Harry Nicolaides and Censorship
73HARRY NICOLAIDES, THAILAND AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The case of the aspiring writer, Harry Nicolaides, jailed for insulting the Thai Royal Family, has once again brought into question the censorship and human rights abuses going on in that country. Many of us have visited Thailand, and loved the people, culture and scenery, but are not aware of the undercurrent of political oppression that pervades the society. As a writer, I feel compelled to take action against this disgrace, and show solidarity against this injustice. It is an attack upon the freedom of art and self-expression, and a veiled attack upon the cores values of democracy.
As you can probably guess from the surname, Harry is of Greek extraction, so the Greek and Cypriot media have been up in arms about the whole affair. He is Australian, but the Australian government seems to have done little to help, seemingly unwilling to intervene in the sorry saga.
Harry is a journalist and English teacher, and decided that he wanted to expand and test his writing by writing a novel, Verisimilitude. In this book, Harry Nicolaides wrote a fictional account of life in Thailand, with 103 words that could be construed as faintly criticising the monarchy.
“From King Rama to the Crown Prince, the nobility was renowned for their romantic entanglements and intrigues. The Crown Prince had many wives “major and minor “with a coterie of concubines for entertainment. One of his recent wives was exiled with her entire family, including a son they conceived together, for an undisclosed indiscretion. He subsequently remarried with another woman and fathered another child. It was rumoured that if the prince fell in love with one of his minor wives and she betrayed him, she and her family would disappear with their name, familial lineage and all vestiges of their existence expunged forever.”
From Greek News
Harry Nicolaides printed seventy copies of the book, in 2005, of which a grand total of seven were sold, hardly a major exercise in subversion. Harry, on the 31st August, 2008, patiently waited at the airport ready to return home, completely unaware that a warrant for arrest had been served upon him. He was arrested, under the law of “Lese Majeste”, and taken to Bangkok Remand Prison, waiting for the tortuous Thai judicial system to decide his fate. Three bail applications were served, and refused, in case this international master criminal fled, or continued disseminating subversive literature.
Suffering illness and severe anxiety, Harry Nicolaides apologized to the Thai Royal Family, but remained in prison, surrounded by genuine criminals. He was forced to sleep on a concrete floor, until his brother managed to procure a mattress, and was exposed to tuberculosis, common in the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of the infamous Thai prisons. Here he waited for his case to be brought before the court, fearing that he may receive a sentence of anywhere up to fifteen years. With plea bargaining, his sentence was set at three years.
Every country has its own unique laws and customs that should be studied and followed by tourists and ex-pats before visiting. If Harry Nicolaides had been caught smuggling Heroin out of Thailand, for example, nobody would have shown any sympathy for his plight. However, in a country that is supposed to be a democracy, this veiled attack upon the freedom of speech is unacceptable. Most of us were critical of the Fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie, and this is little different.
Imagine the outcry if a writer were jailed for insulting Prince Charles or Archbishop Hieronymos. If making fun of George W. Bush were a crime, the US prisons would be filled with half of the comedians in America. The saddest thing is that this has little to do with the Thai royal family. The king pardons anybody convicted of this crime, so Harry Nicolaides will probably be released and extradited, but has still suffered six months incarceration in a Thai prison, which is not a nice place to be.
As is so often the case with stupid and short-sighted public officials, Harry’s book would probably have disappeared without trace, but now they have brought down a torrent of negative publicity upon themselves. Thailand has always been a favoured destination for writers and artists wishing to explore their creative side, in beautiful and tranquil surroundings. This action will drive such people away, and Thailand will lose out. This attack upon freedom, and the censorship of any internet site showing the slightest hint of anti-government bias, is threatening to turn this country into a regime, like its Burmese neighbours.
This is not an over-reaction about one isolated case, either, as Thai authorities are developing an unhealthy obsession with censoring the internet. As explained on the FACT website, a BBC journalist, Jonathan Head and a social critic, Sulak Sivaraksa, are facing charges under the same law. The political critic, Associate Professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn, stands accused of Lese Majeste for writing a book criticizing the previous military regime. A young student was arrested for failing to stand for the King’s anthem. This type of censorship inevitably leads to sinister machinations; something to remember before you book your ticket to Bangkok.
A FEW SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND FOR TAKING ACTION
FACT – Freedom against Censorship Thailand.
THE AGE - Harry is Thailand's Political Prisoner
Neos Kosmos – Cypriot Newspaper.
AsiaMedia - An article about censorship in Thailand
If you are a writer, as a show of solidarity, please write directly to the Thai Ministry of Justice and protest against this attack upon artistic expression and freedom.
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Comments
That could have been comedy - Dubya in court for insulting himself. If Judge Judy presided over the case, that would have been a sure fire ratings hit. I am astonished that Fox never thought of it. Too late.
Agreed BDazzler - what is claimed to be 'protecting the king' has become an excuse to censor anybody criticising the system. It is a pattern that is increasingly creeping across the world - the US and UK are doing similar things.
Don't know about that, I've never been shy about expressing my opinion on any leader pro or con in writing or in person. Heck ... we've got people saying Obama's the anti-christ without fear of jail when he gets in office tommorw ... so ... what censorship of government critisism are you talking about?
Looks like I expected you to be a mind-reader! I was talking more about the surveillance side of things, and sneaking in legislation and restrictions under another guise. The Patriot Act has some worrying side effects, and the proposed legislation in the UK to scan every email is an abuse of power.
I fear that this is where the chain of dominoes leads - Use the terrorism card as an excuse to infringe civil liberties. In terms of governmental criticism, the UK government has banned protest outside Parliament, the removal of a historical right.
The anti-christ thing bemused me, but I do respect that aspect of US Freedom of Speech. The famous hub was atrocious, but he has the right to say these things.
Well ... I'm not saying he's NOT the anti-christ ;)
Email has never really been private (every accidently hit reply all and had your private opinion of a co-worker suddenly be public?) anybody who knows anything about internet protocol has no valid expectation of privacy when it comes to email. (That's why they invented PGP)
The thing with the Patriot Act and others ... "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither." - Ben Franklin
In the UK, we always thought that Thatcher was the anti-christ!
The main concern in the UK is that the email checking will be yet another waste of taxpayers money - the government has a habit of spending billions upon computer systems that do not work. The other concern is about who gets access to any information - even a lowly call centre employee (not a dig, I used to be one) has access to far more information than I want them to know about me.
As you say, some of this is to be expected, and is often self-inflicted - I am like most people and can never be bothered to fully read the agreement before clicking the check-box.
I like the Ben Franklin quote - I wrote an article for a science site about his kite experiment, but got drawn in to all the other things he did. A truly inspirational man.
It is sad when a country that has become the sexual reassignment capital of the world could have such a shortsighted view of freedom of the press... there's a disconnect in there somewhere.
Thanks for dropping by, buddygallagher
I wrote a few articles about gender reassignment in Thailand - they seem to be very good!
My partner went backpacking in Thailand, and fell in love with the people. They deserve better politicians than this.
I am sending this article to my nephew. He just moved back to Thailand on Saturday as he is a teacher; his experience there has been a good one, loves the people and the culture reason why he moved back and had married a Thai girl, but, he is American and used to opening his mouth to express whatever is on his mind. He did come across a disturbing warning from another teacher in the forums about one school in Thailand he was about to accept a teaching position. One of the teachers abused a child because he wet himself, made him take his pants off in front of the class, and when an outraged German teacher threatened to complain to the ministry of education, the principal called him into his office, and the German teacher came out pale and shaky without saying a word. It was found out later on threats were made on his life. In America the princinpal would have been fired for using tactics like these.
I am hoping the case of the writer will bring awareness and bring changes to Thailand and that his freedom is granted very soon!
Censorship in literature resulting in punishment of an author is a bad sign for a country. Any totalitarian regime was armed by this feature. I think you are doing a great thing, trying to make it public. The more attention and publicity it can have, the better for this author. Is there any way to bring attention of progressive Mass Media to this case?
Hi VioletSun - always nice to see you.
Horrible story about the teacher - hope that it was an isolated case. I appreciate the American honesty and way that you say what is on your mind. The Thai's are a kind and gentle race, but the politicians and military? There appears to be some political power games going on. Many countries in the world are seeing polarisation of opinions, and that is always a recipe for trouble.
ReuVera - I hate censorship. As shown on Hubpages, we all have our own unique perspective on the world, and the freedom to say it.
I have been following the case on the Greek news, and started the Hub a couple of days ago. The BBC has been showing the story now, so the negative publicity may help to get the poor man out of prison. A little journalistic solidarity!
We could always boycott Thailand. They had a sunami and the west had great compassion then they turn around and do this.
To imprison one of their own people is bad enough, but to jail a foreigner on such stupid premises can only be counterproductive. A country that relies upon tourism cannot do this, especially when surrounded by many other alternative beautiful places.
I share your sentiment Sufidreamer. It's another sad spoke in the wheel. "This too shall pass". A sea change is nearly upon us. You are a youngster, relatively speaking. Perhaps you will be able to witness the beginning of the transition I have hoped for all my life.
The laws in question are very old and need to be updated. In fact, the King himself feels this way and usually pardons foriegners who are convicted of this crime.
That being said, if you travel to a country like Thailand you can not just assume you have the same freedoms that you have at home, or that you think you should have. Espeically if you're living and teaching in Thailand. You should know the laws of that country and either respect them, or not live there.
I hope the King pardons this man and I suspect he will, but in the mean time I hope Westerners will undertand that this is not the fault of the King. He can't change the law even though I suspect he would like it changed.
Good to see you, CWB.
There does appear to be something in the air. The old system has not worked, and people are becoming disillusioned. Governments are tring to use technology to monitor us and control us, but they are being outfought with their own weapons. For the first time in history, the entire world can act as one.
Travis - Thanks for stopping by.
Fair point - as an immigrant myself, I understand the importance of learning new customs and laws. I have a feeling that the King does a lot behind the scenes but, like the British Monarchy, he has little real power.
I have many friends in Thailand, and they say that the censorship is a fairly recent phenomenon, and intensified when Shinawatra was in power. I suspect that, as in many cases, corruption and money lies at the root of the problem. Governments who use censorship generally have something to hide.
another good hub FREEDOM OF SPEECH is everybody right
Thanks Lgali - that is certainly true. Censorship leads nowhere fast.
BDazzler says:
11 months ago
With an approval rating below 30% I don't think our jails could handle the population explosion if making fun of W was a crime. Of course, W sometimes makes fun of himself, so what would that do ?
"This type of censorship inevitably leads to sinister machinations; ..."
This type of censorship IS a sinister machination.