Thai Gov't Sets Up Site For Snitching On Royals' Critics 329
An anonymous reader writes "In a move that would make the old eastern German Stasi green with envy, the Thai government has modernized a system that allows citizens to snitch on fellow citizens. 'Internet users are being urged to show their loyalty to the king by contributing to a new website called protecttheking.net, which has been set up by a parliamentary committee. On the site's front page it is described as a means for Thai people to show their loyalty to the king by protecting him from what it calls misunderstandings about him. It calls on all citizens to inform on anyone suspected of insulting or criticising the monarchy.'
An large unknown population of political prisoners are currently being held for 3 to 15 years in Thai prisons for being interpreted as insulting the monarchy."
writeinjackthompson (Score:4, Funny)
Sorry, had to be said.
Re:writeinjackthompson (Score:4, Insightful)
I was thinking of writing in myself. Anonymously, of course.
"I am here to report myself, who frequently claims that the king has inappropriate sexual relations with monkeys. My name is Anonymous."
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
I saw that link and went to it like a moth to flame.
Of course I'm going to report anonymously because I do like going to Thailand. But Anything to help overload and confuse their servers.
Re:writeinjackthompson (Score:4, Interesting)
Worst case scenario: you get detained for a couple of days, get international exposure from human rights groups and major media outlets, and sell a book deal on the whole charade. I'd do it myself, but frankly I'm too busy with other pursuits.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You do realise you are subject to other countries laws right? And other countries can pass whatever laws they choose.
It is quite possible the law Thailand has against insulting their monarch applies to people in other countries. Thailand could then apply to extradite you to their country to face trial. In this case extradition would be unlikely but if you are stupid enough to rock up in their country of you own accord there is nothing the US State department can do apart from provide you a lawyer.
A good exa
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
"You do realise you are subject to other countries laws right? And other countries can pass whatever laws they choose."
Yes, they can pass whatever laws they choose; and when those laws are oppressive and specifically deny people certain human rights, challenging them in any way possible is an action which has integrity and validity.
Let's say a country passes a law under which member of a particular racial group are all subject to execution by the state. Anyone caught sheltering or providing help to any m
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I think it would be much more amusing to have a bot keep submitting the name of the King of Thailand.
Ants (Score:5, Informative)
Those people really are nothing but ants.
That, and their king has a fugly wife and a really dumb-looking hat.
Re:Ants (Score:5, Funny)
I would inform them of your insults, but apparently their site is slashdotted.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Only on slashdot would such a post be modded insightful. Not that I disagree.
Re: (Score:2)
How is it racist? I didn't say anything about anyone's race, only their culture, which is broken.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
American culture by comparison is...
We have culture? Who knew?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
And it speaks volumes about *your* culture that you believe that freedom of expression is something that *doesn't* need to be protected.
When something is offensive (like your post), sometimes insults are appropriate, fuckwad.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Who says its his idea?
A typical court is going to have the leader - king, queen, etc. - and a whole bunch of staff. Retainers, advisors, etc. It could be his head advisor that is saying, "But it has to be this way! We must protect the honor of the King!", to which he would reluctantly agree to get the guy to shut the Hell up.
Slashdotted? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Would the site respond at all in that case? I just get read errors after a while.
But maybe it is for the best as I have it on good authority that His Majesty isn't actually quite "the Great" at all, that most of his $35 billion fortune is in fact Monopoly money, that he molests dead farm animals in the pale moonlight while "Twilight Time" by The Platters plays gently on his Zune, and that the queen is a whore and the prince holds the money. LÃse majesté crimes are fun!
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I attempted to ping protecttheking.net, and got "ping: unknown host protecttheking.net". Perhaps they haven't set up the nameservers, or that info hasn't propogated yet.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
So... (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
I do.
Tell me your name and I'll start straight away.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
me [4chan.org]
Fair enough (Score:5, Interesting)
Report every government official (from diplomats to police), every relative of a government official, and everyone related to the king.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
If enough people make false reports, they'll have to set up a site to report people who report people.
Their country, their loss! (Score:5, Insightful)
Their government try to sell the country as a tourist destination. Well you know what, if I have tourist dollars to spend you can bet I won't be visiting a country where I can go to jail just for criticising someone.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Thailand has effectively had its economy destroyed in the last year. First, a group of people closed down the airport for weeks and caused the tourism industry to lose 50%. Later, the export economy failed because of the economic downturn worldwide. Millions of people have lst their jobs in the last year.
When you add the political unrest happening their now, the high unemployment is sure to cause some real problems in Thailand over the next year or two.
I wouldn't make any Thai travel plans for the foreseeab
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Their country, their loss! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Not as barbaric as a country that kills kids? (Score:5, Informative)
Only two countries in the World refuse to sign up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and declare their right to execute children as part of their legal processes:
1. Somalia
2. United States of America
Careful who you are calling barbaric, some people might also call executing kids a pretty primitive practice.
Re:Not as barbaric as a country that kills kids? (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Based on the history of other UN documents (and my knowledge of world history), I'd rather take my chances as a child in the U.S. than in over 50% of the signatories to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Re:Their country, their loss! (Score:5, Insightful)
If you take visitors into your country and jail them for speaking their minds, you probably deserve whatever it is they said about you.
Re:Their country, their loss! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Their country, their loss! (Score:5, Interesting)
"Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."
- Denis Diderot
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd rather all the politicians were executed first, Bush has done far more damage to this world than the British queen ever will.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
That really may be the most sensible option...
Re: (Score:2)
Spring in Alberta, mmmmm.
Hey Thai Gov't (Score:5, Funny)
Thai King, you suck.
(ok i am coward hiding in US somewhere, anyway.)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
No, you're not, Maxhrk.
But, I am.
Submit some good names (Score:5, Insightful)
Either spam it full of garbage or some important people close to the king.
Hmmm, SPAM, that reminds me of something... (Score:2)
"Why?"
"He hasn't got shit all over him."
Now you can set up a web site to help keep it that way...
"Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system!"
"HELP! HELP! I'm being repressed!"
well, thailand for one (Score:2)
No way this could be used (Score:3, Funny)
Misunderstandings? (Score:2)
Sounds like they are more worried that citizens (or I guess its serfs) may understand too much.
The Thai King (Score:5, Insightful)
In some ways, the Thai Gov't kinda reminds me of an unpatched Windows Machine that needs lots of reboots and eventually a disk-wipe to get working again -- but talking about the gov't structure itself doesn't really explain why insulting the King is a big deal.
Again, like I said... the King is a "moral authority". In many ways, he's the Thai equivalent to the Pope although more in the moral sense than religious sense -- he is a man who is loved by the people and is wished to be seen as "good" by most Thai's. Insulting the King (or Queen) is a personal insult to many Thai people and is one of the few things the Thai in general do not tolerate well overall. Insulting the King in Thailand is the equivalent of bad-mouthing the Pope while visiting the Vatican.
That said, I'd rather visit Thailand again anyday than the many countries in the world that are significantly less tolerant [timesonline.co.uk].
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
"Moral"?
Are you joking?
Locking up anyone who criticizes you is /not/ moral.
Re:The Thai King (Score:4, Insightful)
Or shitting on the star spangled banner in front of the white house.
See? Now some of you might get it - a corrupt republic is no better than a monarchy if all you've done is replace the monarch with a flag.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Perhaps he's popular precisely because he doesn't have real power. It's the pricks that do meddle in peoples lives that become unpopular.
The peculiar thing about the USA is that it invents it's own royalty. What else could explain political families like the Bushes, Kennedys etc?
Re:The Thai King (Score:5, Insightful)
If you think there is an obvious American opinion to this matter, you are a moron. Travel a bit. Open your mind and your eyes.
The Thai people do love him, which is why it is such a problem to criticize him. They personally hate it when the king is insulted (I speak from experience, having lived and worked in Thailand for over a year). The government constantly use this popular love to pass laws that favour themselves and not the king because they can use such legislation to lock people up on the slightest context.
The king him disfavours the lese majeste laws, and wishes aloud for their abolition.
Silly Thais (Score:2)
Silly Thais. The king should be protecting his people, not the other way around.
M
Re:Silly Thais (Score:4, Informative)
This isn't coming from the Palace, it is coming from the military. It's the Thai version going after the opposition for not being sufficiently patriotic. I've read that the King actually doesn't approve of harassing people for lese majeste.
Jailed author back on Australian soil - Feb 09 (Score:5, Interesting)
If you think they aren't serious, check out the following recent story about a lucky Aussie who supposedly criticised the Thai Royal Family. I say lucky because, after much protest and legal fighting, he was deported after he'd been jailed for 6 years !
http://www.theage.com.au/national/jailed-author-back-on-australian-soil-20090221-8dx7.html [theage.com.au]
Re:Jailed author back on Australian soil - Feb 09 (Score:4, Informative)
He was sentenced to either 3 or 6 years in prison (the article you linked to gave both numbers). He spent about six months in prison. Still way bad enough.
Re:Jailed author back on Australian soil - Feb 09 (Score:5, Informative)
As a quick correction to your post, he was actually jailed for six months. He had been sentenced to six years, but that was reduced to three years because of his guilty plea. He was pardoned about a month after his guilty plea, having spent a total of six months in prison.
Of course, it's still absolutely ridiculous!
(Source [wikipedia.org])
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Lesson? Don't go be a dumb ass in a foreign country and get yo ass thrown in the jail.
Thai king's mama so fat she spills over to Australia in Google map.
Snitch this (Score:2)
I saw your mother last night, and I hummped her like a little bitch!
Kind Regards,
Grandpa Marsh
South Park, Colorado
After seeing the picture in TFA... (Score:2)
protecttehking.net (Score:2)
So...who's going to register protecttehking.net and put up an nice pie-in-the-king's-face flash game?
Don't look at me I'm the brains of this operation.
View the Site's contents (Score:3, Informative)
It contains, in part, this: How To Report Tips
Tips â" This link provides a couple of methods on how to report tips in. One method is to mail to P.O. Box 999, Bangkok . Another indicated is to email directly to protecttheking@parliament.go.th As well, there is an in-page form in Thai for users to complete.
Law & Punishment
This page has five separate links under this title, numbered as shown for convenience. The unnumbered links are:
1. Article 2 - Use of Criminal Law
This section is a verbatim lift from Thai Criminal Code Chapter 2, Articles no. 4-7.
Article 6 - Principals and Supporters [of cr= iminal acts, i.e., lÃse majesté]
This section is a verbatim lift from Thai Criminal Code Chapter 6, Articles no. 83-89.
3. Article 7 â" Concurrence of Offenses
This section is a verbati= m lift from Thai Criminal Code Chapter 7, Concurrence of Offenses, Articles no. 90-91.
4. Article 9 â" Statute of Limitations
This section is a verbati= m lift from Thai Criminal Code Chapter 9, Prescription (statute of limitations.), Articles no. 95-101.
5. Part 2 â" Offenses Related to National Security; Article 2, Offenses Against the king, queen, heir to the throne or regent. [Translatorâ(TM)s note: This section is a verbatim lift from the = Thai Criminal Code Book II, Specific Offenses, Title 1, Offenses Relating to The Security of the Kingdom, Articles no. 107-112.
Re: (Score:2)
When repressive governments set up offices and instruments to have citizens spy on each other, what usually happens is that it just becomes a tool for parties to private disputes to hassle each other. It becomes easy to set up a bunch of false witnesses and turn in your adversary to the authorities.
And the government employees who run this racket, soon discover this abuse. And in an effort to separate the "good" reports from the "bad", they become gatekeepers. So now if you want to turn your adversary in,
Re:View the Site's contents (Score:4, Informative)
Under the infamous PM Thaksin, the "War on Drugs" gave Thai police the authority to execute drug dealers in the north on the spot with no trial. It became simply a way to consolodate the drug business and/or get rid of trouble makers. The police (corrupt and involved in drug trafficking themselves) killed whomever they wished and planted drugs on the body after.
Now that was a war on drugs. This new affair will end similarly.
Report (Score:3, Funny)
Report: My neighbor was spreading rumors that the King was paranoid and an evil oppressive dictator imprisoning anyone who questioned or insulted him.
-
Please someone inform the king he's doing it wrong (Score:2)
It's supposed to read:
1. Wear silly hats
2. Arrest people for making fun of silly hat wearer
3. ??????
4. Profit!
Instead the king is pulling a:
1. Wear silly hats
2. Arrest people for making fun of silly hat wearer
3. Ruin lives needlessly
4. ???????
There is no profit!
Awesome - (Score:3, Informative)
I clicked the link for the snitching website - but it didn't work right away - so to be sure - I just clicked the link again - over and over and over and over - but it still didn't work ...
Not what they intended... (Score:5, Funny)
i think the russians and french had the right idea (Score:3, Insightful)
monarchies are a ridiculous anachronism
uk, thailand, japan: follow nepal please, lose your bullshit historical baggage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalese_monarchy [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Why should they, if it isn't causing problems? Last I looked, in Japan the monarchy wasn't even politically relevant or a problem.
Last I checked, the king of Thailand was pardoning most people arrested under the law. This is the government abusing their King to silence critics.
Or just idiocy to a phenominal degree,
Re: (Score:2)
This issue really has nothing to do with monarchy; even in the UK similar laws exist, we're just sensible enough to ignore them most of the time. More to the point, Prime Minister Blair was bad enough. We don't like the idea of President Blair.
Rights and freedom based on laws (Score:2, Insightful)
A Quick Lesson in Thai politics. (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Good example of how a Monarchy should be have?
Seriously?
You think Monarchy that locks up anyone who criticizes it, in any way is... a 'good example' of a monarchy?
You're nuts.
Re:A Quick Lesson in Thai politics. (Score:5, Informative)
You think Monarchy that locks up anyone who criticizes it, in any way is... a 'good example' of a monarchy?
Perhaps you missed the part where the OP wrote, "King Bhumibol Adulyadej is actually against the lèse majesté law"? It's the government that's at fault here, not the King. And notice that he's not grabbing power from the government to abolish the law himself, either; he's only stating his wishes and hoping that the true seat of power (the government) listens to him.
get real (Score:2)
King Bhumibol? With a name and a hat like that, one can't help but make fun of you.
Seriously: the EU and US should break off ties with Thailand until the nation gets real about political freedoms and human rights, and tourists should stay away.
To the King ... (Score:2)
An large unknown population of political prisoners are currently being held for 3 to 15 years in Thai prisons for being interpreted as insulting the monarchy.
Two words: grow up.
Thailand's king isn't as backwards as you think (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, it looks like it is time to sink the boot into Thais again, and their over-the-top laws in relation to Lese Majesty (criticising the royals).
I agree that people should be free to criticise anyone in a free society, and that locking people up for up to 15 years for something as minor as criticising a royal is ludicrous, here are some facts you may not be aware of:
1. Thailand's king Bhumibol Adulyadej said a few years ago in a birthday speech that the law of lese majesty was outdated and he would pardon anyone found guilty of the crime. He has since kept his word.
2. The crime of lese majesty came about in Thailand because under their constitution it is illegal for the royal family (who are supposed to be above the rest of society) to comment on the day-to-day running of society. They cannot respond to political attacks, nor can they react if people personally attack their character.
3. Because the Thai royals cannot respond to attacks, and take legal action or comment at any defamatory comments about them, the crime of lese majesty was inserted into the country's constitution, as a safeguard against political attacks on the royals.
4. Every time there is a general election the parliament has to vote on whether to can the lese majesty laws. Despite the king saying the laws no longer need to be in existence, the Thai people revere the king, and would vote out of office any politician who voted to abandon the lese majesty laws, hence the laws remain.
People in Thailand do not have the same freedom of speech rights that people in the west do, but to portray the king as some sort of evil ogre who is so sensitive to criticms that he cannot deal with an insult is just ridiculous.
This website will no doubt create a bureaucratic headache for the king, but should not be seen as evidence that Thailand is a dictatorial state.
Even the old East Germany jokes work! (Score:2)
Erich Mielke (head of the Stasi) and Erich Honecker (head of the GDR) meet in prison after the fall.
Honecker: "Ya know, secretly, I collected the jokes the people told about me."
Mielke: "Hey, what a coincidence! I collected the people."
Re: (Score:2)
People don't usually proxy into Thailand, it's the other way around.
Re:The Thai King is a... (Score:5, Funny)
His mother was a hamster and his father smelt of elderberries!
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Paraphrasing the Wizard of Id. :)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)
I'm going to personally inundate the world of warcraft forums with links to that website.
Oh, c'mon. Sure, insulting him will land you in jail, but is that really as bad as having to listen to WoW players' comments?
Find a way to get him addicted to WoW, that would be a punishment indeed. WoW's best service to humanity is keeping the worst of humanity locked up in a Sisyphean task.
Re: (Score:2)
Fuck this multiculturalist bullshit. Lese majeste is nothing except a way to oppress the people. If you can't say your opinion on something, it is as evil as any dictatorship in the world. You see, after reading a bit about the king, I know
Re:Idiots! (Score:5, Insightful)
The king of Thailand is protected by a set of old laws called Lese Majeste, which essentially means it is a crime to injure the king in any way (including verbally).You may not agree with it, and in fact, the Thai king himself is against these laws, but this is their way.
And in some parts of Africa a female child may have her clitoris excised to save her from sexual temptation later in life. Now in some less-enlightened quarters, this is considered a bad idea. But hey, what do I know, I'm just an ugly American imposing my cultural views on the world, right?
Cultural relativism is as harmful a mind virus as religion. Some things in the world are broken, and sticking your fingers in your ears and pretending otherwise does not make you morally superior.
Re:Idiots! (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, when it comes to improper use of blades, America is not all that enlightened either... (see sig below)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, when it comes to improper use of blades, America is not all that enlightened either...
True enough perhaps, but your point is actually my own: some cultural artifacts are objectively worse than others. Specifically, male circumcision is not as bad a thing as female circumcision. If we removed the glans and not just the foreskin, then the procedures would be comparable.
Arguably they should both be stopped... but I'm not going to take to the streets defending my dearly-departed foreskin or the King of
Re: (Score:2)
Suit yourself, but some people are taking the streets in defense of their dearly-departed foreskins. Check here. [mgmbill.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Which is great; more power to 'em.
Re:The Thai King is a spoiled child. (Score:5, Informative)
This king has (to my knowledge) always pardoned people who were convicted of this crime and he has also tried to get rid of this law.