Thailand blocks Economist for criticizing monarchy

BANGKOK - THIS week's edition of the Economist has not been distributed in Thailand because of local objections to an article about the royal family, the second disruption in two months, the magazine said.

'This week our distributors in Thailand have decided not to deliver The Economist in light of our coverage relating to the Thai monarchy,' it said in an email to Bangkok-based subscribers.

Last month, the magazine published a critical analysis of the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and questioned the official neutrality of the palace in the political maelstrom that has engulfed the country for the last three years.

The magazine did not send that edition to its Bangkok distributors out of consideration of lese majeste laws that make any spoken or published insult or threat to the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The edition published on Friday focused on the case of an Australian author sentenced to three years' jail last week for comments in a 2005 novel that were interpreted as a smear to the Crown Prince. Only seven copies of the novel were ever sold.

The article also reported a growing openness among Thais to discussion of the role of the monarchy in public life due to last year's turbulence, in particular the occupation of Bangkok's airports and Government House by a royalist protest group.

Hitherto, the subject had been limited to whispered, private talk among friends. But Queen Sirikit's attendance at the funeral of a protester killed in clashes with police in October sparked an unprecedented flurry of online comment.

'Repressive laws may not be enough to stop a tidal wave of straight talk,' the article said.

Many of Thailand's 65 million people regard the king as a semi-divine and beneficent 'Father of the Nation' who, during his six decades on the throne, has intervened occasionally but decisively in politics after bloodshed on the streets.

However, critics have questioned why a country that proclaims such devotion to its monarch needs such strong laws to protect his image.

Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, part of the Democrat Party-led government that came to power last month, has vowed to toughen the laws yet further and crack down on all anti-royal commentary online.

Despite the de facto ban, the Economist article was still available to read on the Internet via a Thai server.

LNK

Thailand blocks Economist for criticizing monarchy

Thailand blocks Economist for criticizing monarchy

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