Thai Police file lese majeste against BBC reporter Jonathan Head

The Thais, always good for a propaganda nightmare with their shortsighted pride and 'loss of face' have done it again -- how anybody in his right mind can charge a reporter working for a long time for the BBC with their outdated 'lese majeste' laws is absolutely beyond me... this is much worse than shutting down the whole YouTube website for a month because there might or might not have been videos offensive to really thin-skinned people on there.

The Nation wins the price in this article by being extremely sparsely on the important facts (again) -- eg what really was the content of the speech: since it was held in front of the Foreign Correspondents Club in Bangkok, I am sure somebody must have a transcript handy -- but they are so pressed into a corner by the narrow-minded Thai government that they would not dare to bring facts to their readers.

The FCCT is still completely mum about this incident, as mentioend in this article below; their website currently shows curiosly an advert for 'The King of Thailand in World Focus' instead.

Incidentally, not only famous reporters and globally known websites are under threat of being accused of 'lese majeste': it can hit normal people too (for example for not standing up in the cinema when the anthem is played).

From The Nation:

"A police investigator has filed a lese majeste complaint against a BBC reporter over comments he made in a short speech on "Coup, Capital and Crown" at the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCCT) in Bangkok in December.
Pol Lt-Colonel Watanasak Mungkijkarndee, an investigator at Bang Mod police station, filed a copy of the video of Jonathan Head's opening speech at the FCCT plus a transcript and translation to investigators at the Crime Suppression Division.
He said he filed the case alone and without any political motive.
Pol Lt-Colonel Boonlert Kalayanamitr, the officer in charge of the case, said an investigative committee must be appointed. Evidence will be sent to the Royal Thai Police's Foreign Affairs Division, which will translate and interpret the comments as well as request advice from linguistic experts on Head's speech, he said.
Head, who has worked in Asia for the BBC for many years, was not available for comment last night. Friends said the reporter - highly regarded here - is on assignment in the Philippines.
A member of the FCCT board preferred not to discuss the news "at this stage" because the issue was sensitive and the club was unsure of all the details relating to the complaint.
The move was the talk of foreign reporters yesterday. "It just sends a chill," one commented."

Recent articles of Jonathan Head for the BBC:

• Why Thailand's King is so revered
  (with remarks to 'lese majeste')
• Thailand's wealthy untouchables

Links of Interest:

• FCCT-The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand
• Article in the International Herald Tribune
  
• Article in the Matichon (in Thai)
  
• Discussion on Thai Visa

As so often is the case, the discussion out on the internet was much more enlightening and open.
As one poster said:

"The question is not really what's in this low level creep's mind but whather some goon at a higher level has put him up to it, and why.My guess is that sanity will prevail given Jonathan's BBC background and excellent connections here. However whatever happens Thailand's reputation suffers. The huge irony is that this kind of incident damages the institution that 99.999% revere."

Another had this to offer:

"They must have some idea that pursuing this one will make a mockery of Thailand on an international scale.
Face will probably get in the way of this level of decision making though. Give 'em enough rope..."

And an interesting spin to this incident, in the light of other articles written by Jonathan Head and published by the BBC:

"As some posters have already guessed, this appears to be a warning shot across the bow in typical cowardly style in order to deter further articles from Mr. Head touching a raw nerve and exposing the truths about this country."

And closing a thought about Thailand, democracy and how it touches the lifestyle of us expats here:

"A timely reminder to those who periodically pepper the forum with the fatuous notion that Thailand was,is and can be a democracy.
The country is a playground for vested interests shared among the police, armed forces and a hegemony of families. Lifting rocks to expose their squalid activities is a perilous endeavor and Mr. Head is being reminded of that.
Defamation suits and accusations of 'lese majeste' are their preferred tools of attack although the odd assassination may suffice if "someone" gets really angry.
Still, the living is cheap, the beaches fine, the food interesting and the women are beautiful, plentiful and, above all, available.... who cares about human rights etc.,etc., when you can have all this."

More from New Mandala:

"If you spend 600 baht on the VCD of the 23 December session of FCCT, you’ll find Jonathan Head does not say very much except in his introductory remarks as moderator. As part of setting the scene for the book launch, he mentioned in passing ‘that murky issue of what role, what influence does the institution of the monarchy have.’
Now try looking up ‘murky’ in an English-Thai dictionary. Most give ??? and ?????? (roughly: dark) among the first few options.
So has Jonathan Head just been lost in translation? Maybe. But I suspect it is not quite so simple. In the second half of last year, the FCCT held two sessions which touched on the monarchy. These complaints are an unsubtle way to warn the club against getting into the habit of this sort of thing. In this case the complaint is against the only journalist involved (not the three Thai achan, not the farang achan) because that sends a message to the club."