Freedom House rates kingdom 'not free' for another year
Thailand has been rated "Not Free" for the second time in as many years by US-based Freedom House in its 2012 global assessment due to heavy sentencing by courts under the lese majeste law, as well as online censorship.
“Thailand moved from Partly Free to Not Free [in 2011] due to court rulings that the lese majeste law does not contradict constitutional provisions for freedom of expression and that third-party hosts are liable for lese majeste content posted online.
“In addition, both the government of PM Yingluck Shinawatra and the Parliament explicitly indicated that they were unwilling to address the chilling effects of the lese majeste law,” said the report released yesterday. “Thailand’s online monitoring agency expanded its use of the lese majeste law to silence dissent, and journalists faced mounting difficulty in writing about lese majeste cases and press freedom issues.”
Authorities have enhanced their monitoring of electronic media and continued their crackdown on journalists, the report said. “Landmark prosecutions of lese majeste cases highlighted the courts’ lack of independence, the government’s unwillingness to address the issue of the monarchy and the threat posed by the lese majeste law to freedom of expression in the country.”
Freedom House cited cases of “harsh punishments” of lese majeste detainees including Voice of Taksin editor Somyos Phrueksakasem-suk, who copped 10 years in prison for two articles he did not write.
“On April 11, [2011] police detained [Somyos] ostensibly for defaming the monarchy in two articles published in 2010. His arrest came less than a week after he introduced a petition demanding a review of the lese majeste law. He remained behind bars at year’s end.
“On May 10, Ampon Tangnoppakul, a 62-year-old man who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison in November 2011 for allegedly sending four text messages that insulted the monarchy, passed away in prison.”
On the Internet front, government censorship continued last year, and it is increasingly used against potentially disruptive political messages and sites that are considered a threat to national security, including those of Muslim separatist groups in the South, it said.
“The founding of the Cyber Security Operations Centre [CSOC] in late 2011 and the expansion of its work in 2012 enabled the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to block online content without the need for a court order,” the report said. “The CSOC extends control and surveillance of online media and has aided the large-scale shutdown of websites and individual pages. The centre works with Internet service providers and website owners to block not only Thai-based content, but also material that is available globally, affecting thousands of sites.”
The report found that Asia-Pacific is home to some of the worst-rated countries including North Korea and China. China is dubbed by the organisation as the world’s largest “Not Free” setting. However, Myanmar earned notice for the largest improvement.
Deterioration was also noted in Cambodia, Hong Kong, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Of the 197 countries assessed during 2012, 63 (32 per cent) were rated “Free”, 70 (36 per cent) were rated “Partly Free”, and 64 (32 per cent) were rated “Not Free”.
