Targeting Facebook on anti-monarchism

About three weeks ago, it was reported that the regime’s No. 2 had ordered the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to crack down on “fake news.” We assume he got his orders from higher up because the DES immediately ordered dozens of URLs closed within 48 hours. Many of the sites were not really fake news sites, but gambling or pornography sites. But the real target anti-regime and anti-monarchy sites.

Three weeks later and not much has happened apart from the regime getting ever more twitchy, again suggesting that there’s very high-level pressure on them.

As Thai PBS has reported, the regime has resumed its battle with Facebook, over the content it still deceptively claims is “fake news” when they mean sites that provide information about the monarchy:

These accounts – all operated from overseas – are registered to Pavin Chachavalpongpun, his discussion page Royalist Marketplace – Talad Luang, Andrew MacGregor Marshall, Suda Rangkupan, Pixel Helper, DK Ning, Aum Neko, and Kon Thai UK. Several of the account owners are wanted in Thailand for lese majeste.

Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn is flustered, saying: “Despite negotiations, Facebook has refused to follow orders to block eight accounts. I will bring legal action against Facebook in Thailand and its headquarters…”.

He demanded that Facebook “show responsibility towards Thailand’s issues and comply with the country’s regulations, given the fact that Facebook has many users in the Kingdom.”

There’s two things to note here. First, the minister demands that the whole of Facebook follow royalist norms and the regime’s illegitimate use of draconian laws. In other words, he seems to be going beyond the usual demand for geo-blocking of popular anti-monarchy  sites. Second, he seems to be threatening Facebook with exclusion from the Thai market, which would require that the regime descend further down the Chinese road and come up with state-approved, state monitored social media platforms.

Rose on royalist fascists

The following is an edited version of a post received from Chatwadee Rose Amornpat:

Thailand’s notorious anti-democratic Rubbish Collection Organization was formed to hunt down those it considered disloyal to the monarchy.

The word “rubbish” here does not have the conventional meaning. It means anyone who disagrees with the monarchy and its associated arms and supporters.

The Rubbish Collection Organization (RCO) is expanding its targets. It is now hunting down opponents of the current military regime as well as those who oppose the royals and its monarchy. Countless number of democracy activists are now in jail throughout the country. It seeks to have political opponents jailed.

General Prayuth Chan-ocha often states that he has a “roadmap” to follow and that he will execute it step by step. One of the steps in his roadmap is to eradicate former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s remnants, which is code for all opponents.

To serve Prayuth’s goals, the RCO comes in handy. Thai authorities, acting on complaints from the RCO, have persuaded Facebook to close down Thai access to so many popular FB pages during the past years. For example, the popular “Suda Rangkupan” FB pages have been periodically shut down during the past months. Dr. Suda was the former professor of Linguistics at Chulalongkorn University who was forced to resign due to her democracy activism. She was asked to report to the military junta for their so-called “attitude adjustment.” She refused and chose to flee the country.

Another professor, Dr. Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at Kyoto University was summoned to report to the coup maker of May 22, 2014, at the urging of RCO.

The RCO came into being in April 2014, at the height of political chaos created by opponents of the democratically elected Pheu Thai government. The order to create the RCO is said to have come from General Surayud Chulanont, who headed one of the military-backed government in the wake of the 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra. Surayud is now the No. 2 man at the Privy Council after Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, which advises the ailing king.

Despite state blockages, Thais have continued to seek some information from the outside world, causing headaches for the monarchy and their network of royalists and elites. At the early stage of the internet in Thailand, those in power were not prepared for the impact of the free flow of information. Royalists underestimated the impact and influence of the medium.

The military junta has tried to control and block access to information. Thousands of websites, blogs and Facebook pages have been blocked by authorities.

With the country awaiting the death of the king and the passage of the throne to his son Vajiralongkorn, the military government has created one of the world’s tightest restrictive nets on the Internet. An unknown number of bloggers have been arrested on lèse majesté charges and the Computer Crimes Act.

Further, through the help of businessmen both in Thailand and the US, authorities reportedly ordered elaborate blocking and monitoring equipment from US companies, possibly illegal under US laws that specify that equipment will not be put in the hands of countries to be used to obstruct freedom of speech and expression.

It appears that the Thai government also broke a good-faith agreement with the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for sophisticated internet monitoring devices to be furnished to the Thai police to combat the flow of illegal drugs and narcotics. Instead, the equipment appears to have been used later in detecting IP addresses of those who may post “unfriendly” and/or unflattering comments about the royal family.

It was also reported that Thailand will implement a “Single Gateway” system for all the internet information to pass through, a system of tightest control and censorship which is similar to that of China and North Korea.

Because of the free flow of information and a real threat to the monarchy, General Suarayud asked his associate and retired major-general from the Thai Army, Rientong Nan-nah, to form the RCO, which gets its funding from royalists and the Army to hunt down people who it thinks are violating the lèse majesté law in the cyber world and to root out those who criticize members of the royal family.

Rientong Nan-nah and the RCO are the Thailand’s brown shirts.

To all the peace-loving people and nations of the world including the United States, the UK, Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and all the democratic countries, please help the Thai people resist this oppression and oppose Rientong and his fascist organization.

 

 

Rose on the lawless country with the king as head of state

Chatwadee Rose Amornpat is a Thai activist living abroad who has been accused and charged with lese majeste. She has sent the following article to PPT and we reproduce it as received, with a couple of links added:

With all the turmoil which is being waged in Thailand now, it is interesting to observe that one so-called “revered” institution, namely, the monarch and/or the monarchy, has not come out to stop the chaos and the daily arrests of unarmed and peaceful democracy activists and alleged lese majeste violators.

Thai royalists and the royal household often surreptitiously inform the local and foreign media that the king has no political power to do anything, but a quick glance at the current constitution reveals the opposite results.

Though the junta chief. Gen. Prayuth Chan-Ocha stated last May 22, 2014 after he successfully seized power from a democratically-elected government, that the constitution was then abrogated except “all the constitutional articles relating to the monarch and lese majeste law.” That is to say, the laws concerning the power of the king, his welfare and his protection through the barbaric and unjust lese majeste law would be left intact and enforceable.

It is very odd indeed. To me, now we do not have just one dictator but two dictators in the same country!

This is symbiotic relationships between the monarchy and the military, which have been going on for the past six decades, while the poor people of Thailand continue to suffer and their quality of life worsen. One can still see many poor children of Thailand selling garlands to drivers of cars on the busy and smoggy streets in Bangkok every morning. Such poor children should have been in school, not selling garlands or flowers to help their family! It pains me to see such a sight.

Symbiotic relationships, according to “thefreedictionary.com,” are a special type of interaction between species. Sometimes beneficial, sometimes harmful, these relationships are essential to many organisms and ecosystems, and they provide a balance that can only be achieved by working together.

Indeed I compare the Thai monarchy and military to low-class animals which are the lowest of the lows as they have done nothing good for the Thai people. The monarchy has always stayed intact while the general changes every 5 or 10 years during the past 19 coup d’ tates. Because of this fact, one can only see that with all the troubles happening in Thailand, we can only blame it at the top, the monarchy. This is the main character which never changes.

Here’s a look at the current laws relating to the monarchy which Gen. Prayuth left intact, though he abrogated the constitution when he seized power from the former PM Yingluck Sinawatra.

Section 3 of the Thai constitution states:
The sovereign power belongs to the Thai people. The King as Head of State shall exercise such power through the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the Courts in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
The above Section is not known to Westerners or even most Thais. It is like saying the car belongs to the people but only the king can drive the car. Or, the people own the gun but only the
king can pull the trigger. In both cases, the people have to do the maintenance and upkeep of the car and gun.

Section 8 of the Thai constitution states:
The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action.
This section means the Thai King is like God and no one can sue the King even if he commits robbery, blatant lies, mayhem or murders. Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code states:
No one can criticize the king and any member of his family, even if such criticisms are based on the truth.
This is called “lese majeste” and it carries a jail term of 3 to 15 years for each offense.

Section 10 states:
The King holds the position of Supreme Commander of the Thai Armed Forces.

Section 11 is:
The King has the prerogative to create titles and confer decorations.
Last Friday, June 19, 2015, Thai police arrested 14 students who had been protesting against the ruling junta, in defiance of a ban on public gatherings. These are young university students who are brave and full of democratic spirit. They just want nothing except the rights to express themselves freely on issues effecting their lives and future. They are now confined to a filthy and crowded Thai jail in Bangkok.

I urge the leaders of the civilized world and all the human rights organizations to put pressures on the Thai junta to release these students unconditionally.

The students took part in peaceful rallies calling for an end to military rule under the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The army commander-in-chief, Gen. Udomdej Seetabutr, publicly accused the 14 student activists of being backed by anti-government groups and claimed their actions could lead to disturbances and violence.

Additionally, Gen. Udomdej Seetabutr, who was hand-picked by the top royals to head the Army’s top brass, has indicated that a charge of lese majeste may be leveled on them, because these students may have gotten supports from anti-monarchy elements as well.

It is against the international norm that the Thai Army is designed to protect only the monarchy as opposed to protecting the country!

I can’t help but to draw the attention to another group of students who were arrested and charged with lese majeste law violations in 2014. These brave young people are university students with bright future but cut short by the military and the monarchy. Two were arrested and sentenced in jail while the rest of them had to leave their university study and are now in hiding or flee the country.

Patiwat Saraiyaem, 23, and Pornthip Munkong, 26, involved in producing a play called “The Wolf Bride” about a fictional monarch and his adviser. It was performed at the prestigeous Thammasat University in 2013 to mark the anniversary of a successful 1973 anti-dictatorship uprising led by students.

Their bail requests were repeatedly turned down by a Bangkok court. Both had pleaded guilty, a common practice in lese majeste cases in December 2014. Because failure to do so only means a 100% guilty verdict and a long jail term.

In announcing the verdict, a Bangkok Criminal Court judge said the play contained content that insulted and defamed the monarchy and was shown in front of a large number of spectators.

Keep in mind all Thai judges are approved and appointed by the king. Thus there is no chance of acquittal in any lese majeste case. Now all the lese majeste cases are being handled by the military court.

Now not even people who are suffering from mental illness are spared from lese majeste charge.

A man was sentenced to more than three years in jail last week under lese majeste law, a controversial royal defamation law, despite having a history of mental illness. Tanet Nonthakot, 45, from northeastern Phetchabun province, is the second person in the last few months suffering from mental health condition to be convicted under this barbaric law.

Not even a very friendly and mild-mannered editor of the prestigious on-line newspaper, Thai E-News, Somsak Pakdeedej, 36, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison for allowing an article deemed lese majeste to be published three years ago.

Since the coup on May 22, 2014, in addition to the hundreds and hundreds of intellectuals and democracy activists who are now serving long jail term, scores of free spirited academics have fled the country and are now living in exile in neighboring Laos and Cambodia. Thanks to the Internet, they are now waging a daily and weekly war in cyberspace against the military junta as well as the monarchy who is alleged to be the mastermind of all the messes including the 10 coups in Thailand.

Three distinguished individuals with whom I greatly admire and who have sacrificed all their life for equality, justice and democracy for Thailand:

Suda Rangkupan, in her 40’s, a Fullbright scholar and holder of a doctorate degree and university professor, chose to flee the country when she received a call from the military junta to report to their central command for the so-called “attitude adjustment.”

Dr. Rangkupan is a very courageous woman who has cared for the poor much more than herself. She has a long history of fighting for justice and equality. She is a champion for the poor. A woman with her impressive credentials, she could have easily enjoyed her life as a university professor, just as the rest of the complacent academics in universities throughout Thailand now.

Because of her democracy activism, after 13 years as a professor at Chulalornkorn University, she was forced to resign or fired by her department chief. Soon after that, a call from the junta, she informed me that she chose to flee the country and continues with her noble struggle for justice. She had been at the forefront of Thailand’s democracy movements. She is now waging a cyber war against the military junta and the monarchy. Her Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/sudarang ) receives thousands of views from her supporters, Thai and foreigners alike, from all over the world each day. Here’s Dr. Suda Rangkupan’s impressive resume.

Surachai Dangwathananusorn, aka, Surachai Sae Dang, in his mid 70’s. Surachai is considered a legendary democracy activist since the era of student uprising at Thammasart university in 1973 during the era of Gen. Thanom Kitikachon. He spent a total of 22 years in Thai jail for the alleged “encouraging uprisings against the military regimes.” He, too, chose to flee the country, because the military junta filed a lese majeste charge on him after the coup by Gen. Prayuth Chan-Ocha. He is considered the Nelson Mandela of Thailand. His weekly broadcast in YouTube is heard by his supporters all over the world.

Phisanu Phomsorn, aks “Anti” who was charged with lese majeste law violation for giving several speeches at Red Shirt’s political events. He, too, fled the country and is now living in exile at the border around Vietnam and Cambodia. His weekly program on Thai royalty and politics has been very popular among Thai audience in Northeast Thailand.

It is now becoming clearer and clearer that Thailand is being raped and governed by 2 types of thieves-in-uniforms which share a symbiotic relationship.

Under the so-called “Article 44” which gives unlimited power to the junta, they can just about do anything they so please from search anyone house or body without a warrant or jailing anyone on any minor charges. Now many lower ranking soldiers are behaving like hooligans extorting money from street vendors and retailers in up-country and big cities in open daylight with impunity.

The first type of thieves-in-uniform is the monarchy with the king dubbed as head of state who often wears decorative pins and trappings and occasionally wears uniforms similar to characters in ancient, Ramayana play, with head gears ancient hat for religious ceremonies. This type is only concerned about their stability and their vast wealth under the control of his investment arms, “Crown Property Bureau.” They tend to prolong their continued status qua and privileges and entitlement for generations to come.

The second thieves-in-uniform is the military, the generals, who benefit from their collusion with the monarchy for decades. Each top general has benefited from the yearly military budget and the allocation for purchases of arms. Each year, the budget gets increased by 10-20 percents even though Thailand has no wars or conflicts with her neighbors.

The top brass stands to benefit millions and millions of dollars or bahts in terms of commission.
This is a known fact among officials in the Thai Armed Forces.

Unless Thai people unite and demand the reorganization of the two institutions from the group floor and up, the chance of realizing a true democracy is probably next to nothing.

Last but not least, I hope that world leaders from the United States, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany and all the civilized nations which have commercial contacts or educational exchanges with Thailand continue to put pressures and bring about the human rights issue and the need to abolish their despicable lese majeste law once and for all.

Malaysiakini on Thailand’s lese majeste exiles

There have been several reports of late about Thailand’s lese majeste political exiles. One of these appeared in the influential Malaysiakini, written as a special report by Susan Loone. We felt it worth reproducing, with a few notes added and some clarifications:

Thai exiles want ‘free, democratic Thailand’

On Dec 1, several NGOs protested the visit of Thailand Prime Minister [they mean The Dictator and self-appointed premier] Prayuth Chan Ocha to Malaysia, in solidarity with the Thai exiles, who urged other countries Prayuth visits to follow the example of Malaysians in sending a strong message that they opposed the Thai military dictatorship.

Malaysiakini spoke to several Thai exiles, who expressed their desire to see a liberated Thailand in their lifetime.

One of them, Jakrapob Penkair, was a university professor and a TV journalist before devoting his time to politics in 2003.

During Thaksin Shinawatra’s rule, Jakrapob … was a Member of Parliament, representing Bangkok, besides being a minister in the Thai Prime Minister’s Office and a government spokesperson.

He helped formed the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) and was subsequently jailed for 12 days for his anti-military coup activities.

As a cabinet member, he was about to relinquish state powers when he was accused of lèse majesté, the law that punishes citizens for insulting the royalty.

Jakrapob left his beloved country on April 14, 2009 and has never since returned. And he has not never given up on his political beliefs either.

“We hope to undo the brainwashing of Thailand and to continue with the process of democratisation.

“We Thais have been led to believe that the King of Thailand can right all the wrongs and we need not have confidence in ourselves, but just to believe in him.

“No country can depend on one person, although one good leader can encourage several more people to move and shake,” Jakrapob told Malaysiakini in an interview recently.

He is proud and grateful that several Malaysian activists protested against Prayuth’s visit to Malaysia on Dec 1.

“You made it clear to the dictator of your disgust and disdain about him and his kind. We would like to express our appreciation to all of you.

“We understand that your internal struggle is no less tough and tiresome. We hope to be able to join forces for you as well,” he said.

Junya Lek Yimprasert is a Thai labour rights activist who fights and writes about exploitation at the bottom of supply chains.

After the massacre of civilians by military forces in Bangkok in May 2010, Junya wrote ‘Why I don’t love the King’ and was charged with lèse majesté.

She has, since July 2010, been living in Finland as a “political refugee”.

“The last straw that made me leave was after seeing many trade unions and NGOs become part of the royalists movement to kick out many elected governments since 2005.

“My last straw was seeing 40,000 military troops crackdown violently on the demonstrators, which caused some 100 people to be killed and nearly 2,000 injured,” she said in an interview with Malaysiakini.

‘Even those in exile face threats’

But being in exile does not guarantee freedom from violence or fear.

Junya … said the Thais who are living in exile from the military regime also face much threats, from both ultra royalists and the military, as well as imprisonment, without any chance to defend themselves.

“For me, being wanted by the Thai military junta as ‘a criminal and a treat to national security’ for my writings is something that hit me hard in terms of recognising that the road of struggle for democracy and freedom in Thailand will be long and with lots of obstacles,” she said.

Like many who live in exile, Junya is not happy to see Prayuth welcomed warmly in Malaysia by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

She then went on to call upon Malaysians to oppose the Thai junta and not allow Prayuth to poison the aspirations for freedom and democracy in her country.

“It’s important for Malaysia, for Thailand and for Asean as a whole that the people of Asean stay in solidarity to uphold the principle of freedom and democracy. The Thai people are very much in need of solidarity from you all to help us fight against the dictatorial military regime,” she said.

Suda Rangkupan was an assistant professor at the Department of Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, from 2000 to 2004 before she fled Thailand.

Suda was part of the well-known movement, “29 Jan 10,000 Liberate”, where 10,000 people called for amnesty for political prisoners.

She left Thailand after the coup, on May 22 last year, after realising that the Red Shirt Movement to oppose the military coup could not be pushed further at that time.

She does not accept the coup as the orders of its leader, Prayuth …, are “illegal and an act of rebellion”.

“However, I realise how brutal the Royal Thai Army, which took control of Thailand, is to the Red Shirts so I decided to leave Thailand, hoping that the least I can do as a free person is to tell the world that not all Thais surrender to this latest royal coup,” she said.

‘Prayuth is just a junta leader’

Suda does not understand how anyone can accept Prayuth as the leader of Thailand. “I would not call him prime minister, for he is just a junta leader,” she said.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University in Japan has been summoned twice by the Thai junta for his criticisms of the military.

“I rejected the call and as a consequence, the junta issued a warrant for my arrest. Shortly afterwards, my passport was revoked and this forced me to apply for refugee status with the Japanese government,” Pavin … said.

He now feels safe in Japan, for the government there looks after him well, he said. He has a permanent job, with a steady income and a sense of security.

“Hopefully, I will be granted refugee status in the future and this will allow me to travel legally, which is a important part of me as an academician, for I need to travel for my work.”

Pavin’s message to Prayuth, nevertheless, remains clear: “Return power to the Thai people immediately. Stop violating the people’s rights.

“The military must withdraw itself from politics; the military must also stop politicising the monarchy for its own political interests.”

The coordinator of the Organisation of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy, Jaran Ditapichai, said Thais who love freedom and democracy need moral and political support, notably from the international community, to stop the human rights violations the ruling junta carries out daily.

Jaran is currently in political asylum, under the juridicial and administrative protection of France.

“I have several good friends, both Europeans and Thais, who are keeping an eye over me.

“But the big problem is how to earn living in this country, where the cost of living is high,” said Jaran, who was a former adviser to a deputy prime minister and a former national human rights commissioner of Thailand.

The leader of the … United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship, which is also known as the Red Shirt Movement, is thankful to Malaysian politicians, human rights and democratic NGOs and the media that reported the protest against Prayuth during his visit to Malaysia.

“I hope friends of human rights and democracy in the other Asean countries will openly express their what they think of the Thai military leadership, like how the Malaysians have done,” Jaran added.

Updated: Democrat Party sinks to new low

How low can you go? How debased can a “political party” get? How ludicrous can Thailand’s (anti) Democrat Party become?

A report at the Bangkok Post suggests that the (anti) Democrat Party has sunk so low that it is now subterranean. For a party forever defined by its electoral defeats, hopeless leadership and other lows, its recent behavior is, quite simply, despicable.

Virat Kullayasiri of the party’s “legal team” has requested, indeed pleaded, for the military dictatorship “to file lese majeste charge against a red-shirt activist for wearing black in the ‘auspicious month’ of December.”

Normal people in most of the world will need a “translation” of this nonsense. December is the birth month of Thailand’s ailing and aged monarch and the country’s military dictator declared that everyone in the country should wear the king’s birth color – yellow – this month to “celebrate” the dying king. As would be expected of a royalist dictator, this was also a political statement.

Why a political party with a the word “democrat” in its name should take up a dictator’s call says much about the debasement of the failed royalist party.

This despicable lot claim that when “Suda Rangkupan posted with photos on her Facebook she was dressing black this month ‘in memory of the FRA case’ even though December is the auspicious month when Thais wear yellow to extend best wishes to … the King…”.

Suda is a former Chulalongkorn University lecturer and leader of the Declaration of Justice group that seeks the release of political prisoners, including some held on lese majeste convictions.

The loathsome Virat said her choice of clothing was a “in breach of Section 112 of the criminal code…”.

Khaosod reports that “Suda was referring to the case involving the Financial Sector Restructuring Authority, set up to clean up bad debts after years of reckless lending that culminated in the flotation of the baht and, subsequently, the 1997 financial crisis.”

The FRA was set up just before the Democrat Party was able to gain government (as usual, without an election) and sold “bad debts” for less than a third of their value [downloads a PDF], mostly to foreign financial firms, some of which had local branches controlled by Democrat Party members.

A case based on the FRA “was submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission and its statute of limitations ended on Nov 30, 2014 without action from the NACC.”

As readers will know, the NACC is a hopelessly politicized agency that spends most of its time trying to bring down parties and people it considers opposed to the current social, political and economic order.

The (anti) Democrat Party considers Suda’s actions an attack accused of its role since it led a government which auctioned off the bad assets. It is reported that the “party … would [also] press libel charges against Ms Suda for accusing it of ‘selling the nation’ for its role involving the FRA.”

Just to add to its lese majeste spite, the (anti) Democrat Party demanded that the Defense Ministry “take action against Weerawat Valaisathien, a son of former commerce minister Suwan. Mr Weerawat was charged with lese majeste by his estranged ex-wife but police dropped the case for lack of enough evidence.”

The (anti) Democrat Party is aware that it has no political future except by making itself hyper-royalist and a by trying to have the military support it (again).

Update: More on the disgraced Democrat Party at Prachatai.

Amnesty and red shirts

Red shirt protesters led by Suda Rangkupan have recently protested the lese majeste sentencing of Somyos Prueksakasemsuk. Now this group has pressured the government on an amnesty for all political prisoners.

The Bangkok Post reports that the government “averted a protracted protest by a red shirt-affiliated group by agreeing to consider an amnesty for political offenders.”

A report in The Nation observes that the group stated that:

… the ruling politicians and red-shirt leadership had made no sincere effort to “return justice to the political prisoners, although the power that you gained directly resulted from the fight of the red-shirt people”. They also urged the government to pass the constitutional amendment proposed by the Nitirat group of academics that is said to offer a general amnesty to settle the political conflict.

After refusing to let Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung off the hook and refused to accept his golden tongue blarney, the group managed to get the government to agree to process the amnesty.

While Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra prevaricated and set out a bureaucratic procedure for the consideration  of amnesty that may eventually sink it, that some red shirts have decided to pressure the government is significant.

That the official UDD is also promoting amnesty suggests that blarney and prevarication may not be a useful long-term political strategy for much longer. Amnesty may at last be on the agenda for political prisoners.