Cover photo from Khaosod English

Lampang Deputy Governor Chamlak Kanpetch has been investigated for alleged disloyalty to the monarchy over clicking the like button on the Facebook page of Yan Marchal, a French national well-known for his political parodies of Thailand’s monarchy and junta.

The leaked investigation letter dated 3 April 2023 from the Ministry of Interior was originally posted on exiled academic Somsak Jeamteerasakul’s FB page on 30 May 2023.

The leaked letter

(Photo from Somsak's FB page)

The letter stated that Marchal is considered a threat to the country and has been officially banned from entering Thailand. Chamlak’s behaviour was deemed inappropriate as a government official and was seen as disloyalty to the monarchy. The letter said an investigation committee had been formed to handle this case.

Chamlak confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Khaosod English. He said the investigation concluded in late April, and he has remained in office since then. He claimed to be framed by a local official with whom he had a land title dispute. 

Chamlak emphasized that he is a true royalist, and willing to die for His Majesty. He insisted that his interaction with Marchal’s Facebook was meant to monitor and prevent the spread of information. Chamlak expressed concerns about Marchal’s contents, as it is unknown whether it is true or not. 

Marchal responded to the issue through his FB page, saying that he was shocked and sorry for the official who was investigated due to clicking like on his FB post. He said this is a severe, arbitrary punishment against an official inflicted by a government whose term is coming to an end in the following months.

“I recommend that anyone holding any position be cautious. I do not want any innocent people to face problems because of their interaction with my content,” said Marchal on his FB. 

Netizens bombarded Facebook with their comments, most of which said that this case is over the top while some criticized the government for being overly sensitive.

Following the death of an indigenous activist from dengue fever, indigenous and community rights groups are demanding that the Ministry of Public Health take responsibility, saying that her death is the result of racial discrimination and negligence by a local hospital.

Gift Tonnamphet (front) performing a traditional blessing ceremony for Bang Kloi activists before their march to Government House during a protest in February 2022.

44-year-old Gift Tonnamphet was an activist from the Bang Kloi indigenous Karen community in Kaeng Krachan, Phetchaburi Province. Since she was arrested in early 2021 along with 21 other community members for returning to the location of their former village at Chai Phaen Din in the Kaeng Krachan forest, Gift has been protesting for her community’s right to return to their ancestral land and live according to their traditional ways and for the Pong Luek-Bang Kloi community’s right to land.

Gift died on 24 May from dengue fever, after the Kaeng Krachan Hospital refused to give her a blood test, delaying her treatment.

Activist Anchalee Ismanyee, co-ordinator for the indigenous rights network Save Bangkloi Coalition, told ThaiPBS that Gift developed a high fever on 22 May. Her husband took her to Kaeng Krachan Hospital, but due to the condition of the route from Pong Luek-Bang Kloi to the hospital, the journey took three hours and they arrived at the hospital at 17.00. A hospital official then told them that they needed to return the next day because it was out of hours, and so they could not give her a blood test. 

Gift and her husband returned to the hospital early in the morning of 23 May, but she was not seen until 12.00. A doctor then told them that her symptoms were severe and she must be transferred to the provincial hospital in Phetchaburi. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the provincial hospital that afternoon. She died in the evening of 24 May.

Anchalee said that Gift suffered from malnutrition, for which she has previously been admitted to hospital, and had kidney issues. She also said that the provincial hospital said that Gift died because of several complications from dengue fever and because her treatment was delayed.

ThaiPBS reported that a complaint was filed with the hotline of the National Health Security Office (NHSO). The Phetchaburi Provincial Public Health Office said it has received the complaint and has ordered the director of the Kaeng Krachan Hospital to give evidence within 15 days.

Meanwhile, the Save Bang Kloi Coalition issued a statement saying that Gift’s death is the result of discrimination by the hospital, as members of the Bang Kloi community are frequently treated rudely by hospital personnel, and emergency cases were often not attended to promptly. This meant that community members often do not want to go to the hospital unless they absolutely need to.

The group also said that community members suffer from malnutrition due to the lack of farmland. In over two decades since they were forcibly evacuated from Chai Phaen Din, they have not been allocated land for agriculture as the authorities had promised them, and the land they did receive was not suitable for growing crops. This led to economic issues and food scarcity, and seasonal diseases are worse for community members.

Pictures of Gift and her family were placed in front of the Ministry of Public Health sign during Monday's demonstration

On Monday (29 May), activists placed a wreath at the entrance to the Ministry of Public Health and filed a petition with the Permanent Secretary’s office to demand that they take responsibility for Gift’s death and to ensure that no such loss happens again.

Wara Chanmanee, an activist from the People’s Network to Protect Rights, Liberties and Justice, said that Gift’s family believes her death is due to negligence by Kaeng Krachan Hospital and the Prachomklao Hospital in Phetchaburi, and that activist networks working with the community said the negligence is due to racial discrimination against indigenous peoples.

Wara said that the activists are calling for the Director of Kaeng Krachan Hospital and the hospital personnel involved in this case to be punished for negligence, and for Prachomklao Hospital personnel involved to be punished for intubating Gift without informing her family and obtaining their consent.

He also said that Gift’s family must be given the compensation they are entitled to under the National Health Security Act, noting that her husband is in poor health and that they have 7 children. The Ministry must also implement measures to ensure no repeat of the incident, especially at Kaeng Krachan Hospital, where personnel should be trained to treat the indigenous community members in the same way as others.

The Network proposes that the Ministry hold a human rights workshop so that members of the Bang Kloi indigenous community can talk about their problems, noting that civil society should also be invited to participate in the workshop.

Wara posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday (30 May) that he has contacted the NHSO so that Gift’s family can receive compensation, noting that the highest amount they may receive is 400,000 baht.

Anchalee said that while the activists were placing the wreath at the Ministry, a Ministry official threatened to call the police on them, telling them that the area is sacred and so placing a wreath there is inappropriate. However, no officer came to the scene.

A major satellite and cable TV provider appears to have blocked the broadcasts about the Thai election of several overseas news agencies, according to reports on social media and eyewitness accounts. 

Pita Limjaroenrat

The latest case of a foreign news item to be taken off the air by TrueVisions, which is owned by one of the largest conglomerates in Thailand, appears to be the BBC’s interview of Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat. The interview was supposed to be aired on TrueVisions earlier today, but the broadcast was replaced with blank screen with the message “Program will resume shortly,” without providing further details. 

“When will TrueVisions stop taking the liberty to block news about Thailand from foreign news outlets?” a BBC World producer based in Thailand wrote on Twitter, along with a photo showing the interruption message on a TV screen and added “Previously, the same thing happened to CNN and ABC.” This was retweeted by the BBC’s Southeast Asia Correspondent, Jonathan Head, who conducted the interview, with the question “Would True censor us if we were interviewing Prayuth?”

The interview with Pita, whose party placed first in the 14 May election, could later be easily accessed on the BBC’s English and Thai online editions. 

TrueVisions did not offer any reason for blocking the interview, but it aligns with a pattern observed with other foreign news agencies broadcasting via TrueVisions.

Multiple journalists and news producers told Prachatai English that BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, NHK, and ABC Australia also have had their election-related news segments blocked in recent days, with the broadcasts replaced by the message "Program will resume shortly."

In contrast, similar programs were aired on AIS, another major satellite and cable TV operator in Thailand, without any issues, they said. 

The episodes left social media users musing whether the move by TrueVisions was an act of self-censorship, possibly due to concerns about negative references to the monarchy. Discussing the monarchy critically or making defamatory remarks about key members of the Royal Family is a taboo subject and a serious criminal offence in Thailand.

Under the lèse majesté or royal defamation law, which has often been broadly interpreted, such remarks can result in up to 15 years of imprisonment, even when referring to past kings.

However, a number of media professionals have noted that TrueVisions’ recent content blocking extends beyond matters directly involving the Royal Family. 

During the campaign season, Pita and the Move Forward Party expressed their commitment to amending the lèse majesté law to reduce the penalty and limit those with the right to file complaints. When a reporter recently asked Pita at a news conference on ABC Australia whether he will insist on lèse majesté reform as a condition for government coalition partners, TrueVisions immediately cut the broadcast of the conversation. 

“It’s not only about the monarchy,” Thanyarat, the BBC producer, replied to a comment on Twitter. “In the last election, I clearly remember that even just a few seconds of teaser saying Thailand was about to have an election this week … was blocked.”

The Thai Journalists Association’s Press Freedom Section has urged TrueVisions to investigate the incident and provide clarification to the public, citing concerns about the public’s constitutional rights to access news.

TrueVisions is owned by True Corporation Public Company Limited, a prominent telecommunications and media conglomerate in Thailand, which, in turn, is part of the influential CP Group.

Since General Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in a 2014 military coup, the company has frequently censored foreign news channels’ broadcasts on Thai politics. The junta swiftly banned protests and imposed restrictions on the press, most of which were later lifted as Thailand transitioned to a quasi-civilian regime after the election in 2019.

However, TrueVisions continued to monitor and restrict content from overseas news outlets concerning Thai politics, especially during the 2020 street demonstrations that called for Prayut’s removal and comprehensive reforms of the monarchy, breaking decades of taboo.

In April 2020, the company even posted a job notice seeking “foreign news censorship officers” responsible for monitoring all 17 foreign news programmes and talk shows aired on TrueVisions, with instructions to immediately cut the signal if they encountered any “inappropriate” content.

The job notice was later removed after it drew criticism and ridicule on social media. 

The court has dismissed a charge filed by Boon Rawd Brewery against Ngamsaenluang Singchaloem, a bookshop owner, over a Facebook post alleging that the company facilitated the use of tear gas by the police during the dispersal of a protest on 17 November 2020.

Ngamsaenluang Sinhchaloem

(Photo from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights)

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Ngamsaenluang was sued under the Computer-related Crime Act, alleging that she imported forged computer data and caused damage to the public by posting the message, “Tear gas was fired from here. The company allowed police officers to go inside and fire tear gas at the public.” Boon Rawd Brewery, however, argued that it had never given permission for this. 

The verdict stated that Ngamsaenluang admitted to posting the message on Facebook, which was also shared on Twitter. However, she denied sharing it herself. The company’s testimony failed to confirm Ngamsaenluang’s involvement in sharing the message on Twitter or proved to the court that the account belonged to her. 

 Upon being told, Ngamsaenluang immediately deleted the post. This showed that she warned protesters to be cautious, without intent to distort or import forged computer data, either in whole or in part, in accordance with the element of Section 14(1) of the 2007 Computer-related Crime Act.

If it is a fact that the company did not allow any police officers or government officials to enter its premises with the purpose of firing tear gas at the protesters, therefore making the message posted by Ngamsaenluang false, it may constitute an offence under a different charge.

The evidence presented by the company can be refuted, as it did not indicate that Ngamsaenluang committed the alleged offence. Therefore, the charge was dismissed. 

Apart from Ngamsaenluang, the other three individuals, Thanakorn Tuamsahgeam, Soraya Tanaputtisiri and Montipa Virojpan, were also sued by Boon Rawd Brewery under the same charge for the same act.

The charges in all three cases were dismissed. In Montipa’s case, the company withdrew the charge, as she was willing to write an apology.

Pride Month opened in Thailand with a parade in Chiang Mai on Sunday (28 May) with a parade in the city’s old town to campaign for LGBTQ rights.

Parade participants carrying a rainbow Pride flag as they march through Chiang Mai's old town.

The parade started at the Chiang Mai Religion Practice Centre on Tha Phae Road before marching through the Night Bazaar to Tha Phae Gate for events, including movie screenings, performances, a Pride Ambassador contest, and wedding ceremonies. Local activist groups also spoke about their work.

The parade retraced the route of a Pride parade on 21 February 2009, which was prevented from taking place after facing violence and hate speech from local Red Shirt groups and media who saw a Pride parade as a disgrace and forced the organizers to cancel the march out of safety concerns. The incident, now known as “Sao Saw Et” ("Saturday the 21st" in Northern Thai), has been compared to the Stonewall Riots, and 21 February is now observed as the Stop Violence Against LGBTQ Day among Thai activists.

A banner saying "Sex work is not a crime" was put up during the events.

On Sunday evening, locals and tourists joined the 2023 Chiang Mai Pride events, along with activists and politicians, including the province’s deputy governor Weerapong Ritrod.

Move Forward Party party-list MP designate Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat joined the parade, along with the party’s Chiang Mai constituency MP designates.

“Chiang Mai Pride is the first to open Pride2023 in Thailand this year. It is a month of pride, because we are ourselves. It is not abnormal, twisted, or sinful. We are natural,” Tunyawaj said, noting that the new government coalition led by the Move Forward Party will bring back the Marriage Equality bill for its second and third readings as soon as parliament opens.

Tunyawaj said that the reservation in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the parties joining the government coalition that the government will enact the Marriage Equality Act but that no one will be forced to go against their religion shows that that there is a space for everyone’s beliefs and that people can co-exist with their differences and without hatred.

Tunyawaj also noted that the Move Forward Party is proposing several other policies to improve gender equality, including amending legislation against sexual violence, enacting a Gender Recognition law, placing women officers in every police station, and extending paid parental leave to 180 days.

Other Pride events are taking place throughout June in 15 cities across the country: Bangkok, Pattaya, Roi Et, Ubon Ratchatahni, Khon Kaen, Chiang Rai, Tak, Sisaket, Sakon Nakhon, Udon Thani, Surin, Songkhla, Rayong, and Nan.

Bangkok will have its Pride event on 4 June. The parade will march from the Pathumwan Intersection to the Central World shopping mall, with several other activities along the route of the parade and an after party at Lido Connect.

Pheu Thai Party leader Chonlanan Srikaew has denied rumours of a “secret deal” in which Pheu Thai Party will leave the Move Forward coalition and form a government with the Bhumjaithai and Palang Pracharath parties, adding the Party is committed to helping Pita Limjaroenrat win enough votes to become prime minister.

 

Rumours of secret deals have tainted the narrative surrounding the Pheu Thai Party since the election. The party has rigorously denied that any such deal exists, but to no avail. 

 

The reaffirmation came during a press conference which aimed to respond to an incident on Sunday when a group of Pheu Thai supporters called the Red Shirt Pheu Thai FC, concerned that the Pheu Thai party is being made the villain and has been constantly bombarded with fabricated information, submitted a letter on Sunday calling for the party to leave the Move Forward coalition.

 

“When the leading party in the coalition views the Pheu Thai Party as an obstacle and a problem in establishing the government by citing traditional practices, the group wants the Pheu Thai Party to be aware that in the past, the party ranked second has never had a tradition of joining hands to form a coalition government with the party ranked first,” reads the statement released by the group.

 

Chonlanan on Monday said although the Party acknowledges the group’s concerns, it reaffirmed its commitment to remain in the Move Forward coalition and install Pita as the prime minister.

 

“We won’t betray the people,” the head of the Party said, adding he and the Party respect the will of the people who trusted the Pheu Thai Party and Move Forward people with 25 million combined votes to steer Thailand on the path toward democracy.

 

“Our responsibility is to accomplish what the public has dictated which is to restore democracy and alleviate their plight,” the leader said. He also warned the media and the public of the tendency for malign actors to fabricate fake news to sabotage the party.

 

The Pheu Thai Party has long defended the Party’s commitment to establishing a government with the Move Forward Party. Rumours of a secret deal have plagued the Party partly because the public thought the party leaders were never clear whether they would join hands with Prawit Wongsuwon and Prayut Chan-o-cha.

 

“There’s no such deal,” affirmed Chonlanan. “Pheu Thai doesn’t make such a deal,” he said.

 

Most of the rumours surrounding the secret deal suggest that Pheu Thai Party would strike a deal with the Bhumjaithai and Palang Pracharath parties. 

 

The rumours resurfaced yesterday as a picture showing former PM candidate of the Pheu Thai Party Sretta Thavisin and leader of the Bhumjaithai Party Anutin Charnvirakul in the same frame made waves on social media. Sretta and Anutin were seen together at a football match featuring the Leicester City team.

 

The Pheu Thai Party said Sretta and Anutin did not go to the match together and that their presence there was coincidental, adding that Sretta had announced many months in advance that he would attend the match.

 

The reaffirmation came during a press conference which aimed to respond to an incident on Sunday when a group of Pheu Thai supporters called the Red Shirt Pheu Thai FC, concerned that the Pheu Thai party is being made the villain and has been constantly bombarded with fabricated information, submitted a letter calling for the party to leave the Move Forward coalition.

 

“When the leading party in the coalition views the Pheu Thai Party as an obstacle and a problem in establishing the government by citing traditional practices, the group wants the Pheu Thai Party to be aware that in the past, the party ranked second has never had a tradition of joining hands to form a coalition government with the party ranked first,” reads the statement released by the group.

 

Chonlanan said although the Party acknowledges the group’s concerns, it reaffirmed its commitment to remain in the Move Forward coalition and install Pita as the prime minister.

 

“We won’t betray the people,” the head of the Party said, adding he and the Party respect the will of the people who trusted the Pheu Thai Party and Move Forward people with 25 million combined votes to steer Thailand on the path toward democracy.

 

“Our responsibility is to accomplish what the public has dictated which is to restore democracy and alleviate their plight,” the leader said. He also warned the media and the public of the tendency for malign actors to fabricate fake news to sabotage the party.

 

 

The Pheu Thai Party has long defended the Party’s commitment to establishing a government with the Move Forward Party. Rumours of a secret deal have plagued the Party partly because the public thought the party leaders were never clear whether they would join hands with Prawit Wongsuwon and Prayut Chan-o-cha.

 

“There’s no such deal,” affirmed Chonlanan. “Pheu Thai doesn’t make such a deal,” he said.

 

Most of the rumours surrounding the secret deal suggest that Pheu Thai Party would strike a deal with the Bhumjaithai and Palang Pracharath parties. 

 

The rumours resurfaced today as a picture showing former PM candidate of the Pheu Thai Party Sretta Thavisin and leader of the Bhumjaithai Party Anutin Charnvirakul in the same frame made waves on social media. Sretta and Anutin were seen together at a football match featuring the Leicester City team.

 

The Pheu Thai Party said Sretta and Anutin did not go to the match together and that their presence there was coincidental, adding that Sretta had announced many months in advance that he would attend the match.

 

Move Forward Party’s Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, a party-list MP designate, has exposed a so-called ‘Easy Pass sticker’ scam involving trucks, and urges an end to this form of bribery.

In a Facebook post on 26 May 2023, Wiroj posted a picture of a sun-like sticker and asked why several trucks have such stickers. They do not seem to be a form of vehicle decoration. 

A so-called 'Easy Pass sticker'

He said that some people claim they are normal Easy Pass stickers as used on expressways, but upon closer examination, they seem to be ordinary stickers without any electronic features. However, some people insist that the stickers allow trucks to pass checkpoints easily. 

Wiroj and his team planned an investigation to gather information on how the payment system works, and who is involved in it. 

On 28 May 2023, Wiroj posted another message stating that he was told that the different stickers allow trucks, regardless of their weight, to pass checkpoints without wasting time being weighed.

Wiroj revealed a mysterious organization clears the way and settles payments in advance. They then produce the stickers for the trucks, with the price depending on distance and the number of checkpoints. 

For example, the ‘Little Bunny’ sticker costs approximately 3,000 baht per month.

He added that the stickers do not have any electronic mechanism. They rely solely on visual recognition, simply showing that the trucks have been approved to pass checkpoints on the highways.

Wiroj pointed out that this leads to several problems. Overweight trucks can damage roads, which leads to unnecessary maintenance budgets and a risk of accidents. And it may open opportunities to transport illegal goods.

He said this is a huge issue, as the number of trucks in Thailand currently exceeds 1 million. If half of these trucks have to pay for stickers at 3,000-5,000 baht per month, the total corruption adds up to over 20 billion baht annually.

Wiroj noted that if the issue is addressed, transport business owners could reduce costs, and consumer prices will stabilize more efficiently. The burden of living expenses for the public would be alleviated. Other drivers on the roads would be safer. The roads would suffer less damage, leading to reduced road maintenance costs. The government would then have a budget to enhance public welfare.

He stated that in the next few days, he will meet with transportation entrepreneurs and truck driver groups to find solutions to this issue, aiming to address bribery, utilize a straightforward system, and ensure justice for both truck entrepreneurs and drivers on the roads.