Thailand bans academic handbook over national security, exiled editor blames monarchy content
Thai police say an academic handbook threatens national security. Its Japan-based editor says it was banned for its chapters on the monarchy.
Thailand has banned an English-language academic textbook on national security grounds. Its exiled editor said on Thursday that the real reason was the book's material on the Thai monarchy, according to reports by The Straits Times and CNA, both drawing on AFP.
An order signed by National Police Chief Samran Nualma and released on Wednesday said the book contains articles that "adversely affect national security and might cause unrest in the country". It gives police the power to seize and destroy copies. Anyone found guilty of importing or distributing the book faces up to three years in prison, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both. The Straits Times converted the fine to S$2,290 and CNA to US$1,800.
The book is the second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Thailand, published in English in August. It was edited by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an academic and critic of the monarchy who is based in Japan. It includes chapters on the monarchy in the 21st century and on the government's use of the lese-majeste law.
Pavin told AFP the first edition, released in 2019, was not banned, CNA reported. He said the new edition was updated to "reflect changes in Thai politics" after the 2020 youth-led pro-democracy protests, which included calls to reform the monarchy and the military. A progressive party won the election three years later, but its candidate was blocked from becoming prime minister by military-appointed senators and court challenges.
"Topics like this are why they decided to ban it," Pavin said in a telephone interview. "Thailand's democracy is backsliding, and book bans are a clear indicator of that."
In a Facebook post, Pavin said the book was banned "because it is packed with material on the monarchy", The Straits Times reported. In a separate post he thanked the Royal Thai Police for promoting it. "In the era of social media and the internet, a ban like this doesn't work," he wrote. "People might just skip the hard copy and get an ebook."
His 2023 book, Rama X: The Thai Monarchy Under King Vajiralongkorn, was banned in a similar way. Pavin is a former diplomat who spent more than a decade at Thailand's foreign ministry, The Straits Times said, and CNA reported he has been out of the country since the 2014 military coup. He said he was charged in 2020 over a Facebook group he set up that now has more than 2 million members. In August, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said he was one of three people charged with lese-majeste over posts in the group.
A conviction under the lese-majeste law can carry up to 15 years in prison per offence. Critics say the law is used to silence dissent.
Deputy government spokeswoman Lalida Persvivatana said in a statement to AFP that Thailand "prioritises maintaining national security and public order alongside respecting freedom of expression and academic freedom".
Sources: The Straits Times, Thailand bans textbook on national security grounds; CNA, Thailand bans textbook on national security grounds; The Japan Times, Thailand bans textbook on national security grounds.
