[Tlc] Fwd: กฎหมายหมิ่นพระบรมเดชานุภาพต้องปฏิรูป!! ถ้อยแถลงจากธงชัย วินิจจะกูล และเครือข่ายนักวิชาการนานาชาติ

[Michael Montesano]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Thongchai Winichakul <twinicha at wisc.edu>
Date: Mar 9, 2009 12:18 PM
 Dear all,

Hope you don't mind my "intervention" here.

I was disappointed that the PM. Abhisit, FM Kasit, Govt Spokeman, and so on
responded to the call for "reform" of the lese majeste law to prevent the
abuses by attacking me.

Instead of discussing the issues what are the problems and what need to
reform, they try to create a ghost of the "Republic" movement, then paint
the critics of the LM law as part of the ghost movement. The smear tactic is
a very old, dirty, politics, like the communist ghost.

The number of communists increased after years of sweeping problems under
the rugs by creating a "communist" ghost and suppressing people who were
alleged "communists". The anti-communist policy created more communists. You
can replace the word "communist" in the above sentence with the word
"republican" everywhere.

Instead of listening to those world class scholars, they listen to the fake
scholars on ASTV who in fact are propagansits, not scholars. Aj Jermsak
argues that the Red has no leafders with credentials. I wonder the Yellow
leaders has any credential worth listening more than those world class
scholars.

I wonder if PM, FM ever heard of those world class scholars. I bet that they
don't know.

Many Thais often say that the problem in Thai society is because Thais don't
have good education. But when great scholars speak, the same people said
those scholars don't understand a thing about Thailand, the ASTV understands
best.

Let me tell all of you here that those scholars know Thailand much more than
the propagandists want people to believe. They know how to get info and
evaluate info in order to make good judgments. They read PM and FM responses
and all of them keep communicating via email group. They know too that the
govt is trying to distort the issue by the same old politics. Some of
them express disappointment that instead of listening to their well intended
suggestion/warning, the govt dismisses them for "hidden agenda". Instead of
changing the course about the LM law, the govt continues the same old course
that does not benefit anybody at all, not good to the monarchy either. The
abuses of the LM law will backfire in a big way to the country and the
monarchy. They already warn us.

As for myself, I cannot dismiss my past. But the propaganda that I am
obsessed with the 6 Oct massacre and remain vengeful is ridiculous. They
know my psychology so well without ever talking to me and with no
evidence. It is merely a dirty lie to destroy the opponent's credibility. It
is undeniable that I owe a lot to my past. But I am who I am today because
my debt to those lost friends are turned into energy and wisdom, not
vengeance which had gone long time ago. I believe that I have put efforts
into understanding Thai society and culture, human beings and life, as much
as anybody can do. I also have pretty good sensitivity to dehumanization,
climate of fear, and intolerance that I can "smell" it quickly when it
happens.

To turn the 6 Oct past into my liability is an irresponsible, disrespectful
and very careless accusation. It is a foolish propaganda. Unfortunately
there are many people who are foolish enough to believe it.

In all of these propaganda, the real issue of what needs to be done to the
LM law are not discussed as much as it desrves to be.

If it becomes too late, don't blame it on anybody else, but the timid,
thoughtless, short-sighed, visionless, shallow and
narrow-minded ultra royalists like the ASTV and everybody who believes its
propaganda.

I agree that the problem with Thai society is the lack of good education.
Even among the educated ones, many cannot make distinction
between propaganda and knowledge. Many blindly believe in propaganda, but
don't see the value ot true wisdom.

Wake up ... before it is too late.

Thongchai Winichakul
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ucr.edu/pipermail/tlc/attachments/20090309/c8b73ce8/attachment-0001.html