Economist Pulled From Thai Newsstands Over Cover Story Critical Of King

Guardian:

The Economist failed to appear on newsstands in Thailand this week because its cover story critical of the country's revered monarch risked landing its local distributors in jail.

The article, which broke the taboo about discussion of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, the world's longest-serving monarch, seemed certain to run foul of Thailand's draconian lese-majesty laws.

Thailand's foreign ministry maintained there was no formal ban on the magazine. It said there had been "self-censorship" of the edition, which carried the cover headline The King and Them: the Royal Role in Thailand's Chaos.

The article made much of the "self-censorship" exercised by journalists and diplomats in Thailand, fearful of laws that threaten up to 15 years in jail for anyone insulting the royal family.

Read the whole story: Guardian

Comments

[x004Ronin]

03:07 PM on 12/10/2008

Ironic. The magazine distributo­rs are self-censo­ring The Economist'­s story about how "Self-cens­orship when it comes to discussion of the king shouldn't happen in a true democracy.­"

[pakaal]

02:28 PM on 12/10/2008

The king has considerab­le sway over political parties and the military alike - his one-man job putting down a coup back in the 90s was impressive­. And the people adore him because he's dedicated to them. I've heard lots of stories about tourists making the mistake of insulting the king and ending up in the hospital. I guess it's not surprising the Economist decided it was expedient to not stir up that particular hornets nest - although personally speaking, I love the magazine and am sure whatever they wrote was well-resea­rched.

[sheitan]

02:29 AM on 12/11/2008

pakaa,
"the king is dedicated to peope"? Ten years ago when I visited the country, and witnessed the devastatin­g poverty of the people, with vegetables in their tiny boats trying to seel their goods, on extremely filthy waterway, I was so distrubed with injustice, that I wrote a letter to the King, critical of him living in castles with luxury while his people lived in such dire conditions­. I dropped the letter in a mailbox at the airport in Bangkok on my way out of the country because I knew I would be arrested otherwise. I still wonder if he ever got that letter.
I hope someday, all kings and queens will be gone. There is absolutely no reason to have them just based on inheritanc­e, which is a racist, fascist idea.

[kolorkin]

01:35 PM on 12/10/2008

Economist is one of the best internatio­nal and original news magazine.

[sheitan]

02:32 AM on 12/11/2008

Kolorkin.

The Economist has some good reports on economy. But, it is a British Conservati­ve, impeialist­, colonialis­t mentality that runs throughout of the journal. It is to serve British interests no those of other countries they cover.

[Kiajw]

10:25 AM on 12/10/2008

that sucks. i love thailand, and the king. i'm gonna have to read that article. there's always something they don't want you to know, isn't there?

[wijg]

09:51 AM on 12/10/2008

The only magazine worth reading.

[Jamesdean]

03:46 PM on 12/10/2008

wijg, it is really the only magazine worth reading.