[p2p-research] petition on academic freedom in Thailand

[paola.dimaio at gmail.com]

Good news
Harry has been pardoned, heard in on BBC news 8 am this morning


On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 10:26 PM, Athina Karatzogianni
<athina.k at gmail.com>wrote:

>
>
>
>
> A Thai professor is facing charges of insulting the king for passages
> written in an analysis of Thai politics and the 2006 coup.
>
> The "offending" passages can be read here:
> http://links.org.au/node/865
>
>
>
>
> http://links.org.au/node/859
>
> *Stop the use of lese majeste laws in Thailand. Defend freedom of speech*
>
> We, the undersigned, oppose the use of lese majeste in Thailand in order to
> prevent freedom of speech and academic freedom. We demand that the
> government cease all proceedings in lese majeste cases.
>
> The September 19, 2006 military coup in Thailand claimed "Royal legitimacy"
> in order to hide the authoritarian intentions of the military junta. *Lese
> majeste charges* have not been used to protect "Thai Democracy under a
> Constitutional Monarchy" as claimed. The charges are used against people who
> criticised the coup and disagree with the present destruction of democracy.
> They are used to create a climate of fear and censorship.
>
> One obvious case is that of associate professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn, from
> the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University. He is facing *lese
> majeste* charges for writing a book *A Coup for the Rich*, which
> criticised the 2006 military coup. (Read the book at
> http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/). Others who have been accused of *lese majeste
> * are former government minister Jakrapop Penkae, who asked a question at
> the Foreign Correspondent's Club in Bangkok, about exactly what kind of
> monarchy we have in Thailand. There is also the case of Chotisak Oonsung, a
> young student who failed to stand for the King's anthem in the cinema. Apart
> from this there are the cases of Da Topedo and Boonyeun Prasertying.
>
> In addition to those who opposed the coup, the BBC correspondent Jonathan
> Head, an Australian writer names Harry Nicolaides and social critic Sulak
> Sivaraksa are also facing charges.
>
> The latest person to be thrown into jail and refused bail is Suwicha Takor,
> who is charged with *lese majeste* for surfing the internet.
>
> Thailand's minister of justice has called for a blanket ban on reporting
> these cases in the Thai media. The mainstream Thai media are obliging. Thus
> we are seeing a medieval style witchhunt taking place in Thailand with
> "secret" trials in the courts. The Justice Ministry is also refusing to
> publish figures of *lese majeste* cases.
>
> We call for the abolition of les majeste laws in Thailand and the defence
> of freedom and democracy.
>
> Please send your full name to: Giles.LesseMajeste at gmail.com,
> ji.ungpakorn at gmail.com
>
>
>
>
> --
> Dr Athina Karatzogianni
> Lecturer in Media, Culture and Society
> The University of Hull
> United Kingdom
> HU6 7RX
> phone: ++44 (0) 1482 46 5790
>
> Check out Athina's work:
>
>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyberconflict-Routledge-Research-Information-Technology/dp/0415396840/
>
>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Resistance-Conflict-Contemporary-World/dp/0415452988/
>
>
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyber-conflict-Politics-Contemporary-Security-Studies/dp/0415459702/
> http://vectors.usc.edu/thoughtmesh/publish/135.php
>
> http://www.socialissuescollection.com/
>
> Press interviews:
>
> France:http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0,36-924253,0.html
>
> http://www.20minutes.fr/article/180599/Monde-La-Chine-a-soif-d-informations.php
> Greece:http://www.enet.gr/online/online_text/c=112,id=78490200
> Brazil:
> http://jbonline.terra.com.br/editorias/internacional/papel/2007/11/04/internacional20071104008.html
>
> http://jbonline.terra.com.br/editorias/internacional/papel/2007/05/20/internacional20070520003.html
>
>
> 'Today the problem is that the glaciers are melting too quickly, and the
> ideas that constructed world politics not quickly enough' Ken Booth 2007.
>
>
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>
>


-- 
Paola Di Maio,
****************************************
Forthcoming
IEEE/DEST 09 Collective Intelligence Track (deadline extended)

i-Semantics 2009, 2 - 4 September 2009, Graz, Austria.
www.i-semantics.tugraz.at

SEMAPRO 2009, Malta
http://www.iaria.org/conferences2009/CfPSEMAPRO09.html
**************************************************
Mae Fah Luang Child Protection Project, Chiang Rai Thailand
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