Foreign web host company 'snitched' lese majeste critic to Thai authorities
By Saksith Saiyasombut
Earlier this month, the United States has expressed "disappointment" over the prosecution of Joe Gordon, a naturalized US citizen from Thailand who was arrested in May and charged with lèse majesté. Gordon has allegedly linked to the book "The King Never Smiles", an unauthorized and banned biography on Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej and posted translated parts on his blog back in 2007.
The technology website Ars Technica noq has a piece about another Thai-turned-US citizen who ran into trouble with Thailand's draconian lèse majesté law:
In May 2006, Anthony Chai, a naturalized United States citizen from Thailand, took a flight back to the land of his birth to catch up with relatives and friends. He visited his nieces and nephews and spent some time at the resort town of Hua Hin.
But according to a new lawsuit, when Chai tried to return to California via Bangkok airport, he was stopped by a quintet of security agents. Employed by Thailand's Department of Special Investigation, they informed him that they had a warrant for his arrest for committing an act of lèse majesté—a public statement that supposedly violates the "dignity" of a ruler. (...)
The DPI [sic] officers took Chai to an interrogation center and allegedly deprived him of food, water, and sleep until 3.30am while barraging him with accusations and threats. "I know where your relatives live in Bangkok and California," Chai says that one policeman told him. "If you want them to live in peace, you must cooperate."
"Thai censorship critic strikes back at snitch Web host", Ars Technica, August 29, 2011
Just a reminder: this took place in May 2006, back when the numbers for lèse majesté cases were by far not as high as they were today! The article goes on to describe the interrogation, including that Chai allegedly had to hand over passwords and e-mail addresses so the officers could access his confiscated laptop.
At one point during the interrogation, Chai was presented with a document that revealed the e-mail addresses that he and an associate had used to post comments to manusaya.com. (...)
Did Anthony Chai even make statements against the Thai monarchy? No. Using an anonymous e-mail address, he had posted comments critical of Thailand's lèse majesté law to the website www.manusaya.com (...) The site was eventually shut down by its Canadian host, Netfirms, at the request the Thai government.
"Thai censorship critic strikes back at snitch Web host", Ars Technica, August 29, 2011
This shows the problem of the ambiguously worded lèse majesté law, which states "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years" - without saying though what actually constitutes defamation or insult, criticizing the law itself doesn't seem to fit it.
The fact that Chai could be charged for something he did outside the Kingdom is thanks to the Section 17 of the Computer Crimes Act that basically states anyone, Thai or not, can be charged under this law no matter from where the offense was committed.
The Ars Technica article then highlights a rather strange and blatantly impudent acts of a Thai police Colonel personally showing up in California to meet Chai - that has to be read in its entirety...
So, how did the Thai authorities found out about him...?
But Netfirms didn't just close the site, say Chai and his attorneys.
"Sometime before May 2006, also at the request of Thai officials, Netfirms.com provided Mr. Chai's IP address and the two e-mail addresses associated with that IP address," Chai's complaint charges, "without Mr. Chai's knowledge or consent." In addition, the Canadian company allegedly handed over this data without requesting a court order, subpoena, or warrant from Thai authorities, and without contacting the US State Department for guidance.
"Thai censorship critic strikes back at snitch Web host", Ars Technica, August 29, 2011
This procedure mirrors Yahoo!'s outing of Chinese cyber dissidents over the last several years. What differs in Chai's case though is that Netfirms is not based in Thailand and did not need to appease the Thai government by making amends with their internet services - so it seems quite strange why this Candian company was so willing to snitch him to Thai authorities without any kind of documentation.
This is why Chai is now, with the help of the World Organization for Human Rights, suing Netfirms $75,000 in damages. It will be interesting to see how this court case will turn out, since this is the first time (at least to my knowledge) that a foreign internet firm has actively assisted Thai authorities with the prosecution of alleged lèse majesté offenders.
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
Thailand's 'beer-heiress' supports crackdown on anti-monarchy websites
Originally published at Siam Voices on August 22, 2o11
Some readers may remember a certain Miss Chitpas Bhirombhakdi, the daughter of Chutinant Bhirombhakdi, executive vice-president of Singha Corporation and thus often-referred to as the "Singha-heiress". We have previously reported on her and and her campaign for MP during the run-up to the elections, which she lost in her constituency. But she seems to already have a new job post-election and is already making her mark:
The Democrat Party is urging the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to act quickly on closing down websites insulting the monarchy.
Deputy Democrat Spokesperson Ms. Jitpas Pirompakdi has expressed her gratitude towards ICT Minister Group Captain Anudith Nakornthap for taking a serious clampdown on any websites displaying content to insult the monarchy as there are quite a number of them at present.
According to her, disrespectful contents are widespread in social media, cyber space, as well as television and radio programs, and this has raised the question as to where webmasters receive the financial support from. She insisted that she had no intention to intervene in the work of the ICT and she would support their mission. She urged the public to report to authorities if they had seen such websites via email: yeswecan5555 [at] gmail.com
"ICT to close down more websites insulting the monarchy", National News Bureau of Thailand, August 20, 2011
Nevermind the different spelling, Ms. Chitpas Bhirombhakdi is now indeed deputy spokeswoman for the Democrat Party. And while a spokesperson is primarily there to tout the party's line, which is without a doubt a very difficult one to take a different side on, she made sure to also add in a little bit of herself into this statement. Here's from the official website of the Democrat Party:
“สมัยที่ทำงานในกระทรวงกระทรวงเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร ได้เคร่งครัดดูแลเรื่องนี้อย่างสม่ำเสมอ พร้อมทั้งได้ดำเนินการภายใต้กรอบกฎหมายของประเทศไทย ตนเชื่อว่าคนไทยทุกคน ไม่ต้องการเห็นสถาบันสูงสุด ถูกใส่ร้าย โจมตี ในข้อมูลอันเป็นเท็จ และไม่เป็นธรรม” นางสาวจิตภัส กล่าวและว่า วันนี้พรรคประชาธิปัตย์ ขอเป็นกำลังใจให้ รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร (ไอซีที) ให้หนักแน่น และดำเนินการกับกระบวนเว็ปไซต์หมิ่นสถาบันอย่างจริงจัง และขอประชาสัมพันธ์ไปยังคนไทยทุกคน หากพบเห็นการกระบวนเว็ปไซต์หมิ่นสถาบัน สามารถแจ้งมาได้ที่ yesmecan5555 [at] gmail.com
"When I worked at the MICT, I eagerly took responsibility over this matter [regularly] [by] enforcing under the legal framework of this country. I believe, no Thai should see harm done to the highest institution by wrong and insidious information," Ms Chitapas said, "today, the Democrat Party wishes to express their great gratitude to the Minister of ICT for his mission to clampdown on websites insulting the monarchy. We want ask to all Thais if they come across any websites that are insulting to the royal institution, they can inform at: yesmecan5555 [at] gmail.com*"
"“จิตภัส” ให้กำลังใจ รมว.ไอซีที ดำเนินจริงจังและเด็ดขาด กับกระบวนการหมิ่นสถาบัน", Democrat Party, August 20, 2011 - translation by me
Chitapas has worked as a secretary at the MICT in 2009 (see here again), I do doubt however that she already took charge over such a high profile task. She refers to a statement of the new Minister of the ICT Captain Anudith Nakornthap (as previously reported), who said that his ministry will be even more vigilant pursuing anti-monarchy offenders and punish with the full force of the law - practically breaking nearly all hopes that the new government will reform the draconian Article 112 of the Crminal Code and the equally controversial Computer Crimes Act, which undoubtedly has been used in the past to silence political opponents or simply those challenging the official narrative.
Even though Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra publicly stated she wants to see the misuse of this law reduced and will review it, it remains to be seen if the new government will do anything about it without being branded by their enemies as anti-monarchy, thus eliminating desperately needed rational discussion about the state and the future of the royal institution.
*P.S.: Anybody noticed the two different, equally unprofessional looking email addresses to denounce incriminate inform anti-monarchy websites?
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
Can the new Thai Foreign Minister actually speak English?
Originally published at Siam Voices on August 18, 2011 Surapong Towijakchaikul is not somebody to be jealous of for his job right now. The new Thai foreign minister is being criticized from all possible sides, much for him being simply unqualified because he lacks diplomatic background* and he's just there to help Thaksin getting into more countries again.
And now we have this shocking revelation by Spring News TV reporter Techawat Sukrak (เตชะวัฒน์ สุขรักษ์):
มีเรื่องฮาเมื่อรมต.ตปท.แถลงข่าว ต้องให้จนท.เป็นล่ามแปลเพื่อตอบคำถามต่อสื่อต่างประเทศ ทำเอาสื่อไทยงง!!รมต.ต่างประเทศฟัง-พูดอังกฤษไม่ได้เหรอ
Funny story: During a press conference, the FM [foreign minister] had this staff translating the answer to a question from foreign media, which confused the Thai reporters!! Can't the foreign minister understand and speak English?!
Tweet by @TOM_SPRINGNEWS at 16:28h, August 17, 2011 - translation by me
Well, can he speak English at all?
First off, his official bio states that he has a Master's degree and PhD in engineering from Youngstown State University and University of Akron respectively, both located in the US state of Ohio. Second, if Surapong is supposedly not capable of speaking and understanding, how then did he manage to do a whole interview in English with Anasuya Sanyal of Channel News Asia** (which was quite candid by the way)?
It is one thing to have somebody translating, especially if you're unsure of saying the right words since Surapong is allegedly, you know, not qualified enough to be a diplomat and thus speaking diplomatically. But it is an entirely different thing if somebody in his position being absolutely incapable of speaking and understanding the English language - like German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle (you know, the guy who let Thaksin back in) for example, who outright refused to answer a question in English from a BBC reporter right after the last elections in 2009, saying that "since it is common in the United Kingdom to speak English, it is common to speak German here in Germany," - now that's top-notch statesmanship right from the get-go...!
*One could argue that the last foreign minister Kasit Piromya has the best background as a former ambassador to Germany and Japan - but we all know better what happened to Thai foreign policy...!
**Anasuya confirmed on Twitter that the interview was entirely conducted in English
h/t to fellow Siam Voices contributor Panuwat Panduprasert
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
As opposition against Thailand's lese majeste law continues, it claims another victim
Originally published at Siam Voices on August 16, 2011 Earlier this month, a 23-year old graduate from the Kasetsart University has been arrested for allegedly posting content on his blog that is deemed insulting to the monarchy - also known as lèse majesté. Prachatai and The Nation's Pravit Rojanaphruk (and unsurprisingly no one else) with the details:
The person who filed the charge was said to be a vice rector for students affairs, who reportedly said he was pressed to file the charge by the University Council and that the complaint was filed in a bid to protect the university's "reputation". (...)
The man made remarks on his blog that were allegedly offensive to the monarchy while he was a senior student at the university. These were apparently first spotted by fellow students, prachatai.com reported.
He faces charges both under the lese majeste law, which carries a maximum 15-year jail term, and the Computer Crimes Act, which has punishment of up to five years in jail.
"Student held for alleged lese majeste", The Nation, August 7, 2011
Meanwhile, Prachatai reports that he has been released on bail. This student, whose name and picture has been widely published, is another victim of Thailand's infamous Article 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as lèse majesté. In recent years, this law has been excessively abused, the number of such cases has skyrocketed from just a few cases in 2006 to almost 500 in 2010 and, in conjunction with the equally controversial 2007 Computer Crimes Act (CCA), thousands of websites have been shut down. On the other hand, due to the volatile political atmosphere in Thailand, it has enabled an excessive witch-hunt, as detailed here:
[Name of accused] was apparently 'witch hunted' by a Facebook group calling itself the Social Sanction (SS) group, according to his father. His name, photos, personal address and numbers were posted online, and he was heavily criticised by members of the SS group. (...)
Sawitree Suksri, a law lecturer at Thammasat University, described the SS group's method as "vicious" and "irrational" and a form of online violence that parallels the real-life violence in Thailand. She also noted in a signed article that the ongoing Social Sanction phenomenon appeared to have the support of the Thai authorities.
"THAILAND: Student blogger charged with lèse majesté", University World News, August 13, 2011
As charges for lèse majesté grow in numbers, so does the resistance against this law. We have previously reported about an open letter by a group of 100 young writers calling to amend this law and stop its excessive abuse. This group has now grown to 359 writers and they also have published a new open letter, key excerpt:
We hereby appeal to the Members of the Thai Parliament who are the representatives and law makers for the Thai people to take the lead in amending Article 112 of the Criminal Code. This is our call for courage to politicians, academicians, the media and intellectuals from all sectors of Thai society to awaken their conscience and to recognize that the suppression of freedom of speech and expression through the misuse of Article 112 by means of physical threats, pressing charges, lawsuits and intimidation by government officials in power or among members of the Thai public including the mass media, is a grave danger to the stability of our nation. This is of utmost national concern and in urgent need of reform.
A society will fail not as a result of diversity of opinions, nor lack of solidarity in political discourse, but a society will fail due to its inability to respect basic human rights, to allow opportunities for the public to voice their opinions, and to cherish and learn from the constructive exchange of different points of view. For our society to progress and prosper, it must develop a spirit of cooperation and cultivatean understanding of human rights, freedom and equality. The goal is for all Thais to live harmoniously under the constitutional monarchy rather than privilege those few who hold their view supreme, above and untouchable by common law and legal provisions or even the constitution which governs the nation.
"359 Thai Writers Manifesto", via Prachatai, July 25, 2011
The numerous cases show the problem about how this law is applied. In theory, anybody can file such a complaint at the police, who are obliged to investigate everyone of them, no matter how nonsensical they are. They can forward them to the prosecution and subsequently to the court which then has to decide on the very ambiguously worded law as well. Throw in the also very vague 2007 Computer Crimes Act (which was at one time planned to be replaced by an even worse new draft), then you are in a very (perhaps deliberately) unchartered legal territory - as the trail against Prachatai webmaster Chrianuch Premchaiporn has shown.
Many have laid their expectations on the new government to change something about this. But hopes for a quick solution to the problem were quickly dashed when the new prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that she has no intention to amend Article 112, but does not want see this law misused. Any administration even thinking publicly about reforming or changing this problem will have to face attacks by royalists who will brand them anti-monarchist, a severe accusation which is a killer argument that prevents any rational discussion about possible political and societal reforms.
Even worse, the new Minister for Communication and Technology (MICT) Captain Anudith Nakornthap of the Pheu Thai Party has gone on record declaring this:
(...) นับจากนี้ไป จะมีการกำชับให้ข้าราชการ และเจ้าหน้าที่ของกระทรวง ในทุกระดับ มีการเข้มงวดมากยิ่งขึ้น ในการกำกับดูแลปราบปรามการกระทำผิด พ.ร.บ.เกี่ยวกับคอมพิวเตอร์ และการหมิ่นสถาบันผ่านเว็บไซต์ต่างๆ โดยจะดำเนินการบังคับใช้กฎหมายอย่างเด็ดขาด
(...) from now on, the ministry's officials and staff members of every level have been urged to be more stringent in the pursuing of violations against the Computer Crimes Act and lèse majesté on websites, by enforcing the law to the fullest.
"รมว.ไอซีทีประกาศปราบเว็บหมิ่น ก่อนประเด็นลามถึงในเฟซบุ๊ก เจ้าตัวย้ำจะบังคับใช้กม.อย่างเป็นธรรม", Matichon, August 13, 2011
The new MICT minister made clear that nothing will change about the status quo, which means a continuation of the online witch-hunt, with support from a state-sponsored volunteer 'cyber-scout' network of denunciators and like-minded people who act on anticipatory obedience (see this link again for the aforementioned Social Sanction group and how students feel intimidated to speak their mind). All that in an atmosphere of when the army feels the urge to overemphasize their loyalty to the royal institution and openly threatens to crackdown on lèse majesté offenders. It sets a dangerous precedent of a black-and-white dichotomy against the Thai people, who think out of the norm.
It will be a long process until those who claim to protect the institution see that they are doing more harm than good in the long-run. One of the country's most outspoken social activist Sulak Sivaraksa was recently quoted in an foreign newspaper interview that "loyalty demands dissent. Without dissent you cannot be a free man, you see." Ironically, due to the same legal reasons as discussed here, I cannot provide a link to the source of that quote...!
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
Now Germany and soon Japan: More countries let Thaksin back in
Originally published at Siam Voices on August 15, 2011 We all know Thailand's ex-prime minister and on-the-run fugitive, Thaksin Shinawatra, is pretty busy traveling the world ever since he's out of Thailand. When he's not at his new home base in Dubai, he mostly goes on business trips, for example in Uganda. But the list of countries he can visit has kind of shrunk, despite his new citizenship of Montenegro and his Nicaraguan diplomatic passport. For example, when Thaksin sneaked into Germany and got a permanent residence permit in late 2008, the European country had thrown him out after they have found out about it a few months later.
It is now Germany again, who has recently revoked the entry ban for Thaksin (see previous coverage here), thanks to heavy lobbying by German conservative MPs and officially to the new political “situation in Thailand”, which of course enraged chief Thaksin-hunter Thai foreign minister, Kasit Piromya, on his last days. Well, he might want to cool down now because he won't like what the Thai media have reported recently.
Matichon and Khao Sod have reported that Thaksin recently has made a trip to Germany and met Thai expat red shirts supporters there, both referring to the website "Thai Red EU" (caution: the website is overloaded with several audio livestreams going off at the same time!). According to the website, Thaksin visited Munich on August 5, on the same day that Yingluck was voted in as prime minister in parliament.
A few days later, on August 9, Thaksin arrived in Hamburg via his personal jet before he met with 'officials of the UDD EU' organization. Thaksin then attended a red shirt meeting at Wat Buddhabharami, a local Thai Buddhist temple, where a religious memorial service was held for the victims of last year's protests. In a speech after the service, he expressed delight to meet "so many Thais at once" and demanded his supporters to remain "patient" about "seeking justice". He was later seen at a Thai restaurant, dining with fellow red shirts and red organizers from many European countries such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France and Finland. Thaksin then left Hamburg after having spent about five hours in the North-German city. (Source: YouTube video 1, video 2)
Hamburg has a well-organized group of red shirts and it is quite possibly the center of the movement in Germany. The people behind have apparently good connections to Thaksin and are also well-connected to other red shirts all over Europe (although the total number of any group has not been verified yet), as seen during their rally on the eve of the anniversary of the military coup of 2006. What is also striking is that the German red shirts have a heavy focus on Thaksin as their personal champion. When comparing the red shirt rallies worldwide on September 19, 2010, you'll see that only the rally in Hamburg has references to the former prime minister - let alone a phone-in by him.
Thaksin has also previously entered Finland in mid-July. Reporters of the Helsink-based Helsingin Sanomat have spotted Thaksin during a private shopping trip in the Finish capital and quoted him praising the Scandinavian country and to have come for "over the tenth time." Finland is part of the Schengen Agreement, which does away with the internal border controls for most of continental Europe. Friends of the infamous Finland Conspiracy will take notice of this.
In related news, the Japanese government has reportedly granted Thaksin a special entry permit. Thaksin hopes to visit the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami later this month, since he has donated an unspecified sum for disaster relief. This comes after the new Thai foreign minister, Surapong Towijakchaikul, had politely addressed the Japanese ambassador to Thailand, whether or not Thaksin could be let in to Japan - to which the ambassador asked if Thailand would mind. It also coincides with reports from Japan that its lawmakers have expressed their wish to let Thaksin in, even having met the former prime minister before last year - see something similar here?
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
Thai govt pays €38m to Walter Bau, gets royal plane back
Originally published at Siam Voices on August 10, 2011 Bangkok Post reported on Tuesday night:
A court in Germany has released the Boeing 737 seized from HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Tuesday.
Mr Abhisit told reporters the government has posted the full 38 million euros demanded by Walter Bau company in an account to be controlled by the German court.
As a result, the court released the jet. Terms of the agreement were unclear, as was the role of Mr Abhisit.
The government used public money for the deal. (...)
"Germany 'releases royal jet'", Bangkok Post, August 9, 2011
AP's take:
A Munich airport official confirmed that German authorities on Tuesday had released the plane used by the Thai crown prince. "It has been released, he just has to tell the airport when he would like to fly," Edgar Engert, a spokesman for the airport, told The Associated Press.
"Thailand post German bond to free prince's plane", Associated Press, August 10, 2011
This is quite yet another intriguing turn of events, which probably ends an awkward spat between Thailand and Germany, that started almost a month ago over an issue that dates back even further, when a German construction firm built a tollway to Bangkok's old international airport in Don Muang in a jointventure with the Thai government. The Thai government has broken several contractual obligations, including toll hikes and not building other roads that would compete with the tollway.
This German construction firm later merged with Walter Bau AG, another German construction firm that went bankrupt in 2005 - it was then when liquidator Werner Schneider found the old contract and demanded compensation from the Thai government. An international arbitration court ruled against Thailand in 2009 and ordered them to pay €30m ($42m or THB 1,2bn) - which has grown to almost €38m thanks to interests and the Thai government simply ignoring the order for years.
That's when Werner Schneider had enough, decided to up the ante against the Thai government and seeked to impound the Boeing 737 of Thai Crown HRH Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. That set off a bilateral spat in which Thailand, partly thanks to the confusing domestic media coverage, but also active disinformation and an apparent failure to distinguish a German court from the German government, had a weak case on their hands in not only trying to release the plane, but also fight against the order to pay the hefty sum to WalterBau AG.
The main legal battle focussed on whether or not the royal 737 plane is owned by the Thai government or is personal property of the Crown Prince. A German court has then decided to release the plane only for a €20m ($28.4 or THB 851m) deposit, which still kinda led some Thai news outlets to believe that the plane is actually freed, since there has been no verdict on the ownership status, which was supposed to take place later this August at a German court.
The lastest developments (which were also the last acts of the now former Thai government of Abhisit Vejjajiva and then-foreign minister Kasit Piromya) consisted of who was going to pay. Of course, it started off with Kasit refusing to pay the deposit, the Crown Prince then announced to pay from his own fund, to which Kasit was suddenly ready to flip the bill so the Crown Prince doesn't have to until Abhisit overruled him and said no - as summarized here by Bangkok Pundit.
Now apparently the Thai government is actually paying the whole bill to Walter Bau after all. But why so suddenly? Was it an attempt to score one last 'victory' by the outgoing government by not only getting the royal plane back? Was the realization that the 'new information' presented to the German courts was neither new nor informative enough to be in favor of the Thai government? Apparently the Thai side ran out of arguments:
DLA Piper, the law firm representing Thailand in the case, said the country is committed to honoring its obligations and wants to rule out premature actions against assets of it or others.
"Thailand has strong grounds for challenging the confirmation of the award," a DLA Piper lawyer, Frank Roth, said in the firm's statement. "However, if the Berlin court finally concludes that the award against the Kingdom of Thailand is enforceable, the Kingdom of Thailand has made the funds available."
"Thailand post German bond to free prince's plane", Associated Press, August 10, 2011
This statement by this law firm is particularly interesting, since just a week ago they have released a press release sounding very confident and trying to convince that the €20m deposit to be a 'victory'. But according to one Thai official, this whole thing is not done yet:
Thai Foreign Ministry official Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said a German court ordered the release of the aircraft Tuesday after the Thai government posted a 38 million euro ($54 million) bond, equal to the Walter Bau claim.
He said Thailand would continue to contest the claim on the tollway dispute until a definitive court ruling. Abhisit stepped down from the prime minister's post last week after his Democrat Party lost a July general election.
"Thailand post German bond to free prince's plane", Associated Press, August 10, 2011
Chavanond probably refers to an ongoing appeal at a New York court, even though the award itself is already final, unappealable and enforceable worldwide - the chances are reportedly 'very slim' (source) though that the Thai government would actually get anything from this procedure.
There's of course at least one Thai news outlet that gets it wrong - you can all probably guess which one it is...
German authorities have agreed to withdraw impoundment of two 737 Boeing jets belonging to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn parked at the Munich airport, after Thai government placed 38 million euros as guarantee, former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.
The Thai embassy in Germany is working further on the issue to retrieve the two aircraft [sic!], and a lawsuit will be soon lodged with German court, said Chawanong Intharakomalsut, secretary to former foreign minister Kasit Piromya. He did not give details over which grounds over the issue the lawsuit would appeal against.
"Germans to free jet as govt pays Bt1.6-bn surety", The Nation, August 10, 2011
Wait, wait - TWO impounded planes?! Who said that TWO planes have been impounded?! Yes, there was a second Thai royal plane landing on the runway in Munich, but the German liquidator was only considering to impound the second plane - if that would have happened, we would have already known about this, if not from the Thai press, then at least the German press! Even the Thai Embassy in Berlin has said nowhere about a second plane!
This leaves now the question with what they actually mean when they said that 'public money' has been used...?
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
Chuwit's first day in Thai parliament: Moving chairs, literally (UPDATED)
Originally published at Siam Voices on August 4, 2011 NOTE: This article was published on Thursday, August 4. On the Friday, August 5, when parliament convened to appoint a new prime minister, Chuwit created a mini-scandal over the very same subject as below that got him eventually thrown out of the chamber. All details about his antics in the Lower House can be read here.
This week, the new Thai parliament has begun to convene for the first time since the general elections on July 3, which will not only be remembered for Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother's Pheu Thai Party's big victory, but also for the astonishing underdog win by Chuwit Kalomvisit and his Rak Prathet Thai Party. The former massage parlor-tycoon turned anti-corruption vigilante (as previously featured here) campaigned with only 11 party-list candidates and won a sensational four-seat-mandate, mostly because of his unique straight-talking, no-nonsense, in-your-face style, but also partly thanks to protest votes - especially from the youth. Right from the onset, Chuwit's underdog party declared itself to be an opposition watchdog - watching every single footstep of the new government.
So, when parliament came together a day after the official opening ceremony presided by the Crown Prince (that's why they were all wearing their uniforms that day), there were some small reports about a little disturbance in the assembly - now who could that be...?
(...) when the MPs came to the assembly hall, Chuwit Kalomvisit MP of the Rak Prathet Thai Party has switched the labels of the Chart Thai Pattana Party, who were sitting in front with the other coalition partners of the government, with those of his own party. Parliament officials tried to explain the situation (...) but Chuwit claims that the seats of the Rak Prathet Thai Party have no good feng shui, that's why he wants to change seats with the Chart Thai Pattana Party. Despite disapprovals of parliament officials, Chuwit refuses to move. Chart Thai Pattana Party leader Chumpol Silpa-Archa and the party's chief advisor Sanan Kajornprasart were not satisfied, but still decided to sit in the back instead.
""ชูวิทย์"ป่วนอีก!! ย้ายป้ายพรรค ชทพ.ในสภา ขอนั่งแทน อ้างฮวงจุ้ยไม่ดี "ชุมพล-เสธ.หนั่น"ไม่พอใจ", Matichon, August 2 2011 - translation by me
See, Chuwit already knows how to make a mark! And just minutes before the publishing of this article Chuwit tweeted this:
First come first serve, this is democracy country, so I came first, I take a seat
Tweet by Chuwit Kalomvisit (@chuvit_online), on Thu Aug 04 11:18:02
We will hear a lot from him in the near future soon!
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
Thai commander-in-chief's anger at media
Originally published at Siam Voices on August 2, 2011 We have featured the outspoken commander-in-chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha before, which has been a constant source for material including his, erm, shall we say unusual handling with the media. Recently, the armed forces have suffered a series of three consecutive helicopter crashes within a week which has claimed at least 17 lives in total (including a Channel 5 cameraman). The first two reportedly went down due to bad weather, while the last one suffered a technical failure. While accidents are unfortunately unavoidable, the string of tragic events that hit the rescue operations after the first crash on July 17 posed questions about the state of the army's equipment and funding despite a $5.2bn strong war chest.
The more Gen Prayuth felt the need to defend his armed forces from any criticism - in his usual manner...
ประยุทธ์ฉุนจวกนักวิชาการด่าทหารโกงโยงฮ.ตก ซัดพูดแล้วต้องรับผิดชอบ ทำทหารเสียขวัญ อัด “เอเอสทีวี-ทีวีแดง-เฟซบุ๊ควาสนา”ทำบ้านเมืองเสียหาย (...) พ้อไทยไม่ได้เป็นชาติมหาอำนาจจะได้มีฮ.ทันสมัยสูงสุด แต่ยัน ฮ.ไทยทันสมัย อาเซียนก็ใช้ โวจะอยู่เป็นผบ.หรือไม่ ไม่สนใจ แต่ทบ.ต้องอยู่ด้วยเกียรติยศ วอนนำเหตุฮ.ตกเป็นบทเรียนปรับปรุง
Prayuth has slammed military experts, who have accused [the army] of corruption in relation to the crashed helicopters, saying that those have to take responsibility [for their words] for destroying the armed forces' morale. He attacks "ASTV, red [shirts'] TV and 'Facebook Wasana'" for destroying the country. (...) He says: "Thailand is not a developed country, which can have the newest helicopters," but also insists that "Thai helicopters are up to date. Other ASEAN states are also using them." Prayuth is not interested if he stays commander-in-chief or not, but the armed forces should have honor and that the helicopter crashes should be taken as a lesson for improvements.
"ในหลวงพระราชทานน้ำหลวงอาบศพเหยื่อฮ.ตก ผบ.ทบ.จวก“เอเอสฯ-ทีวีแดง-เฟซบุ๊ควาสนา”ทำบ้านเมืองเสียหาย", Siam Rath, July 25, 2011 - translation by me
This is an unprecedented case in which a high ranking, influential army officer has explicitly singled out media outlets for criticizing, as if he were trying to point out those who have been especially naughty. But what and who is he referencing to? At the center of Prayuth's attack is Wassana Nanuam, military correspondent for the Bangkok Post, whom he bizarrely referred to only as 'Facebook Wassana' (which also doesn't make much sense in Thai as well).
Here is what Wassana wrote on her Facebook a day before:
เก้าอี้สะเทือน ฮ.ตก3 ลำซ้อนพล.อ.ประยุทธ์ โฟนอินทีวี3-ทีวีไทย ยันเครื่องขัดข้องเสียใจ อย่าตำหนิทหารขอกำลังใจเห็นใจทหารเสี่ยง สายข่าวเผยเจนเนอเรเตอร,มีปัญหา แต่ก็เอาขึ้นบิน นักบินเสียขวัญ คำถามตามมา ให้ ผบทบ.ตอบมากมาย..แต่ควรมาแก่งกระจานเยี่ยมลูกน้องบ้าง ไม่กล้านั่งฮ นั่งรถก็ได้
The chairs are shaking, three helicopters down - Gen. Prayuth phones into Channel 3, TVThai, claims technical failure and mourns [the deceased] - urges not to criticize the army, but to show sympathy and acknowledge their risks. Reports have indicated problems with the generator, but still went up anyways, the pilot has lost confidence [in the machine]. Many more questions for the commander-in-chief to answer [now], but he should visit the troops in Kaeng Krachan - if he's too afraid to take a helicopter, he can go there by car!
Facebook status update by Wassana Nanuam, July 24 at 12:49pm - translation by me
Of course, Wassana took a small swipe at Prayuth and this status update has set off a long discussion thread in the comments with now few heavily taking aim at the commander-in-chief and the armed forces. This was then later mentioned on ASTV and Manager Radio, both media outlets of the yellow shirted, ultra-nationalistic PAD, who have been fiercely criticizing the armed forces ever since the Preah Vihear temple conflict with Cambodia.
Clearly, this appears to be a case of somebody mixing up the medium with the person and its interaction possibilities. Wassana seems to share the sentiment as she wrote in her rebuttal on Facebook:
ผบ.ทบ.เปิดศึกโซเชี่ยลมีเดียตำหนิทวิตเตอร์เฟสบุ๊ควาสนา แย่มากโจมตีกองทัพเรื่องฮ...ไม่รู้ท่านอ่านเองรึเปล่า...คนอื่นแสดงความเห็นทั้งนั้น วาสนาช่วยแจงจนคนหาว่าวาสนาเข้าข้างทหารด้วยซ้ำ ทหารฝ่ายเสธ.เอาแต่เรื่องไม่ดีรายงานนาย ทีช่วยกองทัพกลับไม่รายงาน..สงสัยเห็นวาสนา เป็นผู้ชายเหมือนกันมั้ง
Commander-in-chief declared a war on social media, blames Twitter and 'Facebook Wassana'. What disgrace, criticizing the army over the helicopters... I don't know if the general has read them himself... it was all the other people expressing their opinions! I tried to explain this until they [the comments] accuse me to side with the army. The Chiefs of Staff only report about the bad news to [Prayuth], but when I try to help [explaining] them they don't. May be they think that I'm a man among those men.
Facebook status update by Wassana Nanuam, July 25 at 2:03pm - translation by me
One really wonders what Prayuth thinks about the media, old and new alike (other than closing them down). Nevertheless, a day later, he tried to justify his public erratic behavior:
พล.อ.ประยุทธ์ ยังกล่าวอีกว่า ทุกครั้งที่ตนแสดงสีหน้าอาการดุออกโทรทัศน์ เพราะต้องการแสดงให้เห็นถึงภาวะผู้นำของตนเองเท่านั้น
General Prayuth said: "Every time when I appear angry on television, it is because I only need to show my leadership [authority]"
"ผบ.ทบ.เตรียมจัดซื้อเฮลิคอปเตอร์ล็อตใหม่30ลำ", Naew Na via RYT9, July 26 - translation by me
Which probably then excuses the next nervy outburst:
"วันก่อนผมเดินทางไปร่วมพิธีรดน้ำศพของผู้เสียชีวิตที่กาญจนบุรี ซึ่งเรามีแผนการเดินทาง (...) ทั้งเดินทางด้วยรถยนต์ หรือฮ. ถ้าโดยปกติถ้าอากาศไม่ดีก็จะไม่บินขึ้น (...) แต่ไม่ใช่ว่าไปเขียนกันว่ารมว.กลาโหม ผบ.ทบ.ไม่กล้าขึ้นฮ. แต่ให้ลูกน้องขึ้นแทน ซึ่งผมไม่ได้โกรธ แต่เป็นธรรมหรือไม่"
"Yesterday, I traveled to the funeral in Kanchanaburi, for which we had plans for the travel (...) including by car or by helicopter, which normally in bad weather would not be used. (...) But it's not like in the newspapers that the Defense Minister and the Commander-in-Chief are too afraid to go on the helicopter, but let their soldiers go on it instead - I'm not angry about it, but it is not fair!"
"ถ้าไม่ตอบคำถามตนว่าใครพาดหัวข่าว ก็ไม่ต้องมาถามกันอีก ต่อไปนี้จะไม่ให้สัมภาษณ์แล้ว"
"If you don't tell me who wrote those headlines, then you should not come to me for questions, from now on I would not give any more interviews!"
"ปรากฎการณ์" ฟิวส์ขาด"ผบ.ทบ.วาทะร้อนไม่กล้าขึ้น ฮ. สื่อvsบิ๊กตู่"บทบาท"ที่แตกต่าง แต่"เจตนา"ไม่ต่าง", Matichon, July 28 - translation by me
As usual, General Prayuth talks about journalists required to take responsibility over their words and not 'destroy the country' (or at least his vision of it), while at the same time being completely oblivious about his own words and how they come across to the public eye. The commander-in-chief's relation with the press will remain a contentious one.
BONUS UPDATE: Thanks to @SteveInCM on Twitter, we have now video footage of that most recent incident, including him walking off the interview and making gestures at the press. Also, I forgot to mention that Matichon headline has been aptly named "Blowing up his fuse, Commander-in-Chief spews fury, (...) media vs Big Tu [Prayuth's nickname] (...)"
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
Tongue-Thai’ed! Part VII: Kasit’s last rant
Originally published at Siam Voices on August 2, 2011 “Tongue-Thai’ed!” encapsulates the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures – in short: everything we hear that makes us go “Huh?!”. Check out all past entries here.
Outgoing Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has been one of the most vocal, if not the most colorful representative of this now past government, and given his position, also the whole of Thailand. During his tenure, Kasit has surprised the public and the international community for his erratic outspokenness and apparent fixation to hunt down Thaksin. One of the most infamous flare-ups was last year, when he lashed out against half of the world and suspected a world-wide, pro-Thaksin and anti-Thailand conspiracy.
Since this is this his last day, let's look at the most likely last public comment by Kasit - unless he threw a last-minute tantrum we haven't heard about yet.
The government is demanding answers after Germany reportedly re-granted a visa to deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday said the German government should explain to the international community the reasons for its decision, after revoking Thaksin's visa in 2008. (...)
"Kasit slams German decision", Bangkok Post, July 30 2011
Hold on, hold on - who's talking about a visa here? As previously reported here (and before anybody else did), the German government has revoked the entry ban for Thaksin a few weeks ago, not a word about a visa. That is something entirely different than, say, a country inviting somebody and granting him a visa in order to be able to enter the country!
But that didn't stop him from railing on:
Mr Kasit said the Germans were pursuing a double standard.
The German government had called on the Thai government to respect its law and justice system, after the German court seized a Thai Boeing 737 owned by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn at Munich airport.
"But in Thaksin's criminal case, the German government cites the changing political climate here as the basis for re-granting a visa to him," said Mr Kasit. (...)
"Kasit slams German decision", Bangkok Post, July 30 2011
Again, it's not a visa! Kasit is referring to a statement by the German Embassy in Bangkok made last week in connection to the Walter Bau saga that has become the impounded plane saga. It is one thing when government or its embassy comments on a certain issue or case, it is another thing though if a government refuses to follow a verdict by an international tribunal and also not fully explain the pending appeal at a New York court (more details at Bangkok Pundit).
For the double standard accusation, even Thai officials disagree with him:
Attorney-General Julasing Wasantasing said it was Germany's right to decide whether to allow Thaksin to enter the country. The Thai government could not interfere, he said.
"Thaksin no longer banned from Germany, says Noppadon", The Nation, July 30 2011
Kasit concludes his rant:
"The German government was pressured by one of its coalition parties from the southern part of [Germany]," he said. Someone wanted to give Thaksin the right to re-enter the country. "I requested a meeting with members of that [German] party, but they refused to meet me."
"Kasit slams German decision", Bangkok Post, July 30 2011
He is right about the intense lobbying by conservative, Bavarian MPs which is undoubtedly very, very fishy and doesn't make those MPs look good. On the other hand, given Kasit's reputation (not only during his tenure as ambassador to Germany), it is hardly surprising why that German party had refused to him.
And now for the punchline:
Germany is obliged to answer why it appears sensitive to 15 million votes cast for a party to take power but ignores opposing votes, he said.
"Thaksin no longer banned from Germany, says Noppadon", The Nation, July 30 2011
Oh farewell, Foreign Minister Kasit - your tirades will be missed...!
Just because we will have a new government, it doesn't mean they all suddenly stop saying stupid things. If you come across any verbosities that you think might fit in here send us an email at siamvoices [at] gmail.com or tweet us @siamvoices.
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.