BBC reporter charged with insulting the king
New York, December 24, 2008 - The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns
the ongoing legal harassment of BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Police Lt.
Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee filed a third criminal complaint this year
against Head on December 23, alleging he had insulted the Thai monarchy in
his reporting.
The latest charges are related to a December 3 article in which Head
speculated that the royal palace and figures close to the palace may have
provided tacit backing to the anti-government protest group the People's
Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which laid siege to Bangkok's main
international and domestic airports from November 26 to December 3.
Thai law allows any citizen to bring complaints against anyone they believe
has insulted the country's monarchy. Wattanasak has brought all three
complaints against Head in his personal capacity rather than as a senior
ranking police official, according to Head. Violations of lese majeste laws
are a criminal offense in Thailand, punishable by three to 15 years
imprisonment.
"It is time for prosecutors and investigators in Thailand to immediately
drop these outrageous and punitive charges against our colleague Jonathan
Head," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator. "Head's reporting
has raised important questions about Thailand's deteriorating political
situation and he should be allowed to report without fear of official
reprisals."
Head told CPJ that investigating police officials had requested a DVD
recording of a Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) (
http://www.fccthai.com ) event on December 9 titled "The State of Politics
and the Way Forward for Thailand", at which members of a pro-government
group made reference to Head's reporting. The FCCT announced today that it
was suspending sales of that particular event's recording. In an e-mail
statement, the FCCT's executive board said that "DVD recordings of Club
events had been misused by certain individuals with their own agendas, in a
way that compromises the free speech values the media community and the
FCCT stand for."
Local and foreign journalists have been under attack (
http://cpj.org/2008/06/thai-prime-minister-urged-to-halt-harassment.php )
this year as a political crisis led to three changes of government in as
many months. Head, a well-respected figure in Thai journalism, has
specifically been targeted (
http://cpj.org/2008/06/bbc-reporter-faces-legal-harassment-in-thailand.php
). The first complaint against Head was filed on April 9, and was related
to comments the reporter made in December 2007 while moderating another
event at the FCCT, titled "Coup, Capital, and Crown." The discussion
touched on the monarchy's role in Thai society in light of the 2006
military coup. The second complaint against Head, filed on May 30, included
charges that his reporting over a two-year period had "intended to
criticize the monarchy several times" and that "his writings have damaged
and insulted the reputation of the monarchy," according to an
English-language translation of the charges obtained by CPJ.
The May 30 complaint against Head cited 11 different articles from the
BBC's Web site, several of which he did not author. Thai authorities have
in recent months cracked down on hundreds of Web sites for posting
materials considered offensive to the monarchy. Both the complaints are
still pending.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide.
For further information on the previous complaints against Head, see:
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/94310
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I suggest that the
I suggest that the best way is to send this policeman: Wattanasak Mungkandee to jail or a mental hospital!!!!Years ago I remember encountering a policeman in Thailand who verbally harrassed me for not standing up (in a train compartment) when the national anthem was played (perhaps around 6 pm!!!and I was reading my book and didn't hear any anthem at all)I really hate this kind of people who feel it's their moral duty to force people to abide by medieval norms!
It is called the
It is called the small man's complex. People like these were at other times in history the priests accusing citizens of herecy during the Catholic inquisition, the demented Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution, the Bolcheviks leading the Cheka movement during the Russian Revolution, the SS during Nazi germany, etc. These people, independant at first, succumbed to the propaganda of the times, leaving in their life path untold millions of deaths and destruction.
Of course this little
Of course this little policeman won't have the environment to become that notorious in history, but the personality complex and character is the signature of those that could evolve into that. Paranoid, ultra nationalists, pitty and most likely abused as a child.
Jonathan Head is definitely
Jonathan Head is definitely guilty and now that Apisit has come into power it is clear that he is trying to change his stance by being nice to Apisit. I think Watanasak is a brave policeman trying to protect his country and now that he has linked the Finland Plan to Jonathan Head people are trying to discredit him. I do not believe that there is fervent royalism involved, it is simply not allowing people to defame and use misinformation for their lobbying purpose for whoever is the client
Kaweeka, I couldn’t agree
Kaweeka, I couldn’t agree more with yr analysis of this policeman’s mentality! I don’t want to claim to be omniscient but I can actually picture this guy’s line of thoughts and his rationale behind his crazy action. He must feel extremely proud for being able to present himself as a ‘highly patriotic’ man!!!
Watanasak is a 'brave'man??? I totally DISAGREE with you. I wonder if there were to be another law stipulating that anyone who brings LM charge against others must be subjected to similar or more severe penalty if the charge is found groundless, this guy would do what he is doing now!
If someone means well for his/her country, there are plenty that s/he can do, but to manipulate certains laws to boost one's own ego and thirst for power is obviously not anything that helps a country to mature and progress!!!
Jonatha Head may be
Jonatha Head may be a friend of a Thaksin's PR man managing his fund.(Better Life Fundation or something) But anyway, all the journalist in Bangkok, in major press agencies, are kind of friends anyway. If you have more information about him, write it here. I'm interested in that. This police charge the BBC reporter in a personal capacity, so Thai police seriously take the charge and bring him to the prosecutors is another question. And I don't think they will do it.
The police man has
The police man has the right to do so as a Thai citizen, the question is whether his interpretention of LM law is reasonable enough to be set as standard. (Any precedents could be a standard for this law.)Thai government has the right to officially protest against BBC first, if it is really a kind of staff which harm the dignity of the institution, or false, or "causing misunderstanding". Any government has the right to make complaints. And it would not cause international outrage.
It would not cause
It would not cause international outrage? It already has and it will continue to do so. Thailand's LM laws have caused outrage for a very long time. I guess you still don't get that. I stand by my analysis. What fascist have to learn is that dissent, criticism, even lies against them are to be defended with the truth and nothing more than the truth. You don't need to have oppressive and medieval laws to defend your truths and institutions, just as I don't have criminal laws to ...
protect myself of fascists
protect myself of fascists that call me unpatriotic, or with dangerous thinking, or out of touch, or racists or whatever they can and do throw at me from time to time. I don't even fashion having such a tool at my disposal because all I have to do is be myself and believe in myself. Those that see the truth the way I do, will see it, and those that don't, will not, and that's is that. As the King HIMSELF has said, he is not above criticism and tiny policemen like this are not either.
Once again, as you
Once again, as you can see time and time again, these accussations are used for personal or political gain, and have little to nothing to do with how the monarch or HM the King feels about what the foreign media thinks. Most of us rational people know the HM is a great man and that all he has done for his people comes out of his greatness as a person. LM laws are not being enforced by him or anybody around him, they are enforced by ridiculous people that want their 10 minutes of fame at any cost
Read my comments carefully.
Read my comments carefully. He brought the same charge on the same person last Jan,, and the case went no where. Probably, that is the case, this time, too. what BBC and FCCT,did is just a preemptive measure to protect their peers, which is the right thing for them to do. It is all right Thai government can make complaints to Media, because foreign media is not necessarily right in their reporting, so if Thai goverment think it needs to do so, they can protest, and it would not cause any
international outrage. Besides, law
international outrage. Besides, law is not executerd personally, this is the nature of law. LM law is not an exception. The policeman can do it in a personal capacity according to Thai law, and as I wrote repeatedly, whether or not the Police takes the charge to prosecute this BBC reporter is another thing. You can't accuse the whole system, just because a person behave irrationally from your view point. By the way, you are waisting your time now. Mabybe you start the boycott after new year.
Guys,I'd just finished a
Guys,I'd just finished a very interesting article in 'Open Democracy' about the(mis)rule of law in Thailand.Here's the link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/thailand-the-misrule-of-law
Likewise, read what I
Likewise, read what I say carefully too. I am not attacking the new government or even the police itself, I am attacking the little policeman that wants his 10 minutes of fame at any cost and I went on to draw a parallel between his kind of personality and the characters that fueled the many witch hunts our history is full off. As I have said before, the grave problem with LM laws in Thailand is that ANYBODY can make a complaint about ANYBODY, and therefore this law's intend is oppression.