New Mandala

15 responses so far ↓

• 1 ThaiCrisis // Jul 25, 2008 at 4:34 pm

  “Pithy” ? I would say “pitiful”.

  We would expect Reuters do go a little bit further than just transmitting a paper… written by a Thai !

  They should know better and do a real work… For instance… first… get a translation of the famous “speech”, quoted by Sondhi.

  The article seriously downplays what was said…

  On all the lese-majeste issues, it’s a fact that to really understand the only solution is to to rely on… foreigners sources and analysis.

  For obvious reasons.

  (this is precisely what I tried to do : listening to the speech and translating some parts…)

  Only then, we can start a usefull reporting and debate work.

• 2 R. N. England // Jul 25, 2008 at 6:00 pm

  It’s all part of the boom-bust cycle of monarchical government. The greater the king, the bigger the bust when his reign comes to an end, as his frightened flunkeys run amok.

• 3 TEFL/TESOL Trash // Jul 25, 2008 at 11:45 pm

  Agreed, with the added proviso that we now have 2 monarchs, each with a set of flunkeys.

• 4 R. N. England // Jul 26, 2008 at 3:01 pm

  I agree with you too, T/TT, with an additional comment that one monarch and his cronies have corrupted the people’s judgement with chequebooks, and the other side with guns. The electorate have followed their best interest in preferring the relatively benign to the positively malignant.

• 5 Frank G Anderson // Jul 30, 2008 at 9:53 am

  30 July 2008

  In gathering material over the recent past on lese majeste, I wrote to that Silapakorn University professor who had been investigated for lese majeste because of exam questions he posed to students. If you all recall…
  Well, he did reply, stating that he was investigated but that to date no legal charges against him have been made. Also indicates that he was informed the Palace had instructed the police to back off because of worldwide support for academic freedom in his case.
  Just an update as a FYI.

• 6 Frank G Anderson // Jul 30, 2008 at 9:55 am

  I am detailing at least ten separate Lese Majeste cases for a manuscript, including on in San Francisco filed by Thais in the US who didn’t like a Thai businessman’s suggestion that the 2 billion Baht for the last election be recovered from the king rather than the Election Commission.

• 7 Frank G Anderson // Jul 31, 2008 at 9:56 pm

  With all the anti-lese majeste sentiment in Thailand, why are people not banding together to challenge the law in the courts, suing the police and the attorney general?
  It seems there is enough material to make a meaningful effort.

• 8 manning sawwinner // Aug 1, 2008 at 1:23 pm

  Dear Anderson: Don’t you know that we Thais are chickens, in more ways than one.

• 9 StopLeseMajeste // Aug 3, 2008 at 5:22 am

  The king of Thailand is a hypocrite who is terrified of free speech and therefore endorses this law by demanding an “apology”.

  Bhumibol Adulyadej’s silence over Da Torpedo’s arrest for lese majeste proves that this is true.

• 10 Frank G Anderson // Aug 3, 2008 at 6:15 pm

  3 August 2008

  Respect of the whip is a sad condition in many repressed societies. The lese majeste law, how it is perceived, accepted, reinforced and prolonged is an example.
  As to the silence by H.M., in fact he has been silent on most LM cases. The idea of free speech, however, IS a frightening spectre not only to possibly HM et. al but to many Thais who have been hypnotized into thinking that the universe revolves around Bangkok.
  HM and the rest of the Thai government have also not said much about that poor Thai noodle shop owner in San Francisco who was ganged up on by a bunch of holier-than-thous living in LA when they heard him say the king should have paid for the cost of the nullified election and not the EC itself. I am not sure whether the good Americans in LA and SF are aware of this infringement against the US constitution. Trying to take Thai LM into the US is a bit too much.

• 11 FreeThai // Aug 3, 2008 at 7:22 pm

  Hi Frank,
  we are a German language website about Thailand. Could you send us your manuscript about the LM-cases you were analyzing? We would like to use it within a German language article.

• 12 Frank G Anderson // Aug 3, 2008 at 8:35 pm

  3 August 2008
  Dear FreeThai:
  Please advise me of your email address directly at mine editorialoffice@thekoratpost.com.
  (Site admin - Is there a way to email commentators directly when they write like this, or do they need to be notified on this site as I have just done? Thanks.)
  I cannot send the entire manuscript as the book (est. 80,000 words) is still under draft and not all chapters are complete.
  I have some dozen lese majeste cases, however, that are being organized into a standard format for presentation in the book tentatively titled One Unlucky Guy, an account of uses and abuses of Thailand’s lese majeste law. 6 October 1976 plays a major role in the book.
  Please provide some guidelines about what exactly you are looking for, and I will attempt to accommodate you.
  Thanks for your interest.
  Best regards,
  Frank

• 13 Frank G Anderson // Aug 3, 2008 at 8:37 pm

  Re. Message 2:
  I am worried about the collateral damage of such a downfall on the one hand, and the many innocent people today and tomorrow being browbeaten by this unjust and unjustly applied law.

• 14 Nicholas Farrelly // Aug 3, 2008 at 9:01 pm

  Frank,

  At the moment the simplest way to swap contact information is via open threads. However we do, from time-to-time, facilitate more private contact between commentators who request it. In the future we may, of course, make changes to this system, and we are always open to suggestions for improvements.

  Best wishes to all,

  Nich

• 15 Frank G Anderson // Aug 9, 2008 at 11:03 am

  9 August 2008
  After a discussion last night with a long-time Thailand resident, held specifically re. the lese majeste issue and how it is/should be addressed, a suggestion came up - it had been lurking behind stage earlier but not been proposed specifically - for a central resource [online et. al] for LM, where information would be available for researchers and others involved in lese majeste, including ‘victims’ who are seeking advice and information on handling strategy in dealing with LM charges. Is the best defense a good offense? That is, should those accused/supporting accused have access to a ready-to-use closet packed with information, support form letters and so on, as well as access to other mechanisms that will lend support to their cases?
  Some organization would be needed to get this resource up and flying.
  As to its uses, ‘victims’ and researchers could access not just information but opt for approaches to take in their own defenses as well as to solicit assistance from outside, such as human rights organizations, in part through this central resource. As well, letters of concern could be sent to those actually filing the cases with the police, either expressing concern or accompanying, where possibly deemed appropriate, legal notices of pending charges to be filed against them for various civil or criminal acts ‘disguised’ behind lese majeste charges.

  There is also a question of whether or not lese majeste is always a political issue. It involves an arm of government - in Thailand, the head of state - and is instigated by another state agency - the Royal Thai Police. So should there be a centralized approach toward all LM cases to identify them as political?
  There are various nuances, of course. The Chotisak case, the Da Torpedo case, and others have particular types of ‘offenses’ and need different treatment in some ways, but is LM not entirely a political charge to begin with?

  These are just some ideas, but the idea is to start putting together a credible resource on the one hand and provide resources on the other to enable people to conduct meaningful defenses and to help bring about change in this area. Comments would be appreciated.

Leave a Comment