Stamping out criticism of the monarchy
Readers may recall that one point in Abhisit Vejjajiva’s so-called reconciliation plan is protection of the monarchy. The Thai cabinet has now shown one of the mechanisms for stamping out online criticism of the monarchy.
A reader sent us a link to an AFP story that says the cabinet “approved the creation of a new cyber crime agency to stamp out online criticism of the revered monarchy.”
Already hard at work blocking tens of thousands of URLs, including PPT, the Abhisit regime is determined to enact even more censorship. The main task of the newly formed “Bureau of Prevention and Eradication of Computer Crime would be to protect the monarchy.”
A government spokesperson made the usual national security bleatings about the monarchy: “The monarchy is crucial for Thai national security because it is an institution that unifies the entire nation…”. This kind of droll statement is now synonymous with repression and censorship.
The state already has laws on lese majeste and computer crimes, now considered the most draconian in the world. But this new agaency is about setting up a network of spys and sleuths who can more effectively deal with political discussions of the monarchy.
Indeed, the monarchy is central to the current Abhisit regime’s security. The government is the palace’s government, backed by the indispensible military, driving Thailand to an authoritarian and Orwellian future.
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