Multiplication of inane lese-majeste cases, an australian who rots in jail since august (for a book he wrote… and 7 copies were sold), the revolting boat people scandal… that’s a little bit too much for Abhisit’s shoulders and for his government.
The image of Thailand is literally sinking.
So let’s hope that they will do the right thing, and send back Nicolaides to Australia.
This insanity has to stop.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith made the request in a letter to his Thai counterpart after Harry Nicolaides, 41, pleaded guilty this week to defaming the head of state, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and his son.
“Now that the legal processes before Thailand’s courts have concluded, Australian officials have advised Thai officials that the Australian government strongly supports Mr. Nicolaides’s pardon application,” Smith said in a statement. (Bloomberg)
The lèse majesté law, in the Criminal Code, Computer-Related Crimes Act and in the Printing Act should be repealed. Lèse majesté law does not serve Thai society and is only used by self-serving bureaucrats for political ends. Thai based Foreign Ministers should demand the unconditional release of all Thailand’s lèse majesté prisoners now.
Repealed ? That would be unlikely. But simply not used, that would be already a great victory.
This orwellian “Thoughtcrime” should be forgotten.
Most books, including Verisimilitude, develop little following until they are banned. Similarly, websites never become popular until they are blocked. Then everybody wants to read them! Before the censorship, who would even know about them or even stumble across them?
The censors’ plans always backfire but they keep banning books and blocking websites over and over again acting, in effect, like an advertising agency for banned content! (Maybe they’re some of the people should not be allowed to vote!)
World attention is certainly on Thailand with thousands of articles about Harry’s sentencing alone. Such world attention will shame Thailand into freeing Harry soon.
Harry may sell a lot of copies on his release (again printed in Thailand as the first 50 paid-for vanity copies?). If not Verisimilitude is now widely available to be read on the internet.
Harry was a pawn.
Re: “Multiplication of inane lese-majeste cases.”
Giles Ji Ungpakorn, who is a university lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, was formally charged with lese-majeste in Bangkok on Jan. 20th, 2009. He has 20 days to respond to the charges, then the Thai authorities will decide whether or not his case will be given to the Thai courts for prosecution. Ungpakorn has said he is being charged because of the contents of his book “A Coup for the Rich,” which points out the main reasons why the coup in Thailand two years ago happened.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji_Ungpakorn
News just in… German man arrested for lese majeste after sleeping during the anthem in a Bangkok cinema:
http://klongofconsciousness.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/dozing-german-arrested-for-lese-majeste/
Where did you get this ???? !!! I mean, it must be a joke, right ?
Yes it is a joke. A six-hopur stopover would not give him enough time to get through the Bangkok traffic let alone loiter long enough for a film.
No can do luvvie.
Bedwyr
Sorry ThaiCrisis, I decided to delete the post due to it’s sensitive content (I am in Thailand). If you would like to host the original story on your site you are welcome to do so. Just let me know and I’ll email it to you.
cheers.
Sure. With pleasure. But first, you need to tell us what are your sources. It sounds really like a story of NotTheNation (although it’s perfectly possible).