The Ministry of Culture and the Department of Special Investigation will set up a panel to investigate Same Sky magazine for alleged lèse majesté content.  A group of royalists have urged a senate committee to take action against lèse majesté offenders on Facebook, and the DSI has posted an arrest warrant for a Facebook user.

On 15 Sept, the Minister of Culture Nipit Intarasombut said that according to the National Library of Thailand, Same Sky magazine was not registered in accordance with the 2007 Print Registration Act, and had been published since 2003 when the 1941 Printing Act was in effect.

‘The Police Special Branch and the National Library have confirmed that the magazine has not been registered, so legal action must be taken.  The penalty is imprisonment for up to 6 months.  The National Library is now trying to contact the editor,’ he said.

A panel will be set up to consider whether the content of the magazine offends the monarchy or not.  The panel will be under not the Ministry of Culture, but the Department of Special Investigation, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture will serve as a member.

The Minister insisted that there were also checks whether other magazines were registered or not.  This is a policy of the Ministry, and has nothing to do with the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES).

In a separate case, on 14 Sept, Boworn Yasinthorn, a former student leader during the 14 Oct 1973 incident and President of the Network of Volunteer Citizens to Protect the Monarchy on Facebook, lodged a complaint with Air Chief Marshal Naphreuk Manthajit, chair of a Senate committee monitoring the enforcement of laws and measures to protect the monarchy, demanding that serious legal action be taken against those who offend the monarchy.

Currently, the 14 Oct 1973 incident has been raised and distorted to slander the monarchy for being involved in the event, Boworn said.

Boworn had previously asked the DSI to prosecute red-shirt singer Tom Dundee, who, he alleged, offended the monarchy in a public speech in Ratchaburi on 8 June.  A video clip of the speech was posted on the YouTube website.

‘Two unidentified persons have posted a link to the YouTube clip on their Facebook pages from abroad.  We will lodge a complaint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to protest against the posters, as we have seen that the Ministry has protested against pornography before,’ Boworn said.

On 18 Sept, his group will conduct an activity at the 14 Oct Memorial at Khok Wua intersection to declare that his group and the ‘October people’ are loyal to the monarchy.

In yet another case, on 13 Sept the DSI announced through its website that an arrest warrant, dated 24 May, was issued for Thanaphol or Art Bamrungsri, 31, with the aliases of JOOLDITH KAI or JOOLDITH KAIYAO, for posting lèse majesté comments on his Facebook page.  He has an address in Nakhon Sawan.

Photo from Bangkok Biz News