Chotisak Onsoong, a young political activist, was accused by police in April 2008 of insulting the monarchy for refusing to stand during the royal anthem that precedes all movie screenings in Thailand.
The U.S. State Department’s annual human rights report for 2008 mentions this case: “On April 5, police charged social activists Chotisak Ongsoong and Songkran Pongbunjan with lese majeste for not standing for the royal anthem in a movie theater in September 2007. They were released without bail; the case was under investigation at year’s end. On April 29 and 30, radio station Metro Life 97 urged listeners to attack Chotisak when he was scheduled to appear at a panel discussion on lese majeste at Thammasat University. The Web site component of the station also posted his personal information, including his address and telephone number.”
On 14 March 2009, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, in a talk he gave at Oxford University, in response to a question from Giles Ungpakorn, clearly stated, : “… I have been told that you made specific allegations against the monarchy. If not, of course the charges would be dropped. Just as the case of Chotisak that you mentioned has already been dropped. So you have to be specific on the fact to get the detail so that you don’t create misunderstanding.” However, Chotisak has stated that the charges have not been dropped (see Prachatai, 17 March 2009: “โชติศักดิ์เผยคดีไม่ยืนฯ อยู่ชั้นอัยการ ยังไม่ยุติอย่างที่นายกฯ บอก”). In June 2009, Chotisak’s case remained under investigation. It can only be concluded that Abhisit is wrong, misinformed or that he deliberately misled for political gain.
The case has now been delayed by the prosecutor several times. While the news on the case might now be limited, the threat of the case hanging on is sufficient to cause distress for the persons involved.
News on Chotisak Onsoong’s case:
Chotisak is profiled (along with others) in the Al Jazeera report program People & Power, 14 February 2009: “Thai law”. Also find it at AOL and YouTube.
AFP/NY Times, 24 April 2008, “Moviegoer Faces Prison for Sitting During Anthem”
Prachatai, 9 April 2008, “Thai couple faces lèse majesté charges for not standing for royal anthem in cinema”
7 Comments
March 17, 2009 at 7:19 pm
[...] is creating misunderstanding? Chotisak Onsoong, profiled here by PPT, has stated that the charges have not been dropped (see Prachatai, 17 March 2009: [...]
March 26, 2009 at 3:25 pm
[...] and government’s actions are at variance. Most notably, Abhisit has claimed that Chotisak Oonsoong’s case has been dropped and there has been no response to the well-documented response from Chotisak that [...]
July 28, 2009 at 3:59 am
[...] excuse for this dismissal was that Jitra wore a campaign T-shirt supporting Chotisak Onsoong who refused to stand up during the royal anthem in a cinema. The campaign T-shirt read: “Not [...]
October 22, 2009 at 8:48 am
[...] allegations and if there were no specific allegations the charges were dropped, like they were with Chotisak – first that BP has heard of the charges being dropped.Abhisit's then continues:Abhisit then [...]
October 22, 2009 at 1:28 pm
[...] Abhisit’s word or promise might have to be considered suspect given his previous failures such as commitments made regarding lese majeste cases. [...]
October 28, 2009 at 12:00 am
[...] of lese majeste accusations and action by her employer in 2008. A union activist and friend of Chotisak Onsoong, Jitra was fired by bosses at her clothing factory in August for appearing on a TV panel discussion [...]
December 4, 2009 at 2:44 pm
[...] before every film.” But he contradicts this immediatley, citing the case of the also charged Chotisak Onsoong who for “the past five years has not stood for the king’s [...]
Comments are closed.