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THAILAND: POLICE TARGET WEB SITES UNFLATTERING TO ROYALTY
(English IPS News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
BANGKOK, Thailand, Mar. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As if the country's
draconian lese-majeste laws are not harsh enough, Thailand's
thought police have another weapon, the computer crimes law, to
curtail the space for free expression.
Friday saw a new low in this Southeast Asian country when the
police raided the Bangkok office of Prachatai, a popular
alternative news Web site, to arrest its editor, Chiranuch
Premchaiporn.
She was charged with violating article 15 of the law, which came
into force in 2007, when the country was under the grip of a junta
that had come to power after the September 2006 army coup.
Under that article, Web site moderators like Chiranuch face the
threat of arrest if their Web sites have messages posted on them
that are deemed to "undermine national security" and are not
removed immediately. Comments that tarnish the image of the
country's monarchy, an act of lese-majeste, are considered in
similar light.
What triggered the arrest was a comment posted on the Prachatai
message board on Oct. 15 last year. The police accused the Web site
of leaving that comment on its board for 20 days. It was viewed as
having a reference to the royal family.
"It was a long post [in Thai] with metaphors. The message was
unclear if it was violating the lese-majeste law or not," said the
42-year-old Chiranuch, who was released on bail.
"I was shocked when I learned about the arrest warrant. I didn't
expect this," revealed the editor of the Web site, which was
launched in 2004 to provide news and commentary that the mainstream
print and broadcast media avoid.
"Her arrest has created tension in the Internet community in
Thailand," said Supinya Klangnarong, a media rights campaigner who
heads the Thai Netizens Network, a group lobbying for the rights
of Internet users. "If Thai society cannot accept the free nature
of [the] Internet, we have a big problem."
"It is too much to raid the office and to force her to go to the
police," Supinya added in an interview. "We don't want to see
people put into jail for using the Internet."
The arrest of Chiranuch, who could be jailed for five years if
found guilty, points to an ominous trend. Four other Thais have
been charged with committing a cyber crime before her. "They were
all individual Internet users; Chiranuch is the first moderator of
an online news Web site to be charged," Supinya said.
That is not all. The country's information and communications
ministry has confirmed that 2,300 Web sites have been blocked for
comments that tarnish the image of the Thai royals and 400 more are
on a possible ban list.
The justice ministry has revealed that more than 10,000 Web
sites are being monitored for any offensive comments that defame
the monarchy. The authorities have also reportedly invested $1.28
million to establish an Internet firewall to block Web sites that
have anti-monarchy comments
"The government has set up a 'war room' to coordinate this
effort. They are not only monitoring Web sites but are
investigating people who post offensive comments in order to track
them down," said a source familiar with the operation set up to
give more teeth to the cyber crime law.
Little wonder why the climate of fear and censorship that is
spreading across the country has triggered a strong response from
some quarters. On March 4, over 50 international scholars launched
a campaign calling for the end to the "abuse of the lese-majeste
law", since it "has led to the deterioration of basic civil
liberties."
"Please stop seeking more suppressive measures against
individuals, Web sites and the peaceful expression of ideas," wrote
the scholars in a letter addressed to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva. "Bringing charges against journalists, academics and
other citizens for their views and actions simply because of
allegations that they are offensive to the royal family prevents
open discussion of important public issues."
"The lese-majeste law has been irresponsibly interpreted and
abused," Thongchai Winichakul, a Thai academic based in the United
Sates who is spearheading the campaign, said during a news
conference done via the Internet. "Thai authorities believe that
total suppression is the answer."
The scholars who have loaned their name to the campaign come
from Australia, Britain, Hong Kong, India, Italy, The Netherlands,
and the United States. They included world renowned figures like
Noam Chomsky and respected Thai specialists such as Charles Keyes.
Till the arrival of the computer crimes law to protect the image
of the monarchy, the 100-year-old lese-majeste law served the
purpose. Those found guilty of insulting or defaming the Thai
monarchy through words or actions face a maximum jail term of 15
years.
Since the September 2006 coup, the country has seen an increase
in lese-majeste charges being filed. Those who have been on the
receiving end have been a leading Buddhist philosopher, a former
government spokesman, a BBC correspondent and two female political
activists.
In February, another victim of lese-majeste laws, Giles
Ungpakorn, fled the country for a life of exile in Britain. Giles,
who was a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn
University, was accused of defaming the monarchy in a book he wrote
following the 2006 coup, Thailand's 18th putsch.
That this form of censorship places Thailand in a unique league
has not been lost on international media rights watchdogs. "Thai
authorities continued to crack down on any perceived slight to the
royal family, particularly to 80-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej,"
states the Committee to Protect Journalists in its annual worldwide
survey, Attacks on the Press in 2008.
"Thailand maintains some of the world's strictest lese-majeste
laws," the New York-based CPJ revealed. "Thai police also launched
investigations into Web sites that included content authorities
considered potentially offensive to the monarchy."
Copyright ? 2009 Global Information Network
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