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Don't go to Thailand!
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Mystery and intrigue surrounds the latest lese majeste case against a Nation journalist, with a direct connection to the Palace amid rumours of a royal cover up!
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EXCLUSIVE
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- "Thai ICT staff to monitor websites 24/7 looking for lese majeste content (Bangkok Post) http://bit.ly/vjtL28 How backwards @Seivadeel
- "The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej: Paul M. Handley: http://amzn.to/vTS4B7 < Tell Thai army chief for #LM @iGanesha
- "Security tightened in South after spate of attacks" - The Nation http://shar.es/WbQ0J @IgorC166
- "I don't think iPad will sue @PravitR as he fears." @ThanongK
Thailand as a tourist destination is no longer an option for foreign tourists who wish to have a safe holiday in a relaxed atmosphere. Lese majeste law has turned this once welcoming nation into a prison hell hole. The "Fuck Freedom of Speech" campaign from Reporters Without Borders was just the start.
In November the number of tourists was down by 20%. According to the Thai Hotels Association that figure will increase to 40% in December. Foreigners are staying away from Thailand in their thousands!
At the root of this crisis of confidence is Thailand's threat to arrests foreigners who have clicked on the "like" function on Facebook. Already the airport computers are stuffed full with the names of foreigners who have committed this "crime".
In a single week foreigners have heard how Da Torpedo was sent to prison for 15 years, Amphon the pensioner 18 years, and US citizen Joe Gordon to two and a half years, all for less majeste.
Is it any wonder that the Thai tourist industry is close to falling apart? Foreigners have spoken with their feet and Thailand's tourist industry is starting to feel it. This is the result of the royalists' stance towards the US and UN.
The dramatic fall in the number of tourists in Thailand is excellent news for campaigners against lese majeste law. It proves that we were right about the negative effects of this law, and we plan to shout it out from the rooftops.
Our message to foreign tourists will be: if you go to Thailand, you will be arrested and sent to prison! Stay away from Thailand! Take your hard earned money and spend it elsewhere.
This new battlefield is one where we are sure to win, just as we are winning in cyberspace. With each lese majeste case, fewer foreigners will visit Thailand. More arrests will mean more damage to the Thai tourist industry.
Royalists rabble raisers like Chalerm and Prayuth only have themselves to blame for this crisis. It is their fault that tourists are not visiting Thailand. They are responsible for the loss of jobs in the tourist sector.
The latest lese majeste scandal began yesterday when Pravit Rojanaphruk, a well respected journalist for The Nation newspaper confirmed that he was being sued for lese majeste.
Pravit tweeted the following message: "I am pleased to inform all of u that I'm in the process of becoming the latest person to receive a lese majeste complaint."
The accusations of lese majeste stem from Pravit's recent tweets on Article 112 following a twenty year sentence imposed on pensioner Amphon "Akong".
According to Pravit his accuser goes by the alias of "IPad" and has filed lese majeste charges against ten other victims before Pravit. In a later tweet, Pravit revealed that his PAD accuser was "the same person who filed LM charges against @jiew of prachatai's fame."
Press reports recently revealed that @jiew, alias Chiranuch Premchaiporn, was accused of lese majeste by a member of Thailand's royal family, the Grand Son of Rama 5, Jirakom Kitiyagorn.
Praise the king
According to Pattaya People troublemaker Jirakom is also the Chairman of the "Project to Praise the King" and the man who launched king Bhumibol's 84th birthday celebrations ealier this month.
While no member of the Thai king's immediate family has ever brought a lese majeste charge against anyone, it is known that relatives of the royals regularly abuse Article 112, possibly with the consent of the Palace.
Chakri troublemaker Jirakom Kitiyagorn
The mystery deepend further when Nation editor, Thanong Khanthong, tweeted "I don't think iPad will sue @PravitR as he fears." suggesting Thanong knew more about this case than he is revealing.
Meanwhile, no reports on this latest lese majeste case have appeared in the Thai press, generating more rumours about a direct lese majeste link with the Palace and an attempt at a cover up.
Pravit is the second person to face lese majeste charges following the "Fearlessness Walk" against Article 112. The other person to be charged who attended the march was academic Surapot Taweesak.
