Lese majeste row escalates with new controversy

Accusing the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand board members of lese majeste will bring even greater international scrutiny to Thailand's lese majeste laws, writes Achara Ashayagachat

The Bangkok Post
Monday, July 6, 2009

By Achara Ashayagachat

No sooner had the controversy over application of lese majeste-related laws under the Criminal Code and the Cyber Act subsided after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva pledged to review the exaggerated use of the stipulations than a new one cropped up, this time involving foreign media personnel.

Last week, a translator and critic of ousted and convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra accused the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) board of committing lese majeste by selling DVD copies of the speech by then PM's Office minister Jakrapob Penkair at the club back in 2007.

Mr Jakrapob was charged by the police with lese majeste for that speech. The complaint has caused a stir not only in the international community but among Thai activists as well.

The 13-member board comprises three British nationals, including the BBC's Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head, three American nationals, including two working for Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, an Australian national, and a Thai news reader for Channel 3, Karuna Buakamsri. Mr Head has already been accused of violating the lese majeste law.

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) stressed that this development underscored the persistent and continuing threat that lese majeste provisions in the criminal law pose for press freedom and free expression in Thailand.

"All journalists -- both foreign and Thai -- should be troubled by what is ultimately an attempt to harass the entire media community in Thailand. Lese majeste provisions in Thai laws must be reviewed by legislators and leadership for the ease by which they can be used to stifle free speech and harass the media in the country," Seapa executive director Roby Alampay said.

Thanapol Eawsakul, editor of Fah Diew Kan (Same Sky) magazine, said it was an alarming development as any follow-up actions by the police will create an atmosphere of fear and doubt which eventually will not put the institution in a positive light.

"Mr Jakrapob's case has not yet been concluded [the charge is pending approval by the Attorney-General's Office]. It is as though people have judged him as being convicted already and anything related to him can be considered wrong. This is a bizarre attitude," said Mr Thanapol, who has faced a lese majeste-related inquiry himself.

The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) immediately expressed its deepest concern regarding the increased use of the lese majeste law in Thailand as it had already drawn the attention of Thai authorities to restrictions to the right to freedom of expression and to the political implications of the abusive use of the legislation in an eight-page statement issued on June 29.

The organisation issued the note following two research visits to Bangkok in February and May during which FIDH teams met with representatives of civil society, academics, activists and human rights associations, as well as Thai authorities, in particular members of the National Human Rights Commission and high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Justice.

Their concern regarding the abusive use of Article 112 of the Penal Code, in particular the filing of complaints by any Thai citizen rather than by the wronged person, is shared by many academics and lawyers including royalists who said at the first-ever seminar on lese majeste law at Thammasat University in March that the more lawsuits or inquiries are filed, the more tarnished the monarchy could become.

The FIDH has also called on the government to reform the legislation on lese majeste crimes to conform with international human rights standards and principles.

"In this sense, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights [in Strasbourg] would be an interesting example of how several legal systems face the problem of defamation of monarchs," the FIDH stated.

According to the court, common defamation laws suffice to protect heads of state from remarks that damage their honour or reputation or are insulting.

The FIDH also drew the attention of the Thai judiciary to the danger that closed trials represent in respect of guarantees of an individual's rights during judicial processes that do not have public scrutiny.

A similar concern expressed by Amnesty International on the closed trial last month of Darunee Charnchoengsilpakul (whose pen name is Da Torpedo) -- a pro-Thaksin activist -- was met with a fierce response from the Foreign Ministry.

The ministry said that under Section 177 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the judge has discretion in deciding to hold closed trials in certain cases if they are deemed to involve sensitive matters in the interest of public order, good morals or national security, which is consistent with international law (Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) and not dissimilar to practices in other countries.

With this new case, Prime Minister Abhisit will be under scrutiny as to how his discussions with police leaders some months ago on ways abuses of the lese majeste law can be curbed from frivolous use and political self-interest will be realised.

Date Posted: 7/6/2009