostly U.S. and European academics backed the campaign by seven Thai university lecturers to amend the world’s toughest lese-majeste laws, which they said had become “a powerful tool to silence political dissent”.
Lese-majeste, or insults to the monarchy, is punishable by up to 15 years in prison under Article 112 of the constitution.
The number of cases and convictions has skyrocketed since a coup in 2006 toppled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra — Yingluck’s self-exiled brother — and sparked a polarising political crisis that has shown no sign of resolution.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 84, is deeply revered by Thais and is seen as a father of the nation, but even the monarch himself said in a speech said he was not above criticism. Yingluck’s government has, however, made it clear it has no intention of amending the law.
Recent lese-majeste cases include a Thai-American jailed for posting a weblink to extracts of a book on the king banned in Thailand and a cancer sufferer sentenced to 20 years for sending text messages to a secretary of the former prime minister that were deemed insulting to Queen Sirikit.
“The harsh and disproportionate lengths of prison sentences given out under Article 112 have devastated the individuals sentenced and their families,” the letter said.
“But these sentences … also work powerfully to create fear among Thai citizen.”
Campaigners pushing for reform of the law, known as the Khana Nitirat, have caused a stir in recent weeks by advocating softer punishments and amendments to allow only representatives of the crown, rather than ordinary citizens, to file complaints.
But some royalist groups and media commentators accuse them of trying to topple the monarchy, which the group denies.
Effigies of Nitirat members have been burned during small protests while scores of postings on some internet web boards have advocated vigilantism. Bangkok’s traditionally liberal Thammasat University on Monday took the unprecedented decision to ban Nitirat from campaigning on its premises.
(Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Alan Raybould and Sanjeev Miglani)
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