As concerned international observers of Thailand, we stand in solidarity with our colleagues who have condemned the summary dismissal of Dr. Somsak Jeamteerasakul by Thammasat University on 23 February 2015. We have watched with growing concern as the space for freedom of expression has shrunk precipitously in Thailand since the 22 May 2014 coup by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). By choosing to join with the NCPO to attack Dr. Somsak Jeamteerasakul, the Thammasat University administration has abdicated its responsibility to protect academic freedom and nurture critical thinking. While academic freedom is not worthy of protection greater than that of the right to freedom of expression of all citizens, the impact of its destruction during a time of dictatorship is particularly severe as it prevents students and scholars, those whose daily job is to think about knowledge and its implications, from imagining and working to return to a democratic regime founded on the protection of rights and liberties. 

 

For more than twenty years, Dr. Somsak Jeamteerasakul has been a lecturer in the Department of History and has trained and inspired many students at Thammasat University. As a public intellectual, he has produced a significant body of work in modern Thai history that has impacted and challenged Thai society beyond the walls of the university. His critical stance has made those in power uncomfortable, and in 2011 he faced an accusation from the Army of violating Article 112, the section of the Criminal Code that addresses alleged lèse majesté. In February 2014, there was an attempt on his life when armed gunmen shot at his house and car with automatic weapons. Concerned about his life and liberty following the May 2014 coup, Dr. Somsak fled the country. He was subsequently summoned to report by the junta, and when he did not, the NCPO issued a warrant for his arrest and appearance in military court, as examination of violations of the junta’s orders was placed within the jurisdiction of the military court following the coup. In December 2014, he submitted his resignation. However, rather than accept his resignation, Thammasat University fired Dr. Somsak. 

 

We stand in solidarity with our colleagues who note that, at the very least, Dr. Somsak Jeamteerasakul should be permitted to appeal the decision by Thammasat University to summarily dismiss him. In addition, he should be permitted to fight any legal charges against him in the civilian criminal court, not the military court. We further call on Thammasat University and all universities in Thailand to take an active and leading role in support of academic freedom and freedom of expression in a broad sense. To think differently is not a crime. If one cannot do so within the walls of the university, spaces of learning and the pursuit of truth, then the space to do so outside those walls will dwindle as well.

 

Signed,

 

 

1. Patricio N. Abinales, Professor, School of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Hawaii-Manoa

 

2. Jeremy Adelman, Princeton University

 

3. Nadje Al-Ali, Professor of Gender Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

4. Robert B. Albritton, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Mississippi

 

5. Saowanee T. Alexander, Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand

 

6. Tariq Ali, Author

 

7. Aries A. Arugay, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines-Diliman

 

8. Indrė Balčaitė, PhD candidate, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

9. Joshua Barker, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Toronto

 

10. Veysel Batmaz, Professor, Istanbul University, Turkey

 

11. Bryce Beemer, History Department, Colby College

 

12. Trude Bennett, Emeritus Professor, School of Public Health, UNC

 

13. Clarinda Berja, Professor and Chair of the Department of Social Sciences, University of the Philippines-Manila.

 

14. Kristina Maud Bergeron, Agente de recherche et chercheuse associée, Chaire en entrepreneuriat minier UQAT-UQAM, Université du Québec à Montréal

 

15. Chris Berry, Professor, Department of Film Studies, King's College London

 

16. Robert J. Bickner, Emeritus Professor (Thai), Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia, University of Wisconsin

 

17. David J.H. Blake, Independent Scholar, United Kingdom

 

18. John Borneman, Professor of Antbropology, Princeton University

 

19. Katherine Bowie, Professor of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

20. Francis R. Bradley, Assistant Professor of History, Pratt Institute

 

21. Eloise A. Brière, Professor of French and Francophone Studies Emerita, University at Albany – SUNY

 

22. Lisa Brooten, Associate Professor, College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, Southern Illinois University 

 

23. Andrew Brown, Lecturer in Political and International Studies, University of New England

 

24. James Brown, PhD Candidate, Department of Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

25. Din Buadaeng, Université Paris-Diderot (Paris 7)

 

26. Michael Burawoy, Professor, University of California, Berkeley

 

27. David Camroux, Associate Professor - Senior Researcher, Sciences Po

 

28. Rosa Cordillera Castillo, PhD candidate, Freie Universität Berlin

 

29. Danielle Celermajer, Professor and Director, Enhancing Human Rights Project, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney

 

30. Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Associate Professor, Kyoto University

 

31. Thak Chaloemtiarana, Professor, Cornell University

 

32. Anita Chan, Research Professor, China-Australia Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology, Sydney

 

33. Pandit Chanrochanakit, Visiting Scholar Thai Studies Program, Asia Center, Harvard University (Faculty of Political Science Ramkhamhaeng University)

 

34. Nick Cheesman, Research Fellow, Political and Social Change, Australian National University

 

35. Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus), MIT

 

36. Lawrence Chua, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Syracuse University

 

37. Nerida M. Cook, Ph.D.

 

38. Simon Creak, Lecturer in Southeast Asian History, University of Melbourne 

 

39. Robert Cribb, Professor of Asian History, Australian National University

 

40. Linda Cuadra, MA Student, University of Washington, Jackson School of International Studies

 

41. Robert Dayley, Professor of Political Economy, The College of Idaho

 

42. Yorgos Dedes, Senior Lecturer in Turkish, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

43. Arif Dirlik, Knight Professor of Social Science, Retired, University of Oregon

 

44. Rick Doner, Professor, Department of Political Science, Emory University

 

45. Ariel Dorfman, Author and Distinguished Professor, Duke University

 

46. Ana Dragojlovic, UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland

 

47. Alexis Dudden, Professor of History, University of Connecticut

 

48. Richard Dyer, Professor, King's College London and St. Andrews, Fellow of the British Academy

 

49. Taylor M. Easum, Assistant Professor of History, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point

 

50. Nancy Eberhardt, Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Knox College

 

51. Eli Elinoff, National University of Singapore 

 

52. Olivier Evrard, Insitut de recherche pour le Développement, France

& Chiang Mai University, Faculty of Social Sciences

 

53. Nicholas Farrelly, Fellow, ANU

 

54. Jessica Fields, Associate Professor, Sociology, San Francisco State University

 

55. Alfredo Saad Filho, Professor, Department of Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

56. Amanda Flaim, Postdoctoral Associate, Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy

 

57. Tim Forsyth, Professor, International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science

 

58. Arnika Fuhrmann, Assistant Professor of Asian Studies, Cornell University

 

59. V.V. Ganeshananthan, Writer, Bunting Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

 

60. Paul K. Gellert, Associate Professor, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

 

61. Charles Geisler, Professor of Development Sociology, Cornell University

 

62. Henry Giroux, Author and Professor, McMaster University

 

63. Parvis Ghassem-Fachandi, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University

 

 

64. Jim Glassman, Professor, University of British Columbia

 

65. Lawrence Grossberg, Morris Davis Distinguished Professor of Communication Studies and Cultural Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill

 

66. Merly Guanumen, Professor of International Relations, Javeriana University

 

67. Tessa Maria Guazon, Assistant Professor, Department of Art Studies College of Arts and Letters University of the Philippines-Diliman

 

68. Geoffrey Gunn, Emeritus, Nagasaki University

 

69. Tyrell Haberkorn, Fellow, Department of Political and Social Change, Australian National University

 

70. Vedi Hadiz, Professor of Asian Societies and Politics, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University

 

71. Jeffrey Hadler, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, U.C. Berkeley

 

72. Paul Handley, Journalist and Author

 

73. Eva Hansson, Senior Lecturer, Political Science and Coordinator, Forum for Asian Studies, Stockholm University

 

74. Harry Harootunian, Max Palevsky Professor of History, Emeritus, University of Chicago

 

75. Gillian Hart, Professor of Geography, University of California-Berkeley

 

76. Yoko Hayami, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

 

77. Chris Hedges, Author

 

78. Ariel Heryanto, Professor, School of Culture, History, and Language, Australian National University 

 

79. Michael Herzfeld, Ernest E. Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University

 

80. Kevin Hewison, Sir Walter Murdoch Professor of Politics and International Studies, Murdoch University

 

81. Allen Hicken, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan

 

82. CJ Hinke, Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT), Independent scholar

 

83. Philip Hirsch, Professor of Human Geography, University of Sydney

 

84. Tessa J. Houghton, Director, Centre for the Study of Communications and Culture, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

 

85. May Adadol Ingawanij, Reader, Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media, University of Westminster

 

86. Noboru Ishikawa, Professor, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University

 

87. Sunisa Ittichaiyo, Ph.D. student, Faculty of Law, Augsburg University

 

88. Soren Ivarsson, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

 

89. Peter A. Jackson, Professor, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University

 

90. Arthit Jiamrattanyoo, Ph.D. Student, University of Washington

 

91. Lee Jones, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, Queen Mary, University of London

 

92. Andrew Alan Johnson, Assistant Professor, Yale-NUS College

 

93. Hjorleifur Jonsson, Associate Professor of Anthropology, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University

 

94. Teresa Jopson, PhD candidate at the Australian National University

 

95. Sarah Joseph, Professor, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University

 

96. Amanda Joy, Instructor and PhD Candidate, Carleton University

 

97. Alexander Karn, Assistant Professor of History, Colgate University

 

98. Tatsuki Kataoka, Associate Professor of the Graduate School of

Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University

 

99. Ward Keeler, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas-Austin

 

100. Charles Keyes, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and International Studies, University of Washington

 

101. Akkharaphong Khamkhun, Pridi Banomyong International College, Thammasat University

 

102. Gaik Cheng Khoo, Associate Professor, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

 

103. Sherryl Kleinman, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

 

104. Lars Peter Laamann, Department of History, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

105. John Langer, Independent researcher and broadcaster

 

106. Tomas Larsson, Lecturer, University of Cambridge

 

107. Pinkaew Laungaramsri, Visiting Scholar, Harvard Yenching Institute, Harvard University

 

108. Doreen Lee, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Northeastern University

 

109. Namhee Lee, Associate Professor of Modern Korean History, University of California, Los Angeles

 

110. Terence Lee, Assistant Professor of Political Science, National University of Singapore

 

111. Christian C. Lentz, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

 

112. Busarin Lertchavalitsakul, PhD Candidate, University of Amsterdam

 

113. Daniel J. Levine, Assistant Professor of Political Science, The University of Alabama

 

114. Samson Lim, Assistant Professor, Singapore University of Technology and Design

 

115. Peter Limqueco, Editor Emeritus, Journal of Contemporary Asia

 

116. Johan Lindquist, Associate Professor, Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University

 

117. Kah Seng Loh, Assistant Professor at the Institute for East Asian Studies, Sogang University

 

118. Larry Lohmann, The Corner House

 

119. Tamara Loos, Associate Professor, History and Southeast Asian Studies, Cornell University

 

120. Taylor Lowe, PhD Student in Anthropology, the University of Chicago

 

121. Catherine Lutz, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. Family Professor of Anthropology and International Studies, Brown University

 

122. Chris Lyttleton, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Macquarie University

 

123. Regina Estorba Macalandag, Asia Center for Sustainable Futures, Assistant Professor, Holy Name University

 

124. Andrew MacGregor Marshall, Independent journalist and scholar

 

125. Ken MacLean Associate Professor of International Development and Social Change, Clark University

 

126. M F Makeen, Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law, SOAS, University of London

 

127. Neeranooch Malangpoo, PhD. student, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

128. Amporn Marddent, School of Liberal Arts, Walailak University 

 

129. Jovan Maud, Lecturer, Institut für Ethnologie, Georg-August University

 

130. Duncan McCargo, Professor of Political Science, University of Leeds

 

131. Mary E. McCoy, Associate Faculty, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

132. Kaja McGowan, Associate Professor of Art History, Cornell University

 

133. Kate McGregor, University of Melbourne

 

134. Shawn McHale, Associate Professor of History, George Washington University

 

135. Gayatri Menon, Faculty, Azim Premji University

 

136. Eugenie Merieau, INALCO, Paris

 

137. Marcus Mietzner, Associate Professor, Australian National University

 

138. Elizabeth Miller, Previous Thai language student at Ohio University

 

139. Owen Miller, Lecturer in Korean Studies, Department of Japan and Korea, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

140. Mary Beth Mills, Professor of Anthropology, Colby College

 

141. Bruce Missingham, Lecturer, Geography & Environmental Science, Monash University

 

142. Art Mitchells-Urwin, PhD candidate in Thai Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

143. Dan Monk, George R. and Myra T. Cooley Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Colgate University

 

144. Michael Montesano, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore

 

145. Samuel Moyn, Professor of Law and History, Harvard University

 

146. Marjorie Muecke, Adjunct Professor, Family and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Paul G Rogers Ambassador for Global Health Research

 

147. Yukti Mukdawijitra, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

148. Laura Mulvey, Professor, Department of Film, Media and Cultural Studies, School of Arts, Birkbeck, University of London

 

149. Ben Murtagh, Senior Lecturer in Indonesian and Malay, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

150. Fumio Nagai, Professor, Osaka City University

 

151. Kanda Naknoi, Department of Economics, University of Connecticut

 

152. Andrew Ng, Associate Professor, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University, Malaysia

 

153. Don Nonini, Professor of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

 

154. Pál Nyiri , Professor of Global History from an Anthropological Perspective, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam

 

155. Rachel O'Toole, Associate Professor of History, University of California, Irvine

 

156. Akin Oyètádé, Senior Lecturer, School of Oriental and African Studies

 

157. Jonathan Padwe, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Hawaiˈi at Mānoa

 

158. Ajay Parasram, Doctoral Candidate, Carleton University Ottawa

 

159. Eun-Hong Park, Professor, Faculty of Social Science, Sungkonghoe University

 

160. Prasannan Parthassarathi, Professor of History, Boston College

 

161. Raj Patel, Research Professor, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin. 

 

162. Quentin Pearson III, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Wheaton College

 

163. Thomas Pepinsky, Associate Professor of Government, Cornell University

 

164. Penchan Phoborisuth, University of Utah

 

165. Sheldon Pollock, Arvind Raghunathan Professor of Sanskrit and South Asian Studies, Columbia University in the City of New York

 

166. Chalermpat Pongajarn, PhD candidate, Wageningen University

 

167. Pitch Pongsawat, Visiting Scholar, Harvard Yenching Institute, Harvard University

 

168. Tim Rackett, UK

 

169. Rahul Rao, Senior Lecturer in Politics, SOAS, University of London

 

170. Malavika Reddy, PhD Candidate, University of Chicago

 

171. Luke Robinson, Lecturer, University of Sussex

 

172. Garry Rodan, Professor of Politics & International Studies, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University

 

173. John Roosa, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of British Columbia

 

174. Robin Roth, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, York University

 

175. Ulrich Karl Rotthoff, Assistant Professor, Asian Center, 

University of the Philippines 

 

176. Pakpoom Saengkanokkul, PhD student, INALCO, Paris, France

 

177. Jiratorn Sakulwattana, PhD student

 

178. Ton Salman, Associate Professor and Head of Department, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

 

179. Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Chair, Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University

 

180. Wolfram Schaffar, Professor, Department of Development Studies, University of Vienna

 

181. Sarah Schulman, City University of New York

 

182. James C. Scott, Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology, Yale University 

 

183. Raymond Scupin, Director, Center for International and Global Studies, Lindenwood University

 

184. Laurie J. Sears, Professor of History, Director, Southeast Asia Center, University of Washington

 

185. Mark Selden, Senior Research Associate, East Asia Program, Cornell University

 

186. Yeoh Seng-Guan, Monash University Malaysia

 

187. Bo Kyeong Seo, Australian National University

 

188. John T. Sidel, Sir Patrick Gillam Professor of International and Comparative Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science

 

189. Roland G. Simbulan, Professor in Development Studies and Public Management, University of the Philippines

 

190. Subir Sinha, Senior Lecturer, Department of Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

 

191. Aim Sinpeng, Lecturer in Comparative Politics, University of Sydney

 

192. Aranya Siriphon, Visiting Scholar, Harvard Yenching Institute, Harvard University

 

193. Dan Slater, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago

 

194. Jay M. Smith, Professor of History, UNC-Chapel Hill

 

195. Claudio Sopranzetti, Postdoctoral Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford University

 

196. Paul Stasi, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, SUNY-Albany

 

197. Irene Stengs, Senior Researcher, Meertens Institute/Research and Documentation of Language and Culture in the Netherlands/Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

 

198. Carolyn Strange, Senior Fellow, School of History, Australian National University

 

199. Wanrug Suwanwattana, PhD student, Oxford University

 

200. David Szanton, UC Berkeley, emeritus

 

201. Eduardo Climaco Tadem, Ph.D.,  Professor of Asian Studies, 

University of the Philippines Diliman

 

202. Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines Diliman

 

203. Neferti Tadiar, Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Barnard College, Columbia University

 

204. Danielle Tan, Lecturer, Institute for East Asian Studies (IAO-ENS Lyon), Sciences Po Lyon

 

205. Michelle Tan

 

206. Tanabe Shigeharu, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan

 

207. Nicola Tannenbaum, Professor of Anthropology, Lehigh University

 

208. Nicholas Tapp, Professor Emeritus, Australian National University, Director, Research Institute of Anthropology, East China Normal University

 

209. Ben Tausig, Assistant Professor, Stony Brook University

 

210. Nora A. Taylor, Alsdorf Professor of South and South East Asian Art, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

 

211. Philip Taylor, Senior Fellow, Anthropology, Australian National University

 

212. Julia Adeney Thomas, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Notre Dame

 

213. Barry Trachtenberg, Associate Professor, History Department, Director, Judaic Studies Program, University at Albany

 

214. Tran Thi Liên, Associate Professor, History of Southeast Asia,

University Paris Diderot-Paris 7 

 

215. Andrew Turton, Reader Emeritus in Social Anthropology at the University of London

 

216. Jonathan Unger, Professor, Department of Political and Social Change, Australian National University

 

217. Jane Unrue, Harvard College Writing Program, Harvard University

 

218. Sara Van Fleet, University of Washington

 

219. Peter Vandergeest, Geography, York University, Toronto

 

220. Boonlert Visetpricha, PhD candidate at University of Wisconsin- Madison, Department of Anthropology

 

221. Joel Wainwright, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Ohio State University

 

222. Andrew Walker, Professor of Southeast Asian Studies, The Australian National University

 

223. Kheetanat Wannaboworn, Master's Degree Student, Sciences Po Paris

 

224. Thomas Weber, DPhil

 

225. Meredith Weiss, Associate Professor of Political Science, University at Albany, SUNY

 

226. Marina Welker, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology

 

227. Bridget Welsh, Senior Research Associate, Center for East Asia Demcracy, National Taiwan University

 

228. Marion Werner, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University at Buffalo, SUNY

 

229. Frederick F. Wherry, Professor of Sociology, Yale University

 

230. Erick White, Visiting Fellow, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University 

 

231. Dhrista Wichterich, Gastprofessur Geschlechterpolitik, Fachbereich Gesellschaftswissenschaften, Universität Kassel

 

232. Sutida Wimuttikosol, PhD student, King's College London

 

233. Thongchai Winichakul, Professor of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

234. Hiram Woodward, Curator Emeritus, Asian Art, Walters Art Museum

 

235. Theodore Jun Yoo, University of Hawaii at Manoa

 

236. Karin Zackari, PhD candidate, Human Rights Studies, Department of History, Lund University

 

237. Peter Zinoman, Professor of History and Southeast Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley

 

238. Rebecca Zorach, Professor of Art History, Romance Languages, and the College, University of Chicago