Increasingly Dictatorial and Facist: Thailand's Thaksin Trys to Expel Two Foreign Journalists by Phairath Khampha 28 February 2002 In what many in Thailand see has the country's prime minister flexing increasingly dictatorial muscles, the authorities in Thailand ordered the expulsion of two foreign journalists and blacklisted two others, saying they were a threat to national security, although it was not quite clear how this could be so. The two correspondents from the regional magazine, Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) received official deportation orders over the February 23-24, 2002 weekend. The magazine's Hong Kong-based editor and publisher were also barred from entering Thailand. The move by the Thai government caused deep concern among the world'struer democracies and sympathy towards the country's King, as it seemed his heart-felt concerns regarding the increased corruption and lessened democracy under Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were not being addressed by the government. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra reacted strongly to an official statement from the Bush administration expressing concern over press freedom in Thailand, saying: "Thailand's sovereignty is our business" and "American concern over other countries' internal affairs and culture is just a veiled form of corporate colonisation of other countries". The decision was to be connected with an article in the magazine in January which referred to relations between the prime minister and the royal family. The press in Thailand has been considered among the freest in Asia, so the decision to expel the correspondents from one of the region's most respected publications provoked strong condemnation. Opposition politicians and media organisations in Thailand said the order, if carried out, would seriously damage Thailand's international reputation and that it was a sign that Thaksin was becoming increasingly paranoid and dictatorial in ways similar to that of Malaysia's recalcitrant prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad. Taboo subject Although no exact charges were made against the two correspondents, they were, upon instruction from the rpime minister's office, accused by the police of threatening national security. Given who they are and what they do, it was very difficult to determine how this could be true. The allegation followed an article which appeared in the FEER in January, referring to differences between King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. That issue of the magazine was banned in Thailand. The Penguin Star also covered these differences [Thailand's King Warns of Social Catastrophe for Thailand and Journalist Watchdog Disturbed by Thailand's Ban of Asian Magazine ] Reporting about the royal family is tightly restricted in Thailand, and no public discussion about the role of the monarchy is permitted, partly because the masses believe the king is divine and that therefore it would be some sort of sacrilege. The King remains a highly respected figure, who is considered to be above politics but at times he has given well-publicised advice to the country. Most notably, in May 1992, he helped to put an end to the killing of hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators in the streets of Bangkok by the army. Most recently, in December 2001, his condemnation of what he called "double standards in Thai society" was widely seen as a an important and honest criticism of Mr Thaksin's increasingly corrupt government. A Right Royal Headache The issue surrounding the scolding that Thaksin indirectly received from Thailand's King promises to be a messy controversy for Thailand politically. Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has become an increasing source of irritation to King Bhumibol Adulyadej because of Thaksin's recalcitrance and obvious arrogance and his attempts to meddle in royal family affairs. Thailand's constitutional monarch has no formal role in day-to-day politics, but in the speech in early December marking his birthday he clearly lambasted the premier in public.Thaksin is known to have business links with the king's son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, who most Thais see as irresponsible and dishonest, if one asks them in the street. According to a senior official close to the palace, all this is frowned upon by the king, prompting speculation of a possible confrontation between the Prime Minister's Office and the palace. The same source worried that Thaksin, who gained a massive majority in the January 6, 2001 general election, is trying to use his status as Thailand's wealthiest businessman, with solid backing in parliament, to fend off the royal palace. That would have serious and worrying implications for the future stability of Thailand. The fact the king uncharacteristically lambasted the premier suggests that despite what Thaksin and the police would have us believe by the way the FEER editors have been treated, there is considerable truth behind the controversy and the issues surrounding it. Subsequent muddling by Thaksin and his cronies [see article from Thailand's Nation, the latter part of the article showing some disturbing trends in Thaksin's hypocritical premiership and how the issue is being handled] suggests that the real truth and the hanging of Thaksin's political underware in public over this and other matters of corruption and personal aggrandization and accumulation of what appears to be somewhat ill-gotten wealth is causing discomfiture because it is revealing the true manner of the man--a dictatorial megalomaniac that chillingly appears to be using methods to attain power that closely parallel Adolf Hitler's attainment and consolidation of power in Germany during the 1930s. In the end, the FEER fracas shows how wealthy men do not much like a free press that critically examines their motivations and perhaps somewhat dishonest behaviour. Many of Thailand's economic and political elite would still agree with remarks made in 1996 by Piyanat Watcharaporn, a former minister in Banharn's government, who put it trenchantly: "Thailand's development has lagged far behind that of Singapore and Malaysia because its press has too much freedom." (Said to an Asian Wall Street Journal reporter). His view reflects that of many wealthy people the world over who assume public office. The Far Eastern Economic Review fracas seems to be another instance of this attitude. After reading the brief piece that upset the Thai government so much, one can easily conclude that the current fuss is all due to Thaksin's frantic need to keep the Thai public from finding out what he is up to and the fact that he and his cronies are hoodwinking the nation while they still its wealth. There is nothing new here. Very wealthy men in high office seldom devote themselves exclusively, or honestly, to their official duties. It is an old problem, and electorates would be well advised to prevent it in the first place. But the very poor have, through ignorance of the man's true colours, turned Thailand over to the very wealthy; now all must make the best of it. But the elecotrate the world over is ignorant of what their leaders or prospective leaders are. After all, how can they make an informed opinion. The media is always owned by the same members of the political and economic elite who decide which puppet must be elected in order to protect or further their interests. This is also true of countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States. henceforth, there obviously are only pseudo-democracies. US, UK Embassies 'deeply concerned' Criticism of the Thai government's decision to ban and expel the two Far Eastern Economic Review journalists, one British and the other American, mounted on February 25 , with their embassies expressing concern. "According to international respect of democratic principles, in this particular case, we are deeply concerned about the report that Thai-land may expel a US journalist from entering the country for publishing critical reports," a US embassy spokesperson said. "The US government has always been a proponent of press freedom and it believes that an independent and unfettered press is essential in the democratic system," the spokesperson said. "We hope that Thailand will continue to uphold its current reputation as being a supporter of freedom of the press as outlined in its Constitution and its past practice," the spokesperson added. The FEER journalists facing expulsion were Bangkok bureau chief, Shawn Crispin, 33, an American citizen, and correspondent Rodney Tasker, 56, a British national, who was also president of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT). A Bangkok-based British diplomat said that the British embassy was monitoring the situation with great concern. "We are concerned by the news about the process of deportation and we are monitoring the situation," said the official, who requested anonymity. Meanwhile the board of the FCCT issued an open letter to Thaksin, calling for him to stay the order. The club said it was deeply shocked and dismayed at the government's decision to expel the two Bangkok-based correspondents. "The FCCT joins a mounting chorus of local and international protest against this serious assault on press freedom. The precipitous manner in which charges have been laid against two respected members of the press corps calls into question the commitment of the Thai government to its own constitutional guarantees of press freedom," the letter said. As a result of the expulsion order, Thailand's reputation around the world as a tolerant democracy and haven for free expression had become immeasurably harmed, the club's board said. Thaksin hits back at US 'concern' Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on february 26 reacted strongly to an official statement from the Bush administration expressing concern over press freedom in Thailand, saying: "Thailand's sovereignty is our business" and "American concern over other countries' internal affairs and culture is just a veiled form of corporate colonisation of other countries". Visibly tense after reporters asked for a reaction to the statement from Washington, the prime minister responded: "Don't be concerned who the power of sovereignty belongs to. The US's is the US's. It is unrelated to ours. All they are trying to do is what they do elsewhere--control local people's opinions to bring about changes that are conducive to the economic colonisation of other nations for the profit of the American corporate elite." This was the first time Thaksin had so outspokenly criticised American geopolitical and economic aims in Thailand and the region. Thaksin said his government did not have to explain to the US the Thai police decision to expel two foreign journalists from the Far Eastern Economic Review on grounds that their article threatened Thailand's national security. Thaksin also reiterated that the government had not been involved in the police decision to take action against the FEER journalists. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher had said on February 26 in Washington that US ambassador to Thailand Darryl Johnson had raised the issue of the threat to deport the foreign journalists, one of whom is an American, in a meeting in Bangkok with Thaksin on February 22. "We are concerned about the prospect that Thailand may bar certain journalists from working in or entering the country for publishing reports that were critical of the government," Boucher said. Thai police have called on the magazine to either apologise or correct the article to prevent the two journalists being expelled. On February 26, FEER editor Michael Vatikiotis said he was willing to apologise or correct any errors if Thai authorities explicitly indicated what the publication had done wrong. "There have been no specifics from the government on why it is a threat, and most of what we have learned came from media reports and a single letter from the police," he said. Vatikiotis repeatedly said that FEER had had a presence in Thailand for over half a century. "At least one of the reporters being deported has been in Thailand for more than 20 years," he said. "No, it's not that we are not going to apologise, but we haven't been told anything," Vatikiotis said. He added that FEER was a responsible publication and if there were mistakes, the publication usually admitted to them and made corrections. "We seek to tell the truth in an honest way," he said. There were even signs that FEER was willing to talk the matter over when Vatikiotis said that he "regretted the misunderstandings". [see letter in Thailand's Nation] "We have no intention to harm anybody. We're not out to cause trouble," he said. Vatikiotis flatly denied allegations that FEER might have written the January 10, 2002 article in its Intelligence section as a favour to someone, possibly an opposition member out to sabotage the government. "We're not covering the news on behalf of anyone," he declared. The editor of the Hong Kong-based publication said he was still optimistic the issue would be resolved without further problems. He refused to comment on what might happen to FEER's Bangkok office if its two journalists were deported. Meanwhile, Royal Thai Police spokesman Maj-General Pongsathat Pongcharoen said that at the February 26 meeting Thai police would orally explain to the journalists the facts about how the article affected national security and who was affected by it. "They may not understand how the article affected the feelings of Thais. If they meet us, we will explain to them face to face. In the past we contacted each other by letter and document. Maybe this caused a misunderstanding," the spokesman said. "We hope that after the meeting they will understand the impact of the article on the country and better understand the police move," Pongsathat said. He recounted that police had notified FEER in Bangkok by letter that the January 10 column affected national security and asked for a correction and revelation of the news source. The FEER replied that the information in the column was correct and refused to answer the questions, Pongsathat said, so the police had on February 22 notified the journalists that their visas were revoked. Defamation threat dropped - Pair get 30-day visa reprieve for appeal The police decided they would not proceed with a criminal case against two the Far Eastern Economic Review journalists for allegedly violating the Printing Act, national police chief Sant Sarutanond said. "We can do it but we will not do it," Pol Gen Sant said. "Our country should not have to do something like that. We are a Buddhist country. If they repent and apologise, heavy penalties can become light." Pol Gen Sant said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra did not want to press defamation charges against the FEER journalists. Pol Gen Sant said police had decided not to invoke article 112 of the Printing Act after considering the writer had no intention to defame "a person protected under that provision". Pol Gen Sant said the magazine had expressed regret for causing the misunderstanding and was ready to admit it had made mistakes and correct them. It had apparently softened its stand in a letter signed by Hong Kong-based editor Michael Vatikiotis which arrived at his office on February 26. Part of the letter read: "FEER has been in Thailand for more than half a century. We are well aware of sensitive issues and Thai traditions and customs, particularly in respect to the monarchy. We can assure that all of us have no intention to violate Thai traditions or cause any disturbance in Thai society." Pol Gen Sant said he would meet FEER lawyers today at the magazine's request to "correct the situation as urgently as possible". The police chief said police did not act alone, but regularly consulted Lord Chamberlain Keokhwan Vajarodaya about what to do. Pol Gen Sant said the US embassy understood Thailand and did not blame the police. Mr Crispin and Mr Tasker, accompanied by their lawyers, took themselves to the Immigration Police Bureau on February 27. They were told their visas had been withdrawn because police considered the two men a national security threat under the Immigration Act. The two journalists were given a 30-day reprieve while their appeal is being considered by the Interior Ministry's appeal committee. FEER editor Michael Vatikiotis said later that the meeting between the reporters and the police was "friendly and amicable". Mr Vatikiotis said he hoped his letter to Pol Gen Sant would lead to talks with senior members of the Thaksin government. "I am really hopeful that this would lead to dialogue and closer contact which is important to resolve the problem. I am really eager to have this dialogue," he said. Interior Minister Purachai Piumsombun said criminal action could still be taken against the journalists even if they won their appeal against visa revocation. A formal apology also may not put the matter to an end if the magazine still refused to "repair the damage it had done", Mr Purachai said. The prime minister, meanwhile, said he had warned the US via its ambassador in Bangkok to "act properly and within limits". Mr Thaksin said he had not heard anything further to reports that the journalists would issue an apology to Thai people through him. Mr Crispin and Mr Tasker were not forced to leave right away because deporting someone involved procedure and Thailand "still had mercy for foreigners". Senator Thongbai Thongpao said it was unclear whether the magazine's article really harmed Mr Thaksin's reputation rather than the monarchy. Mr Thongbai said that at first the prime minister accused FEER of defaming him and threatened to sue it. Then, reports emerged that four FEER journalists would be banned from Thailand for "obscure reasons". He urged the government to make matters clear, saying a mere apology could not make up for any damage caused to the monarchy, if that really was the case. The law required police to take legal action against people who offended the monarchy, or faced action themselves for negligence, he said. "We can't just let them apologise or deport them." Mr Thongbai said that if the article did not harm the monarchy, harsh action against the journalists could invite trouble given Thailand's reputation as an "oasis" of rights and freedoms in an otherwise increasingly despotic and oppressive Southeast Asia.