Defamation is a Civil matter
- Published: 26/12/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
In her excellent article, "Thailand's Oceania Moment", Supara Janchitfah highlights the fact that the present Democrat-led government, though they have imposed censorship far beyond anything ever dreamed of by Thaksin, did not invent censorship _ they've simply been perfecting it.
Nor is censorship a weapon used exclusively by the government. The figures cited by Supara show that one third of the cases brought under the Computer Crimes Act were for defamation of a third party.There is absolutely no reason why damaging someone's reputation should be a criminal act. Defamation is a dispute between private individuals and the state should not be involved. The outcome in such cases, when they have merit, should be the restoration of the injured party's reputation and the payment of compensation, not a prison term.
Furthermore, in countries such as the US, it is not enough simply to show that something said or written about the plaintiff was untrue, it also has to be shown that the defendant knew that it was untrue and acted maliciously to damage the plaintiff's reputation.
The threat of criminal prosecution for libel is one of the chief weapons used by governments to frighten the media into censoring itself, and the Bangkok Post and the rest of the Thai media should be campaigning vigorously to have this unjust law repealed.
Dom Dunn
Krabi
Krabi
PROFIT DICTATES BURMA POLICY
I would like to make a respectful request to the villagers of Phop Phra District (''Disease fears worry villagers'', Dec 24 Bangkok Post): Instead of complaining about the migrants and refugees from Burma who are forced to leave their homeland in hope of finding a measure of safety and security in Thailand, please think about the economic and political policies that compel these people to become migrants and refugees in the first place.As Nobel laureate Amartya Sen (above) pointed out on his recent visit to Bangkok, Thailand, along with China and India, must take a lot of the blame for propping up the inhumane Burmese military regime by making self-serving business deals with the generals, instead of supporting the pro-democracy forces of the troubled country.
When Thailand starts doing what it can to stop the source of the problem instead of benefitting from the continued suffering of the Burmese people, then Thais will have the moral authority to call for restrictions on migrants and refugees in their own country.
Garrett Kostin
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
E-POST HAS ITS ADVANTAGES
The letter from ''Disappointed in Din Daeng'' last Sunday lamented the difficulty of finding a printed copy of the Bangkok Post, especially on Sunday. I offer a comment.The Post is not perfect, but it does offer good services. With a subscription, you can suspend delivery with a call, email or fax, which is perfect for frequent travellers. I have the paid web version now, and while it is not the same as a nice, crisp printed paper, it does have some advantages.
In the first place, it arrives in my inbox early each day. Secondly, if I want to print or forward an article it is a snap. Third, I can grizzle and comment with a few clicks of the keyboard.
Finally, I can pretend to be environmentally conscious by not consuming paper. My maid grumbles under her breath that she does not have paper to wrap things in any more, but I am the boss and I ignore her.
Geoffrey Osborn
US EDUCATION CHALLENGES
In his letter to PostBag published on Dec 23, Guy Baker gleefully shared an Associated Press report that stated nearly 25% of United States army applicants failed the entrance exam.He embellished his letter with a tired old joke, probably lifted from a 10-year-old copy of Playboy.
He might have acknowledged that more than 75% of the applicants passed or that the US faces many challenges educating the more than 200,000 immigrants admitted into the country each year and the very large number of children who are born into homes where English is not spoken.
He could have pointed out that the US is well aware of the problem and has many programmes in place, for example No Child Left Behind, to improve the education system.
One can only speculate on Mr Baker's motivations and unwavering animosity toward the US, but I am hopeful that he might yet find a way to focus his enormous energy in a more positive manner.
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