Crackdown on 'rumour-mongering' is the wrong message

One ugly truth in Thai politics is that every time the Army relocates its tanks, rumours of a possible coup spread like wildfire. The panic only intensifies if there happens to be a political rally underway. The military big shots are then obliged to declare publicly that there is no such revolt in the offing. 

The usual scenario has taken an uglier turn this time, though, with coup gossip on the social networks being regarded as a breach of the law. On Monday police opened investigations into four people – including Sermsuk Kasitpradit, political editor of the Thai PBS channel – for allegedly causing panic through postings on Facebook. The police even threatened to charge those who clicked the “like” button on the posts. And anyone using a pseudonym online could be targeted as well.

The police claim the statements made by the four breach Article 14 of the National Computer Act and Article 116 of Criminal Law. The police might appear to be coming to the government’s assistance in this matter, but surely they aren’t doing it any favours by fostering a climate of political intimidation. If the four people accused caused panic, the police – in targeting a few “noisy” opinions on Facebook – have done exactly the same on the social media. 

The legal overreaction has drawn widespread criticism, with such intimidation branded another form of censorship and a “witch-hunt” – the same term that was co-opted to condemn those who “intimidated” the red shirts during the previous political turmoil. 

It is ironic that that a clampdown on opinion-makers on Facebook is being carried out while the government is putting all its efforts into passing its “amnesty” bill, which is aimed at pardoning those charged with crimes during the 2010-2011 mayhem. If the government has the intention to let people who damaged public and private property walk free, what logic is there behind targeting those who merely voice opinions on Facebook? 

If the amnesty bill lets those responsible for inciting violence that led to death off the hook, what ground does the government have to justify action against those who post “unfavourable” comments online? 

The four people under investigation caused no damage to the country. Panic might be part of the reason, but the police should not forget that it is not only these four who have talked about the possibility of a coup. If they bother to research and recall, they will find that people from the government side, including Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng and Pheu Thai MP Weng Tojirakan have also mentioned talk of a military coup within the last month. If the police think the four citizens created panic, why wasn’t the public panicking when government officials talked about it?

By zeroing in on these four, including a media personality, the government is making a mistake. Such action only makes it appear to be moving away from its self-proclaimed democratic stance. More importantly, such a move only decreases the probability of achieving the ambitious “reconciliation” goal. When you want to make amends with your enemies, you don’t tell them they are witches and throw stones at them.