The Military-Monarchic Complex
In recent weeks, there has been a flurry of announcements of new government committees set up to monitor, censor and repress speech and dissent in Thailand (see here and here for recent analyses by PPT).
Perhaps more concerning than the involvement of the Ministry of Justice is the recent announcement of the active roles taken by some segments of the Army. According to an MCOT report summarized by Prachatai, commanders “must employ all their resources to monitor and suppress any offences against the monarchy, and work with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to block websites and prosecute those who are responsible.”
In Thailand, the line between prosecute and persecute is often perilously thin, as recent lesè majesté cases have shown. The linking of protecting the monarchy to national security is concerning — is it possible that at some point, the (meager) protections of the law might be withdrawn for those deemed to have offended the monarchy?
Read the entire Prachatai report here: 17 January 2010, “Army moves forward on the cyber front”
With every passing day, the situation in Thailand grows more sinister. We recommend reading 1984 by George Orwell, which just came out in a new Thai edition.
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