PHUKET: One or two officers in the Royal Thai Navy should not be permitted to behave like bullies in pursuing an unjust criminal defamation prosecution against journalists, Phuketwan editor Alan Morison said today.
''The Prime Minister should kill the court action against Phuketwan immediately and order a full investigation into this bizarre misuse of the Navy's good name,'' said Morison.
''If this case reaches court next month, these officers will be responsible for trashing the reputation of the Navy and of Thailand. The Prime Minister should intervene now, while there's still time to prevent a disaster.''
At the invitation of the European Union, Morison and his co-charged colleague Chutima Sidasathian briefed ambassadors and delegates of the 28-nation body in Bangkok today about the case against them.
Morison and Khun Chutima met with Australian ambassador Paul Robilliard and key embassy staff the previous day.
Joining the journalists at today's meeting was British migrant worker advocate Andy Hall, who is also facing criminal defamation and Computer Crimes Act charges in a separate series of cases brought by a pineapple processor over a critical NGO's report.
While the EU gathering remains confidential, Hall, Morison and Chutima spoke out after the meeting about their cases.
Simply for being a co-author of a Finnwatch report exposing migrant worker abuses, Hall is fighting four separate cases and faces jail as well as a compensation payout of 400 million baht.
''Today's gathering sends a clear message to the Thai government,'' Hall said later.
''I was delighted to be able to explain how these laws are being misused and I feel EU support on migrant worker and Rohingya issues is likely to grow even stronger in future.''
Hall's cases roll on and witnesses give evidence against Morison and Khun Chutima on Phuket from July 14.
Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, the UN human rights body, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and other groups have called on the Thai government to kill the case before the trial resumes.
''Thailand must begin to make decisions based on choosing between right and wrong,'' Khun Chutima said after today's EU meeting.
''This should not be about saving face. These charges should never have been laid. If the Navy behaves with honor, it has to accept that one or two officers made a mistake on the basis of bad advice.''
The journalists have been asked to ''apologise'' for republishing a paragraph word-for-word in 2013 from a Reuters report that became part of a series on the Rohingya exodus from Burma (Myanmar) that won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize.
''When Reuters apologises, we will consider what to say next,'' Morison said. ''But the words clearly belong to Reuters, not us.''
Reuters and other news organisations in Thailand and around the world which published the Reuters journalists' words have not been charged.
''Phuketwan has been singled out for unjust special punishment,'' Morison said today.
''The Prime Minister must ask the Navy why they have focussed on the news outlet that has reported most fully on Thailand's treatment of the boatpeople from Burma and Bangladesh over the past seven years.
''This is all about a misguided and vindictive response based on rumor, ego and paranoia. Even worse, the paragraph has been appallingly mistranslated.
''Incredibly, the original English-language version does not even mention the Royal Thai Navy. Yet the Navy's Thai-language translation mentions the Royal Thai Navy three times.''
Morison said the journalists were clearly the real victims and had already suffered serious financial and emotional repercussions.
''The officers' misguided pursuit will expose Thailand to ridicule around the world if the Prime Minister does not order the Attorney General to stop the case,'' he added.
''The government's improving relationship with the media in Thailand and internationally will be severely damaged.
""Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha should simply ask the officers involved to explain how they can justify this persecution of the press,'' Morison said.
''We are confident he will then decide to have the case withdrawn.''
''The Prime Minister should kill the court action against Phuketwan immediately and order a full investigation into this bizarre misuse of the Navy's good name,'' said Morison.
''If this case reaches court next month, these officers will be responsible for trashing the reputation of the Navy and of Thailand. The Prime Minister should intervene now, while there's still time to prevent a disaster.''
At the invitation of the European Union, Morison and his co-charged colleague Chutima Sidasathian briefed ambassadors and delegates of the 28-nation body in Bangkok today about the case against them.
Morison and Khun Chutima met with Australian ambassador Paul Robilliard and key embassy staff the previous day.
Joining the journalists at today's meeting was British migrant worker advocate Andy Hall, who is also facing criminal defamation and Computer Crimes Act charges in a separate series of cases brought by a pineapple processor over a critical NGO's report.
While the EU gathering remains confidential, Hall, Morison and Chutima spoke out after the meeting about their cases.
Simply for being a co-author of a Finnwatch report exposing migrant worker abuses, Hall is fighting four separate cases and faces jail as well as a compensation payout of 400 million baht.
''Today's gathering sends a clear message to the Thai government,'' Hall said later.
''I was delighted to be able to explain how these laws are being misused and I feel EU support on migrant worker and Rohingya issues is likely to grow even stronger in future.''
Hall's cases roll on and witnesses give evidence against Morison and Khun Chutima on Phuket from July 14.
Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, the UN human rights body, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and other groups have called on the Thai government to kill the case before the trial resumes.
''Thailand must begin to make decisions based on choosing between right and wrong,'' Khun Chutima said after today's EU meeting.
''This should not be about saving face. These charges should never have been laid. If the Navy behaves with honor, it has to accept that one or two officers made a mistake on the basis of bad advice.''
The journalists have been asked to ''apologise'' for republishing a paragraph word-for-word in 2013 from a Reuters report that became part of a series on the Rohingya exodus from Burma (Myanmar) that won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize.
''When Reuters apologises, we will consider what to say next,'' Morison said. ''But the words clearly belong to Reuters, not us.''
Reuters and other news organisations in Thailand and around the world which published the Reuters journalists' words have not been charged.
''Phuketwan has been singled out for unjust special punishment,'' Morison said today.
''The Prime Minister must ask the Navy why they have focussed on the news outlet that has reported most fully on Thailand's treatment of the boatpeople from Burma and Bangladesh over the past seven years.
''This is all about a misguided and vindictive response based on rumor, ego and paranoia. Even worse, the paragraph has been appallingly mistranslated.
''Incredibly, the original English-language version does not even mention the Royal Thai Navy. Yet the Navy's Thai-language translation mentions the Royal Thai Navy three times.''
Morison said the journalists were clearly the real victims and had already suffered serious financial and emotional repercussions.
''The officers' misguided pursuit will expose Thailand to ridicule around the world if the Prime Minister does not order the Attorney General to stop the case,'' he added.
''The government's improving relationship with the media in Thailand and internationally will be severely damaged.
""Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha should simply ask the officers involved to explain how they can justify this persecution of the press,'' Morison said.
''We are confident he will then decide to have the case withdrawn.''
PM certainly can not order Attorney General, but can only suggest.
I think the assertive tone of the message, albeit some may perceive is too sharp, is fit in the situation.
May be it would be good to state the same or similar in Thai, and forward it to the Attn. PM, asking for expression of his suggestion to AG?
Posted by Sue on June 12, 2015 17:26