Thai government creates agency to pursue lèse majesté violators online
Thailand's Cabinet approved on 15 June 2010 the creation of an online crime agency that will go after violators of the Kingdom's lèse majesté law, media reports said.
Agence France-Presse quoted the government as saying that the Bureau of Prevention and Eradication of Computer Crime was established to protect the royal family.
"The monarchy is crucial for Thai national security because it is an institution that unifies the entire nation," government spokesman Watchara Kanikar said.
Insulting the King or members of the royal family is a criminal offense in Thailand, carrying a 15-year prison term. Under Article 112 of the country's Criminal Law, anyone can file a lèse majesté complaint against anyone seen as having defamed the Kingdom's highly-revered monarch and the royal family.
The Computer Crime Act, a law enacted in 2007, carries a five-year prison term and a fine of THB100,000 for anyone found guilty of online defamation, including lèse majesté.
The formation of this new agency came at the heels of the months-long Red Shirt protest, its violent dispersal last month and the subsequent rioting in the capital.
The Thai government extended on 6 June 2010 the State of Emergency over Bangkok, empowering the Thai military to restore order and allow the government to impose curfews, ban public gatherings of more than five people, censor and ban media from disseminating news that 'causes panic.' According to a report by the Associated Press, the measure also "also allows security officials to detain suspects without charge for up to 30 days".
According to Chiranuch Premchaiporn, webmaster of the independent news website Prachatai, the CRES has announced it has shut down 2,200 websites deemed to be violating the Computer Crime Act since the State of Emergency was imposed in April this year.
Comments
Using the monarchy as an
Using the monarchy as an excuse to repress free speech amongst the people of Thailand is something that will lead people all over the world to have less respect for the government of Thailand and may even lead to them having less respect for the royal family
So that the reputation of the Thai royal family is not more damaged I urge the government and any other agencies and organisations in Thailand to immediately stop using protection of the monarchy as an excuse for repression of the people of Thailand.
I provide my translation of
I provide my translation of the English of the announcement setting up this new effort. Thais are no longer free. Sent in two pieces because of length.
ICT – Justice – Culture sign an MOU protecting the monarchy from cyber attack, disclose shutting down 43,000 monarchy-defaming websites, with three thousand more waiting orders to be closed. The new agency to open within three months. The people have to know what they are doing.
At 09:00 hrs. at the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Mr. Jut Kraireuk, minister, together with Mr. Phiraphan Saliratwiphak, Minister of Justice, and Mr. Niphit Inthornsombat, Minister of Culture, gave a joint press conference and signed a joint effort memorandum among the three ministries for protecting the monarchy, society and the people from threats from impact from communications technology and inappropriate communications.
Mr. Jut stated that at present inasmuch as threats to national security were being thwarted only by the military, there were still threats of magnitude against the monarchy dangers against security, the Justice Ministry had to provide oversight because it was deemed to be extremely close [to the king]. Which, therefore, the memorandum of joint cooperation was signed under the policy of prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, in order to give the three ministries and all agencies associated with relevant networks integrated operations to oversee, protect and prevent from occurring any threats to the institution of the monarchy. This includes following and apprehending any group to prevent legal wrongdoing such as behavior like gambling, and online pornography which are harmful to children and youth.
“We will have substantial resolutions for protecting and prevention. At the beginning there will be a joint with the Ministry of Justice to review resolutions related to security, the economy, and society, to jointly set up agencies to proceed with the tasks. In addition, there has already been cooperation among the three ministries to use the law and those joined together to carry out these duties,” the ICT Minister said.
Mr. Phiraphan stated that
Mr. Phiraphan stated that coordination of joint cooperation between the three ministries will result in quick results by overseeing threats to security. In any event, as to the Ministry of Justice in the past, there were orders to close 43,000 websites that defamed the monarchy, and there are another 3,000 awaiting to be closed after orders have been issued. As well groups are being continually apprehended that commit offenses related to the above. In this, I would like society to join together in realizing that the institution of the monarchy is different from institutions in foreign countries, whereby in Thailand the institution of the monarchy is included in one Thai legal provision under national security. Therefore it is necessary that information on the Internet be correct.
“The institution of the Thai monarchy is related to society and the Thai people in a form different from institutions in other countries, whereby in Thailand it is held that if there were no monarchy it is not known whether there would be any Thailand today or not. As such, the monarchy is held to be the most important institution in the nation. Therefore, there is a necessity to construct correct understanding among Thai people and foreigners because problems that occur on the Internet are not problems that occur just for children and young and society, but also pose extreme dangers that have to be quickly dealt with – that is, dangers to the security of the nation’s highest institution,” the Minister of Justice said.
Mr. Niphat said, “Affixing signatures to this joint memorandum will hold us to joint principles, that is, everyone has the same king. This, no matter what ideas may be in other matters which is a right of individual choice, in the matter of the monarchy everyone must have the duty to join in protecting it, whereby the Justice Ministry will integrate with others to enforce related laws. For example, there is the Film and Video Act of 2008, and prime ministerial regulations Creative Media and National Security Act of 2008, together with a strong network of more than one million persons of culture assisting. Regardless, the people should see results from the sighing of this joint MOU within three months, whereby the three government ministries will have the duty to proceed and produce indicators reflecting [the results of this effort.”]
The people shoving these
The people shoving these totalitarian, so-called lèse majesté laws down the nation's throat always knew themselves that it is a fraud, that they are using HM the King as a farmer would use a crowbar to gain leverage to move something otherwise immovable. That they have reified HM the King, made a "thing of him", denied him his humanity, in order to use him as their tool to crush their opposition. Now it must be apparent to everyone on earth who still has a pulse.
I accuse ministers Mr. Jut Kraireuk, Mr. Phiraphan Saliratwiphak, and Mr. Niphit Inthornsombat of lèse majesté of the most rank sort. They must be jailed immediately with no recourse for bail and their secret trials, which will result in prison sentences of not less than 15 years each, must be conducted as soon as possible, and they must be remanded to prison for their monstrous injuries to HM King Bhumipol Adulyadej.
Or better... I suggest that the government apologize to HM King Bhumipol for ignoring his explicit wishes and for wrongfully hounding his subjects in his name, thus diminishing the respect that people world-wide once had for Thailand and for the Thai monarchy, and that in accordance with HM King Bhumipol's wishes they rescind all lèse majesté laws immediately, that they dissolve the parliament, that they schedule an election as soon as possible in order to begin the real reconciliation process the country so desperately needs at this particular point in time, and that they seek the forgiveness of the Thai people for their endless massacres, recalcitrance, and impudence.