THAI WEBSITES, RADIO FACE LESE MAJESTE SCRUTINY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 003374 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP, DRL, IO; NSC FOR PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO KJUS TH SUBJECT: THAI WEBSITES, RADIO FACE LESE MAJESTE SCRUTINY REF: A. BANGKOK 3350 (QUESTIONING THE UNQUESTIONABLE) ¶B. BANGKOK 2344 (FURTHER LESE MAJESTE ACCUSATIONS) ¶C. BANGKOK 1949 (LEADING UNIVERSITY) ¶D. BANGKOK 1662 (LESE MAJESTE ACCUSATIONS) BANGKOK 00003374 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: ADCM Robert Griffiths, reason 1.4 (b, d) Summary and Comment -------------- ¶1. (C) The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry and the Ministry of Interior (MOI) joined recent Army and Police efforts against lese majeste in late October. The ICT Ministry sought the cooperation of website editors in self-censoring content and announced an effort to create an expensive gateway to filter anti-monarchy postings. The MOI directed provincial governors to monitor leaflets and community radio stations for anti-monarchy material. Online posters and editors skirt the limits of lese majeste by using euphemisms to refer to members of royal family. Note: This cable is the second in a series of three looking at lese majeste, or offense to the monarchy, at a time at which increasing attention is being paid to the institution and its future. Ref A examined public reaction to recent controversial moves by the Queen and response by the army and police; septel will provide an update on a number of high profile lese majeste cases. ¶2. (C) Comment: The recent move by the ICT Ministry to further scrutinize anti-monarchy Internet chatter reflects a government response to perceived more widespread criticism of the royal family, particularly of the Queen (ref A). Operators of websites and other online media are increasingly concerned about measures the RTG might take against them and are self-censoring site content to pre-empt future lese majeste charges. As a result, critics of the monarchy are finding less open space to voice their opinions, even anonymously -- precisely what defenders of the monarchy intend through more aggressive implementation of lese majeste. End Summary and Comment. Ministries on the Alert for Lese Majeste... -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Ministry of Interior Permanent Secretary Phiraphon Traithotsawit on October 26 directed all provincial governors to monitor community radios and leaflets. Phiraphon urged governors to prevent any negative action against the monarchy. ICT Minister Mun Patanotai told the press on October 28 that he was considering spending between $2.9 million and $14.6 million to build a ""gateway"" to monitor and block anti-monarchy websites. In a press statement, Mun refused to reveal the offensive sites, explaining that doing so would encourage visitors to the sites. ...Ask websites to Self-Censor... -------------- ¶4. (C) The ICT Ministry, the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT),and the Royal Thai Police (RTP) assembled website managers of SameSky.com, Prachathai.com, Pantip.com, Serithai.com, Chuphong.com, and nine other sites on October 30 to request their cooperation in monitoring website content critical of the monarchy. A SameSky.com representative said authorities asked website owners to be ""cautious and watchful"" about content posted to their sites, urging them to use their own judgment to determine whether or not content was appropriate. Ministry officials warned that the RTG would monitor content and would instruct the webmasters to delete inappropriate content; government officials reminded the website owners that the 2007 Computer Crime Act (CCA) permits police to enforce Internet censorship. ¶5. (C) Reaction of those in attendance was mixed. Prachatai.com Executive Director Chiranuch Premchaiporn told us on November 7 that a Serithai.com employee had asserted to ICT Ministry staff that website managers may not share the views of people who post to their websites. In addition, an employee of Pantip.com complained that a recent court order to block that website was based entirely on criticism of Manager Media owner Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD),and BANGKOK 00003374 002.2 OF 002 had nothing to do with the royal family. Chiranuch saw a positive side to the meeting, however, noting she now had a contact point at the ICT Ministry, and her cooperation might protect her somewhat from future allegations of lese majeste. ¶6. (C) Same Sky Magazine editor and website manager Thanapol Eawsakul, accused of lese majeste (ref D),attended similar meetings in the past, though not the October 30 session. He told us that during earlier meetings, ICT Ministry officials had required him to pledge: to co-operate with the ICT Ministry; to delete any content offensive to the monarchy; and to delete any content that is critical of any ""third party."" He did not resent the ICT officials' action because, in his opinion, the RTG, military, and anti-government protestors forced them to hold such meetings. Thanapol's server is based abroad, and he remained confident that his readers would be able to utilize proxy sites to circumvent any future ICT Ministry blocks to the site. ...And has court orders in hand -------------- ¶7. (C) An ICT Ministry official announced at the October 30 meeting that a total of 1,500 court orders existed to block websites, and they were awaiting an additional 600 court orders, Chiranuch noted. (Comment: We presume that these totals include orders to block pornographic websites and others that may be banned for reasons other than offense to the monarchy. End Comment.) Euphemisms Enable Online Critique of Monarchy... -------------- --- ¶8. (C) Articles on the Same Sky website utilized the moniker ""XXX"" to refer to the King, ""Mama Blue"" for the Queen, alluding to her rumored ownership of a stolen Saudi blue diamond, and ""O"" to refer to the Crown Prince, drawing from the Thai word for his official title. Thanapol believed such thinly veiled references kept him on the safe side of a fine line that United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) supporters have crossed in recent public comments. ""UDD publicized in speeches, without self-censorship, what has been spoken privately for years,"" Thanapol added, saying that he would delete any UDD speeches posted to his site. ¶9. (C) Prachatai Executive Director Chiranuch indicated she also relied heavily on shifting euphemisms to retain a modicum of ambiguity/deniability. References to Queen Sirikit ""went from 'Queen' to 'Q' to 'Mama Blue' to 'Fat' and now 'Jie' (from the Chinese word for older sister),"" she explained. ...But Constant Vigilance Required -------------- ¶10. (C) Chiranuch told us that after the 2006 coup d'etat, daily online visitors to Prachatai increased from 1,000 to 10,000, and that the October 7 clash between PAD protestors and Thai police drove an increase from 15,000 to 30,000 visitors. The surge in posted comments, similar to what SameSky experienced (ref A),required significant additional hours of ""eye-ball"" scans to purge their sites of potentially offensive comments. ¶11. (C) Chiranuch said she edited conservatively just ""to be safe"" during the current political climate, using direct quotes as much as possible and deleting even remotely controversial content that had nothing to do with the monarchy. Her request for assistance yielded 50 volunteers who now worked in shifts to monitor the website 24-hours a day; regular readers also alert her to suspicious first time posters who might be provocateurs. ""We shouldn't have to do this,"" she added, calling the current climate ""a violation of freedom of expression."" JOHN