‘Political Tool’

“Certain parties have used this article as a political tool and have invoked the name of the royalist cause for self- serving reasons,” reconciliation committee chairman Kanit Nanakorn wrote in an open letter to Yingluck on Dec. 30. The public should “encourage and support such an amendment in order to bring about peace and reconciliation in our country.” UGG Ultra Short U.S. citizen Joe Gordon, who was born in Thailand and also goes by the name Lerpong Wichaikhammat, received a 2 1/2-year prison sentence on Dec. 8 for translating an unauthorized biography of King Bhumibol and posting it on a website. Two weeks earlier, Ampol Tangnoppakul, 61, received a 20-year jail term for sending four text messages that defamed Queen Sirikit.Hundreds of Thai royalists called for U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney to “get out” of the country in a rally last month after a State Department official questioned the conviction. State Department spokesman Mark Toner had said Dec. 8 the U.S. is “troubled by the outcome” of Gordon’s case.The European Union delegation in Thailand said Nov. 28 it was “deeply concerned” about Ampol’s sentence and urged Thai authorities to uphold freedom of expression. The UN human rights office said Dec. 9 the law had a “chilling effect” on free speech and called for it to be amended.