Banned book surfaces online

[buksida]

Ji fights on for his book
The controversial book "A Coup for the Rich" by political scientist Ji Ungpakorn, which was published in January last year and banned by Chulalongkorn University's Book Centre, is now available online.

Ji, a declared Marxist, said Monday he decided to make his English-language book freely available in the cyber world in protest at the latest attempt by the government to ban his work.

Thammasat University bookshop, the only one to sell his book, told him Bangkok police, acting for the Special Branch which is investigating it, had issued a letter on January 18 banning further sales. It returned 85 copies of the book to him.

The letter said the book was being investigated for lese majeste. Signed by the deputy police chief Maj-General Chutti Dhamanowanij, it said continued sale of the book risked creating a "misunderstanding" about the monarchy among Thais.

"The banning of academic books by governments or bookshops is a gross infringement of democratic and academic freedoms. Police accusations that the book is misleading about the monarchy are unacceptable," Ji said.

Published in January last year, "A Coup for the Rich" criticises the military coup and the liberals who supported it. It discusses the role of the Thai Monarchy, citing the work of Paul Handley's "The King Never Smiles". There is a chapter on the politics of the Peoples' Movement. The final chapter deals with the crisis in the South.

In February last year Chula Book Centre refused to sell the book primarily because some of the sources quoted were from "The King Never Smiles", which is banned by the authorities.

Source: The Nation

Thought: For those that don't like to be told what to think the link can be found among relevant pages on a large encyclopedia website beginning with 'W'.

[Jaime]

For those that don't like to be told what to think the link can be found among relevant pages on a large encyclopedia website beginning with 'W'.

Raw nerve?

[buksida]

Not really, just against any form of censorship or oppression of freedom of speech.

http://facthai.wordpress.com/

[Jaime]

My misunderstanding then - just that I used the same phrase in another thread to which i thought you might be cryptically referring!