Too much agreement kills a chat - Eldridge Cleaver
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Thai webmaster faces 20 years for violating Internet laws
A THAI WEBSITE MANAGER is facing up to 20 years in prison for failing to remove comments that were critical of the country's monarchy.
Chiranuch Premchaiporn, who manages the Prachatai.com website, faces 10 separate charges for not promptly deleting the messages. She has been prosecuted under the 2007 Computer Crime Act, reported the Associated Press. The Act was supposed to address hacking but is now being used to "bar circulation of material deemed detrimental to national security or that causes public panic."
Websites like Prachatai were closed during the political unrest in Bangkok last year, after the government accused them of stirring up unrest among 'red shirt' protestors who wanted political change. With cases like this, the Thai state has been using the Act as a tool for political punishment, closing websites and arresting people who don't follow its authoritarian agenda.
Premchaiporn has been accused of not removing comments on bulletin boards that allegedly insulted the royal family, which comes under the broad definition of the Computer Crime Act. You can also be charged in Thailand for lèse-majesté, the simple act of insulting the monarchy, for which Premchaiporn also faces punishment.
The monarchy is a huge thing in Thailand. Respect for the King means that there are laws that can put people in prison for defaming him. This has always been the case, but the problem seems to be the way the government is using the laws to suppress the opposition and the media, rather than actually protect the royal family. µ
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A regime that claims the right to use violence to clamp down on non-violent criticism is a regime that has abdicated all right to continued existance and is fair game for assassination.
actually he's only got moments to live
the prob is his son if a fucking wonky freak... when the gov start using these laws against thais and foreigners that state the obvious (ie the next king of thailand is on crack) then all hell is going to break loose :(
its sad because thailand kicks ass, i friken luv the place, the people and the food. fingers crossed they tone down the hero worship and get on with the job of keeping thailand awesome.
http://mirror.wikileaks.info/wiki/ABC_Foreign_Correspondent_video_report_on_Thailand,_13_April_2010/
The two previous posters, B.A. & Kiljoy616, are absolutely f*cking clueless! How sad for them to live their lives with both brain cells continuously in opposition.
Unlike most other countries, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is universally loved and revered by virtually every single Thai. Why is that? Could it be that because for the past 64+ years, King Bhumibol has done so much for Thailand. Even during times of crisis he has been the single thread that held the country together. His lifelong love of his people and his country have returned immense respect to the Thai monarchy which was in shambles when he assumed the throne at the tender age of 18 way back in 1946.
Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, just like Britain, with the monarchy being figureheads. It is governed by a Prime Minister and Parliament. At some point in history they added the strict lèse majesté laws in the Thai constitution out of shear reverance of the monarchy. I've read that King Bhumibol has at times been at odds with that law and he has subsequently pardoned some people convicted of breaking it.
Let me say that in my many years of living in Thailand and before when I was stationed here during the Vietnam War that I have never met a single Thai who didn't/doesn't absolutely love King Bhumibol Adulyadej. That said, his wife and especially his son, the crown prince, don't enjoy quite the same level of adulation.
It's astounding that there are intelligence challenged morons like the previous posters who feel the need to publicly reveal their ignorance. Again, how sad for them.
Thailand didn't become one of the most popular places on Earth because the laws are so strict. Conversely, the easy-going nature of the Thais combined with their almost universal acceptance of foreign visitors from all cultures and backgrounds, makes it very special. That they impose one strict law because of their unmatched love and adoration of their King and his family is certainly understandable.
Long live King Bhumibol Adulyadej!
Sawasdee krup!
So the retarded monarch has to have draconian laws to protect him. I don't know who is more retarded the monarch or those that follow him in this day an age.
Glad I have no reason to go to such a backward retarded country.
So saying that the king of Thailand is a retard is going to get me in trouble?
What a retarded way to run the country.
And in the pictures on what appears to be the official site for him he looks like a monkey.