US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will today (2.30pm GMT) deliver a speech emphasising the importance of web freedom in US foreign policy. You can watch it at http://www.state.gov/.
Index on Censorship has lined up some key Internet commentators to analyse Clinton’s speech.
UPDATE: Read Index panel here
Adil Soz‘s main goal is the establishment of an open civil society in Kazakhstan and free, objective and progressive journalism. The organisation and website monitor violations of freedom of speech in the country, and offer legal advice and representation of journalists and mass media.
We, the undersigned, oppose the use of lese majeste in Thailand in order to prevent freedom of speech and academic freedom. We demand that the government cease all proceedings in lese majeste cases.
The 19th September 2006 military coup in Thailand claimed ‘royal legitimacy’ in order to hide the authoritarian intentions of the military junta. Lese Majeste charges have not been used to protect ‘Thai Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy’ as claimed. The charges are used against people who criticised the coup and disagree with the present destruction of democracy. They are used to create a climate of fear and censorship.
One obvious case is that of Associate Professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn, from the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University. He is facing Lese Majeste charges for writing a book ‘A Coup for the Rich’, which criticised the 2006 military coup. (Read the book at http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/). Others who have been accused of lèse majesté are former government minister Jakrapop Penkae, who asked a question at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Bangkok, about exactly what kind of Monarchy we have in Thailand. There is also the case of Chotisak Oonsung, a young student who failed to stand for the King’s anthem in the cinema. Apart from this there are the cases of Da Topedo and Boonyeun Prasertying. In addition to those who opposed the coup, the BBC correspondent Jonathan Head, an Australian writer names Harry Nicolaides, social critic Sulak Sivaraksa are also facing charges. The latest person to be thrown into jail and refused bail is Suwicha Takor, who is charged with lèse majesté for surfing the internet. The Thai Minister of Justice has called for a blanket ban on reporting these cases in the Thai media. The mainstream Thai media are obliging. Thus we are seeing a medieval style witch hunt taking place in Thailand with ‘secret’ trials in the courts. The Justice Ministry is also refusing to publish figures of lèse majesté cases.
We call for the abolition of les majeste laws in Thailand and the defence of freedom and democracy.
Leave your name and location in the comments below and they will be forwarded to Giles Ji Ungpakorn and his campaign. Thank you. Alternatively, forward your details to [email protected]
Now that downloading the wrong kind of material can get you a prison sentence, is it time to challenge an encroachment on a fundamental liberty, or does the internet need tighter controls to combat the influence of extremism?
Index on Censorship presents a debate about the limits of free speech online, with AC Grayling, Panorama’s Shiraz Maher and Dr Ian Brown of the Oxford Internet Institute, chaired by Index editor Jo Glanville.
Call 0870 429 6883, or visit www.sohotheatre.com for tickets