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the 2005 general election a large number of ineligible ballots contained anti-Thaksin
messages.
Somsak Jiamteerasaku, a university professor long critical of the lèse majesté laws, was arrested after
delivering a speech proposing reform measures to the institution of the monarchy. The Thai academic
community was surprised that such a politically motivated tool would be applied to previously off-limits
intellectuals.
Media
Southeast Asian governments are not usually fond of uncensored media, but Thailand of-
ten bucked this trend during the 1990s, even ensuring press freedoms in its 1997 constitu-
tion, albeit with fairly broad loopholes. This ended with the ascension of Thaksin Sh-
inawatra, a telecommunications billionaire, at the beginning of the 21st century. With
Thaksin as prime minister and his party holding a controlling majority, the press en-
countered the kind of censorship and legal intimidation not seen since the 1970s era of
military dictatorships. The government filed a litany of defamation lawsuits against indi-
viduals, publications and media groups who printed embarrassing revelations about the
Thaksin regime.
After the 2006 ousting of Thaksin, the media managed to retain its guarantees of press
freedoms in the new constitution, but this was a 'paper promise' that did little to rescue
the press from intimidation, lawsuits and physical attacks. Sweeping powers to ensure
national security, often invoked against the press, were added to the emergency powers
laws that went into effect after the coup.
Press intimidation in Thailand is made easier because of the country's lèse majesté
laws (causing offence against the dignity of the monarchy)which carry a jail term of three
to 15 years. Often the media exercises self-censorship with regard to the monarchy,
mainly out of respect for the crown, but also out of fear that political enemies will file
lèse majesté charges.
Filing of lèse majesté charges has increased since 2006, mainly against political rivals,
but also against journalists and even average citizens. Charges have been filed against a
Thai Facebook user who posted a negative comment about the king and an overseas Thai
who posted translations of a banned book about the king on his blog.
Publications that the government views as presenting an unflattering view of the mon-
archy are often banned. Several critical issues of
The Economist
have been banned since
