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Tongue-Thai’ed!: An insult to the PM, a libel suit and an avalanche of poor decisions

By Saksith Saiyasombut & Siam Voices Fri, May 10, 2013 11:00AM UTC 0 Comment

This is part XIX of “Tongue-Thai’ed!”, in which we encapsulate the most baffling, amusing, confusing, outrageous and appalling quotes from Thai politicians and other public figures – in short: everything we hear that makes us go “Huh?!”. Check out all past entries here. In her tenure for almost two years now, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra generally comes...

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Thailand’s defence minister fears ‘too much press freedom’

By Saksith Saiyasombut & Siam Voices Fri, Mar 29, 2013 2:00PM UTC 0 Comment

We have written numerous times about the armed forces’ open disdain for the press. Who can forget army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha’s very frequent furious outbursts against the press, most recently against ThaiPBS for the controversial monarchy debate where he essentially told all critics of the lèse majesté law to leave the country. Now in Friday’s Bangkok...

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Debate rages over Thailand’s lèse majesté law

By Saksith Saiyasombut & Siam Voices Mon, Feb 04, 2013 10:30AM UTC 0 Comment

Students from Thammasat and Chulalongkorn University show a banner during a football match between the two universities on February 2, 2013. The students are calling for the release of veteran labor activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, who has been sentenced to 11 years in jail for lèse majesté in January 2013. (Picture via Twitter/@Anuthee)

After the verdict against veteran labor activist Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, discussions about lèse majesté have been reignited on many levels and also in many forms. Somyot was recently sentenced to 11 years in prison, 10 of them for publishing articles (which he didn’t write himself) in a magazine that were deemed insulting to the monarchy – after being previously...

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Inside view: Thailand’s lese majeste law claims latest victim

By Saksith Saiyasombut & Siam Voices Thu, Jan 24, 2013 11:00AM UTC 0 Comment

Somyot Pruksakasemsuk arrives in court in Bangkok Wednesday. Pic: AP.

The court room was packed: 200 people filled the largest room the Criminal Court in Bangkok has to offer – journalists, observers from many Western embassies and other interested parties, all eagerly waiting for the session to begin. The general chatter of the crowd was interrupted by an all too familiar sound from the back...

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Burma creates ‘Core Press Council’ amid widespread criticism

By Zin Linn Sat, Aug 11, 2012 10:04PM UTC 1 Comment

Burma or Myanmar Government released its Notification No. 61/2012 on 9 August 2012 stating the ‘Formation of Myanmar Core Press Council’ (MCPC) which consists of 20 members, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Friday. The council’s key tasks are to protect media officials, to take responsibility for the compilation of journalistic code of ethics...

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