New Mandala has been sent the following draft letter by a contact in Bangkok. It was written by a diligent officer in Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its authenticity cannot be verified but it raises issues that may be of interest to some readers.
The Editor
The TimesDear Sir, I must protest in the strongest possible terms about your newspaper’s interview with convicted criminal Thaksin Shinawatra. The report written by your Asia Correspondent Richard Lloyd Parry breaches one of my country’s most sacred taboos. Mr Lloyd Parry writes that Thaksin spoke favourably about Thailand’s Crown Prince. This is unacceptable. Everyone knows that it is culturally inappropriate, and extremely insensitive, to discuss the Crown Prince in favourable terms. Anyone with the most superficial knowledge of Thai culture will know that the Crown Prince is only ever referred to negatively. There are only certain topics on which polite discussion about him is considered appropriate: his dubious educational record; his flamboyant private life; his health; his regular travels to Europe; and his wife’s minimalist dress sense. A “shining” royal future for the Crown Prince following the death of the King, to quote Thaksin’s offensive phrase, is something that few Thais would want to contemplate.
As an Englishman, I am sure you can understand how Crown Princes should be treated by the media. Mr Lloyd Parry’s report is the first international report that I can remember that has referred favourably to Thailand’s Crown Prince. I certainly hope that it is the last!
Yours Sincerely
Nuat Namman
Under-Secretary for International Media Monitoring
9 responses so far ↓
1 BKK observer // Nov 10, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Brilliant … right down to the writer’s name!
2 Steve // Nov 10, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Very nicely done! Watch out NotThe Nation – you’ve got competition. Had to ask my Thai partner for a translation of the writer’s name; for the benefit of others – it’s “oil massage”.
3 New: Thaksin, Cambodia, PAD, new lese majeste charges and more « Political Prisoners in Thailand // Nov 11, 2009 at 12:34 am
[...] Mandala has several posts regarding the Times interview with Thaksin (although we suspect a hoax on this one for the Not the Nation tone) but see here as well, Kasit [...]
4 Susie Wong // Nov 11, 2009 at 2:17 am
The article implies the preference of Sirinthorn to Vachiralongkorn. I really think the issue of succession should be openly discussed if the monarchy institution is to be maintained. At the same time other system like Indonesia with direct election of the Head of State should also be discussed for the pro and con of the republic system to the Thai society. A peaceful transition requires this issue to be settled.
5 Luecha Na Malai // Nov 11, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Hooray for our Crown Prince! Oops, I remember, we cannot mention anything about this sacred family. So I take it back.
6 WLH // Nov 11, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Looks like NotTheNation has its own take on the issue…
http://www.notthenation.com/pages/news/getnews.php?id=844
7 Foreign Affairs letter to The Times-New Mandala « FACT – Freedom Against Censorship Thailand // Nov 11, 2009 at 10:13 pm
[...] http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2009/11/10/another-taboo-broken-2/ [...]
8 Mekong observer // Nov 14, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I think Not the Nation has trumped this letter with its very good article on “Taksin and the Pandas”. Well done!
http://www.notthenation.com/pages/news/getnews.php?id=844
The way to solve problems between thailand and cambodia is to have a winner take all match at the up and coming SEA Games in Laos. I would suggest a game of Petanque with the winner taking the gold, Prea Vihear and Taksin!
9 Thai Foreign Ministry protests Times’ interview-New Mandala « FACT – Freedom Against Censorship Thailand // Nov 19, 2009 at 9:55 pm
[...] http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2009/11/10/another-taboo-broken-2/ [...]
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