As already blogged a lese majeste complaint has been filed against all 13 board members of the FCCT.
CPJ:
BP: Abhisit has gone a bit silent since his earlier statements this year...
You can also read statements by SEAPA and International Federation for Human Rights.
Frank G. Anderson has an op-ed in UPI. The key excerpt:
The Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan has issued a statement. Key excerpt below:
The Foreign Correspondent's Club of China has issued a similar statement.
Well, then there is The Economist's article which mentions the complaint against the FCCT board and on lese majeste generally entitled "Thailand's lèse majesté law:Treason in cyberspace", but you will need to google the article for yourself if you want to read it. Needless to say the latest issue has not been distributed in Thailand.
BP: It is just a never-ending circus. Will there be any reform on who can make lese majeste complaints?
CPJ:
The Committee to Protect Journalists rejects the politically motivated lese majeste charges filed on Tuesday by a private citizen against board members of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT).
...
"We reject these frivolous charges against the FCCT, which are clearly aimed at undermining press freedom in Thailand," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. "Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government has acknowledged that lese majeste laws are often abused for political purposes and we strongly encourage him to reform these laws to protect press freedom as outlined in the 2007 constitution."
BP: Abhisit has gone a bit silent since his earlier statements this year...
You can also read statements by SEAPA and International Federation for Human Rights.
Frank G. Anderson has an op-ed in UPI. The key excerpt:
The campaign in Thailand to protect the monarchy will probably become a unique case history for academics outside the kingdom to study how civil society can be cowed into silence, foreigners still be demonized, and how ancient prejudices can still be effectively used to ensure change, which is only an occasional whisper in the wind. That it became a murmur frightened powerful interests and they are now increasing pressure.
Laksana’s exact role is subject to some suspicion. That she is a translator, and that the translation of Head’s supposed crimes was an issue some time ago; that there is a select group in Thailand that seeks to use lèse majesté charges against agents of change – these things are no longer much of a secret.
Who prompted Laksana to file charges? And will the public ever know those people or groups? Will any of them ever face criminal or civil charges, as they seem absolutely oblivious of their own exposure?
The Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan has issued a statement. Key excerpt below:
The Board of Directors of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan [FCCJ] is appalled to learn that the entire board of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) has been accused of committing lese majeste, a crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
The FCCJ is also gravely concerned that in the recent past the Thai authorities have used the country's lese majeste laws to restrict freedom of expression and have otherwise abused it for its own political ends.
The Foreign Correspondent's Club of China has issued a similar statement.
Well, then there is The Economist's article which mentions the complaint against the FCCT board and on lese majeste generally entitled "Thailand's lèse majesté law:Treason in cyberspace", but you will need to google the article for yourself if you want to read it. Needless to say the latest issue has not been distributed in Thailand.
BP: It is just a never-ending circus. Will there be any reform on who can make lese majeste complaints?
"Will there be any reform on who can make lese majeste complaints?"
If anyone is thinking Abhisit may be the agent of any such change, they're in for a very long wait.
Like the Rohingya "investigation", it's just another ball kicked into the long grass. Plainly, it's one thing to be addressing the fellows at Oxford - and quite another to actually DO anything. This is only "transparency" in the sense that you can see right through it......
Agree with Steve
Let's not fall into the 'perceived wisdom' that odd-balls are filing these of their own volition...While it may well be eccentrics filing the charges, should we really believe that they are acting on their own initiative? Think about it..if that were the case, there would be ample reason for high powers to intervene. Hasn't been the case now has it?
As a bit of light relief (but devilishly accurate at the same time), there is a beautifully written bit of satire on this at Prachatai English: http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/1287
Enjoy.
Seems the LM laws may be mocked into extinction (a faint hope). Headline from Not The Nation: "Da Torpedo’s Speech Kills 12, Injures 344, Destroys Rice Harvest"
Excerpt: "Strict censorship over reporting of the case in the Thai media, as well as the aggressive blocking of websites and online forums which discuss the case have largely contained Daranee’s dangerous words. But one draft of the deadly text appears to have escaped into the Thai public domain via a chatroom at Panthip.com.
Once free, the toxic words spread widely throughout the capital, breaking windows and setting small fires. Daranee’s speech has also been reported turning over cars at intersections and firing a pistol into a crowd of schoolchildren. Police attempted to subdue the speech, but it proved too powerful and aggressive for them."
More in the full article: http://www.notthenation.com/pages/news/getnews.php?id=804