Royalists, liberals savaging rivals with angry attacks, unsubstantiated claims

It is becoming increasingly normal to see hate speech and slanderous remarks posted on social-networking sites in Thailand.

Ultra-royalists are starting to use social networks to launch attacks, condemn and conduct witch-hunts for people they consider anti-royalists or opponents of the controversial lese majeste law. Similarly, those who are critical of the institution of monarchy have launched counterattacks, making cyberspace a hotspot for political flaming and unsubstantiated accusations.

This situation is a result of continued politicisation and polarisation of opinion, and the fact that some citizens are desperate to play a direct role in airing their hatred toward their opponents.

At the end of last year, a new video clip was uploaded on YouTube, making unsubstantiated political and sexual allegations against nine people, including scholars such as Pavin Chachavalpongun and Somsak Jiamteerasakul, and activists like Jitra Kotchadej.

Jitra, for instance, was branded as a "real anti-monarchist" and accused of having slept with Somsak, among others. Pavin, meanwhile, was labelled a homosexual, while Somsak, a well-known historian at Thammasat University, was accused of misleading others to criticise the monarchy, leading to some of his followers being arrested under the lese majeste law.

The background music in the clip was the popular Cold War-era anti-communist song "Nak Phaen Din" or "Burden to the Land".

"They mostly use false information and make malicious accusations," Jitra said. "It's damaging because people who don't know us may not know what's true or false."

In a similar vein, Thammasat University law lecturer Piyabutr Saengkanokul, a member of the Nitirat group of law lecturers that will today launch a public campaign to amend the controversial lese majeste law, was heavily slandered on the Internet. There were calls for the university to sack him and threats to sue him under the lese majeste law after he spoke of the concept of "the King can do no wrong" to an audience at Chulalongkorn University at the end of December.

"Those who did this want us to be afraid and to not talk any more," said Piyabutr, adding that he is not worried by the move.

Incorrect information

Jitra, however, is concerned that the witch-hunts and the unsubstantiated, slanderous remarks are filling society with false information and that such threats can now be easily made online. She said she is reluctant to use the Computer Crimes Act (CCA) to find and charge the person who produced the video because she was against the very existence of the CCA herself.

Another person attacked in the same YouTube clip is a female freshman student, who goes by the alias "Karn Thoop" (joss stick), who has been hunted since she posted an impolite criticism of the monarchy on her Facebook page two years ago. She was denied enrolment by two universities and was forced to change both her first and last names. Now a freshman at Thammasat, the witch-hunt for her has resumed with vigour after she recently made it public that a lese majeste charge had finally been filed against her and that she would appear in front of police to hear her charge next month.

However, people critical of the monarchy have also resorted to framing some royalists by producing fake Facebook pages purporting to show that certain royalists, such a woman by the name of Bussababun Komes, actually "hate" the monarchy.

Thai Netizen Network (TNN), a non-profit group set up to promote the freedom of Internet users, is currently studying various socially sanctioned websites and groups from both sides of the political divide and has made a preliminary conclusion that hate speech is often employed along with unsubstantiated accusations.

The group found that words and phrases like "non-Thai", "ungrateful" and "burden to the motherland" have been used by ultra-royalists on the Internet while those critical of the monarchy institution use words like "mad" and "dust beneath the royal feet" to describe ultra-royalists.

Both sides have also engaged in making fun of their opponents' physical appearance, TNN found.

With no end to the hate speech and unsubstantiated allegations in sight, Piyabutr is urging people to use reason instead of emotions and hatred.

"There ought to be a criteria for expressing dissatisfaction. No democratic society unearths personal information [to fuel intimidation]. We must tolerate different opinions."

Jitra, meanwhile, said people should not resort to using unsubstantiated allegations. "The fight ought to be a straightforward one."

However, not everybody thinks there's a witch hunt for the anti-royalists.

Seri Wongmontha, former dean of Thammasat University's Faculty of Journalism and a well-known TV host, said Karn Thoop's experience shouldn't be considered a witch-hunt, but an "attempt to seek the truth and catch the criminal".

Seri justified the action by saying that since Karn Thoop's remarks about the Royal Family on Facebook were evident, opposition to her was understandable.