Category: Thai politics

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Tech Thai politics

Suspended Sentence for Chiranuch “Jiew” Premchaiporn

The AP says:

A Thai court sentenced a local webmaster Wednesday to an eight-month suspended sentence for failing to act quickly enough to remove Internet posts deemed insulting to country’s royalty.

The ruling showed leniency against Chiranuch Premchaiporn, who faced up to 20 years in prison for 10 comments posted on her Prachatai website, but still sends the message that Internet content in Thailand must be self-censored.

Elsewhere, @Saksith has more details in his live-blog of the verdict.

UPDATE: The New York Times has a story headlined “Google and Rights Groups Condemn Thai Court’s Conviction of a Webmaster.” It says:

Google and human rights groups reacted strongly on Wednesday to a Thai court’s decision to convict the webmaster of an Internet message board for comments posted by users that insulted the Thai royal family.

Courts in Thailand have with increasing frequency jailed people convicted of lèse-majesté, as royal insults are known. But the verdict on Wednesday was different: Chiranuch Premchaiporn, who was sentenced to a suspended one-year prison term, was not the author of the offending comments. She managed the Web site that hosted them.

Taj Meadows, a spokesman for Google, said in an e-mailed statement that the verdict was “a serious threat to the future of the Internet in Thailand.”

“Telephone companies are not penalized for things people say on the phone and responsible Web site owners should not be punished for comments users post on their sites — but Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act is being used to do just that,” Mr. Meadows said.

The Computer Crimes Act is controversial in Thailand partly because it was enacted by an unelected government installed after the military coup in 2006. The act also has a far-reaching extraterritorial feature built in: an American citizen was sentenced to two and a half years in prison last year for uploading from his computer in the United States a translation of a book banned in Thailand. He was arrested during a visit to Thailand.

There’s also an updated AP story. And coverage from VOA, Reuters, and more.

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Thai politics

Self-Promotion: New WSJ Southeast Asia Real Time Story on Return of Banned Thai Politicians

The story is here, and begins:

A five-year ban on 111 Thai politicians linked to exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to expire Wednesday. The potential effect that the legislators’ return could have on the government of Mr. Thaksin’s younger sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, remains unclear.

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Thai politics

Red Shirt Rajaprasong Rally: News Round-Up

2012 05 21 bangkok post thaksin

Just a quick follow-up to my last post:

For news about Saturday’s red shirt gathering at Rajaprasong to mark the second anniversary of the May 19 army crackdown, you can find stories from:

Elsewhere, GlobalVoices has a collection of images and various reports about the event.

Photo above: Sunday’s Bangkok Post front page.

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Thai politics

Red Shirts at Rajaprasong: Some photos so far

2012 05 19 reds rajaprasong

Today is the second anniversary of the May 19, 2010 army crackdown on red shirt protesters in central Bangkok.

As I mentioned earlier, red shirts and others are gathering at Rajaprasong today to mark the occasion.

This AP piece provides some context. Here’s an AFP story about today’s rally. And here’s a post I wrote about my experiences on that day in 2010.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to update this post later, so I wanted to provide a few images of today’s gathering that I’ve come across on Twitter.

As ever, Richard Barrow is Tweeting from the scene. He snapped the panoramic photo above at 3:09 p.m. Bangkok time. Here’s a bigger version.

Richard says the following events are on tap for the rest of the day:

2012 05 19 reds rajaprasong 2

Above is another photo from about half an hour earlier, courtesy of Pailin C (@_Willowtree_).

I think it’s safe to assume that crowds will grow as the day continues and temperatures drop.

The intersection is closed to traffic, and MCOT has advised motorists to avoid the area.

And shoppers who had planned to visit the adjacent CentralWorld should be advised that the mall has now closed, MCOT says:

For ongoing updates, you can find me on Twitter: @Newley. Here’s my Thailand Twitter list and my list of Bangkok journalists on Twitter.

In addition, of course, you can consult The Bangkok Post and The Nation.

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Thai politics

Red Shirts to Rally Sat. at Rajaprasong Intersection

MCOT reports today:

Some 200,000 red shirt supporters are expected to join activities held by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) — the red shirt movement — to mark the second anniversary Saturday of the 2010 protest against the then Abhisit Vejjajiva administration, red shirt co-leader Jatuporn Prompan said on Thursday.

Mr Jatuporn, also a Pheu Thai MP, said a stage would be set up beneath the Chit Lom BTS Skytrain station for activities at Ratchaprasong, Bangkok’s prime business and shopping zone, to mark the second anniversary of the May 19 protest clampdown.

He said some 200,000 Red Shirt supporters are likely to join the event. Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will address the crowd via video link between 7 and 8pm and will praise those who lost their lives during the protest.

Elsewhere, The Nation says:

Thousands of protesters are to mark the secondanniversary Saturday of a crackdown on anti-government demonstrationsin central Bangkok, which left up to 102 people dead.

“You will see about 100,000 people coming to Ratchaprasong Road inmemory of those who died,” Thida Tavornseth – chairwoman of theUnited Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), also known asthe red shirts – said Thursday.

And The Bangkok Post reports:

A total of 1,200 police will be deployed to ensure peace and order during the mass gathering of the red-shirts at Ratchaprasong intersection on Saturday, the second anniversary of the May 19 bloodshed, a police spokesman said.

100,000 red shirts? 200,000 red shirts?

Obviously, protest organizers worldwide are often likely to project a huge turnout for such events. It will be interesting to see how many UDD members — not to mention curious onlookers — show up on Sat.

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Thai politics

Al Jazeera Report on ‘Uncle SMS’ and Lèse-Majesté

Al Jazeera ran a video report yesterday on Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws and the late “Uncle SMS.”

The piece is embedded above and is on YouTube here.

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Thai politics Thailand

Thai Man Jailed for Lèse-Majesté Dies in Prison

2012 05 08 uncle sms

AP reports today:

A Thai man in his 60s who became known as “Uncle SMS” after he was convicted of defaming Thailand’s royal family in mobile phone text messages has died while serving his 20-year prison term, his lawyer said Tuesday.

The case of Amphon Tangnoppakul, a grandfather who had suffered from mouth cancer, drew attention to Thailand’s severe lese majeste laws last November when he received one of the heaviest-ever sentences for someone accused of insulting the monarchy.

And:

Amphon was arrested in August 2010 and accused of sending four text messages to a government official that were deemed offensive to the queen. He denied sending them, however, and said he didn’t even know how to use the SMS function on his telephone to send texts.

He wept during his court proceedings, saying, “I love the King.”

AFP says:

A 62-year-old Thai man considered a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International for his 20-year sentence for royal defamation has died in jail, his lawyer said Tuesday

And:

“He had come to represent the enormous degree of injustice that was this lese majeste law and yet he wanted nothing more than to be a grandfather and to enjoy his old age,” Amnesty researcher Benjamin Zawacki told AFP.

Reuters reports:

A Thai man who was jailed for 20 years after being found guilty of sending text messages disrespectful to Queen Sirikit has died in jail a few months into his sentence, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

The case last November of Amphon Tangnoppaku, 61, who the media nicknamed “Uncle SMS”, had stoked a debate about the harsh sentences imposed in Thailand for lese-majeste, or insulting the king, queen or crown prince.

Prachatai has this:

After being convicted to 20 years in jail for allegedly sending four offensive text messages to the secretary of former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva in November 2011, his lawyers applied for his temporary release several times citing his medical need as he had been suffering from cancer among other illnesses. The latest request was made in February 2012 and it was rejected by the Appeals Court who claimed that “The illness which the defendant claims [as one of the reasons for the bail] does not appear to be life-threatening.”

There’s also a story from The Nation and The Bangkok Post.

And finally, for background info, here’s a BBC story from Nov., when Ampon was convicted.

(All emphasis mine.)

(Image: The Nation.)

Update: There’s also a story from The New York Times.

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Thai politics Thailand

Blast at Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate Kills 12

2012 05 06 map ta phut blast

Reuters reports today:

Thai authorities were investigating on Sunday a blast that killed 12 people and wounded at least 105 at one of the world’s biggest petrochemical hubs.

Explosions sparked a fire at a chemical factory at the sprawling Map Ta Phut complex – Thailand’s biggest industrial estate – on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people and workers from the area in Rayong province, about 180 km (110 miles) east of Bangkok.

The Bangkok Synthetics plant, 20-percent owned by Thailand’s largest industrial group, Siam Cement Pcl, produces butadiene and other raw materials used in the manufacturing of synthetic rubbers and plastic resins.

The blaze has been extinguished and many evacuees have returned home, said Verapong Chaiperm, governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, confirming the number of dead and wounded.

“The evacuation order has been cancelled while other nearby buildings and factories around the area are under security checks,” he said in an interview.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the explosions and were watching closely for the environmental impact of the spread of the chemicals, said Verapong

The Bangkok Post has more here and here.

A few years ago, as you’ll recall, Map Ta Phut was the focal point of a lawsuit about pollution and the Thai constitution’s environmental protection requirements.

(All emphasis mine.)

(Image: Bangkok Post.)

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Thai politics Thailand

Thai MP Gives Nazi Salute and Yells ‘Heil Hitler’ in Parliament

Yet more news from the Thai parliament.

Late last month, as I noted, a graphic image of a woman was broadcast on large screens during a parliamentary session.

Now a member of parliament has given the Nazi salute and yelled “Heil Hitler” during an argument.

Thanks to Saksith at Asian Correspondent for pointing out yesterday the remarkable May 2 video, embedded above and on YouTube here.

The salute and “Heil Hitlers” start at around the three minute mark.

Here’s Saksith, translating a Thai news story:

Reports say that before parliament was about to decide [on a proposal], a little bit of chaos ensued when MP Boonyod Sukthinthai of the Democrat Party raised his hand to protest House speaker Somsak’s hasty attempts to end [the session], but the latter refused to listen and proceeded to the voting, leading to Mr Boonyod yelling loudly that he will protest until the speaker will listen to him, as he then shouted “Heil Hitler, Mr Speaker of the dictatorship! Heil Hitler!” – to which Mr Somsak still refuses to listen and requests the parliament to cast in their votes.

As Saksith notes:

This arbitrary and erratic display of Godwin’s law evidently shows the still volatile political climate that is being maintained, if not even increased by the parliamentary infighting over amendments to the constitution, to which the opposition fears potential abuse of power by the government (and most of all a carte blanche for Thaksin). Nevertheless, it also shows an unacceptable behavior by our elected representatives, who think that any rough measures for this political discourse is legitimate.

This is not the first time a Nazi-related story has made the news in Thailand. CNNGo ran a piece in Feb. about the issue.

(All emphasis mine.)

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Thai politics

Notes from Abhisit’s FCCT Talk Last Night

Former Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand last night. (Details on the event are on the FCCT site here.)

Embedded below and collected here are my Tweets from the evening, in reverse chronological order.

As I’ve noted following Abhisit’s remarks at previous FCCT events, he is a highly adept politician, at least by Western standards: He stays on message, he uses his wit to good effect, he speaks excellent English, and he has a deep knowledge of policy issues.

Overall, my feeling was that the audience of non-journalists — Thais and foreigners alike — were fairly receptive to his remarks.

Abhisit received some cheers for a few of his statements, and though I heard some rumblings of discontent among some in attendance, the environment was not at all hostile.

(Of course, that may have to do with the fact that the non-media audience was self-selecting: His supporters are more likely to turn out to hear him speak, perhaps, than his detractors.)

To summarize a few notable elements of Abhisit’s remarks:

  • He argued that his administration focused on economic issues and aimed to restore “some normalcy” to Thai politics.
  • He said Yingluck’s government is forsaking economic development and focusing on amnesty for Thaksin, and that such amnesty will only create more divisions in Thai society.
  • Regarding exiled former PM Thaksin’s potential return, he said that if Thaksin comes back and serves even a short sentence but is pardoned legally, “we’re fine with that.”
  • Abhisit was asked if he felt any personal responsibility for the 2010 violence. He said, before elaborating, “we are all responsible in some way or another.”