From our friends at Open Thai Democracy:
PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK
THE NATION
Security related laws infringe on citizens’ rights and the public needs to be made aware of this, it was concluded at a symposium held yesterday at Thammasat University’s Law Faculty.
Regulations such as the Internal Security Act and computer crime laws, that are both vague and all-encompassing, are often invoked because now the influence of convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra is as feared as communism once was, explained Kasem Penpinand, a philosophy lecturer at Thammasat University.
“That’s the problem with fear – it becomes a zero-sum game [in which one player's win or loss is balanced by the other player's win or loss] and a social problem, ” he said, adding that the state had to be accountable andjustify its use of security laws.
On the Internet front, Kasem dubbed the Information and Communications Technology Ministry as the “Non-Information and Non-Communication Technology Ministry” since it sup presses the free flow of information, thereby hindering citizens’ rights to think and decide for themselves. The clash between the state and the right to access information freely is one of today’s worst challenges, Kasem said, adding that essentially this was an attempt to control citizens.
Law lecturer from Chiang Mai University, Somchai Preechasil pakul, said legal experts should further discuss the need for security laws. He criticised vague laws that basically allowed the government to invoke emergency decrees or martial law at whim, just to protect itself. He added that though Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was very critical of these laws when he was the oppostition leader, now uses them freely to suppress his opponents.
Two new rights advocate groups, ilaw.or.th and openthaidemocracy. com, plan to launch a campaign to amend some aspects of the laws.
Meanwhile, Thammasat University law lecturer Savitri Suksri said people should question whose security is being defended with these laws.
“Is it the security of the state? The government? Some institution, or that of the people?” she asked, adding that more often than not, invoking these laws had nothing to do with citizens’ security.
Savitri, who specialises in Internet-related laws, said the speed, reach and interactivity of the worldwide web challenged the government’s hegemony over information and news.
“Is it true that the state’s security always leads to security of citizens? Not necessarily so,” she said.
Source: The Nation
