By Pravit Pravit Rojanaphruk, The Nation |
<p>Censorship was blatantly at work for all to see at Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) last Friday night when it abruptly cancelled the promised airing of the fifth and last episode of a much-anticipated debate on the monarchy.</p>
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<p>Thai PBS television channel decided to cancel the broadcast of the last programme of its talk show series discussing the issue of constitutional monarchy, after a group of about 20 ‘Thai patriots’ protested at the station on the evening of 15 March.</p>
By Pravit Rojanaphruk |
<p>Well-known Thammasat historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul said he was both surprised and appalled by the decision of police to forward his lese majeste police complaint case to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).</p>
By 112 Family Network |
<p>Dear President Obama,</p>
<p>On behalf of The Network of Family Members and People Affected by the Article 112 (called the 112 Family Network) and other joint organizations, I would like to welcome you to Thailand and would like to hand this letter to you and ask you to support us to raise our concerns to Thai government.</p>
<p>The police have decided to prosecute <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/category/somsak-jeamteerasakul">Somsak Jeamteerasakul</a>, a historian at Thammasat University, for lèse majesté, after the army lodged a <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/2510">complaint</a> against him over a year ago.</p>
<p>‘In the case of Ah Kong, all sides in Thai society have shown a lack of moral courage to do what is right. They have been concerned with their own status, positions and politics, and have done nothing. Ultimately, an ordinary old man has fallen victim, having to die away from his family’, said Somsak Jeamteerasakul, speaking to the crowd who attended the funeral of Amphon Tangnoppakul at Lad Prao Temple in Bangkok on 25 Aug.</p>
<p>Red shirts and democracy advocates should question Thaksin Shinawatra, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship and the Pheu Thai Party whether their priority is to bring Thaksin home or to help those red shirts who are in jail, said Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a Thammasat lecturer and political commentator, on his Facebook page.</p>
<p>Suraphot Thaweesak, a university lecturer and Prachatai columnist, has received a summons to report to the police in Roi Et province in the Northeast as a result of a local yellow shirt’s complaint against him for his comments on the Prachatai website.</p>
By Somsak Jeamteerasakul |
<p>The Crown Property Bureau (CPB) released its 2010 Annual Report (downloadable <a href="http://www.crownproperty.or.th/th/main.php">here</a>). The report’s postscript particularly challenges the report by Forbes magazine which claims His Majesty the King of Thailand is the richest monarch in the world. It is well known that Forbes’s asset appraisal includes “crown property” under the charge of the CPB. In essence, the postscript of the report says:</p>