Academic freedom ‘hit by all Thai govts’

[webfact]

Academic freedom ‘hit by all Thai govts’
KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- ACADEMIC freedom, be it under a military-installed government or a civilian one, has never fared well in Thailand, lecturers said at a panel discussion on Wednesday.

While academic freedom under this military-installed government had been undermined, the situation was not necessarily any better under elected governments, Pongkwan Sawasdiphakdi, a lecturer on international relations in Thammasat University, said.

The key reason for this, she said, is that Thailand's Constitutions have failed to protect such freedoms, with the latest charter containing protections that are vague and difficult to interpret. Speaking at a panel discussion on "Academic Freedom under the Military" on Wednesday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, Pongkwan also blamed the lack of freedom on the fact that lecturers were now working on a contract basis, which left their careers in the hands of their supervisors.

However, she admitted that the situation had worsened under this government, with academics having to seek permission to hold public seminars or events. She added that the military's intervention in university affairs in order to put pressure on political activism did not help.

Titipol Phakdeewanich, a lecturer from Ubon Ratchathani University, agreed, saying the military made his work very difficult and also affected other lecturers and students.

As a political science lecturer, his job has a lot to do with politics, he explained, adding that his lectures often dealt with freedom, human rights and democracy. Now, however, has to explain why he has to discuss such topics in class, even though he is merely doing his job as a lecturer on political science, he said.

He added that like other scholars, he too has had to seek permission to organise events related to his field and has often been visited by military officers. Titipol pointed out that the sight of military trucks in the university campus was a clear reminder that academic freedom here is very limited.

Ekachai Chainuvati, a law professor from Siam University, said there were clear boundaries to academic freedom in Thailand and people like him stood to lose their job if they ever crossed that line by saying something they should not.

The three lecturers also shared their concept of academic freedom.

Pongkwan believes that it covers - but is not limited to - the freedom of expression, extending to the scope of research granted to scholars and freedom from political, business and other influences.

The speakers also said that university rectors and deans should remain politically neutral, so the freedom of academics working under them is not compromised. Pongkwan said academics should have the freedom to do their work for the benefit of society without interference from authorities.

Universities should also protect scholars and students from external interference, something that is lacking in Thailand, she said.

Ahead of the event, a group of military officers visited FCCT to voice concern that the panel discussion could cause protests. However, the discussion was given the go-ahead after a 90-minute chat between the junta's legal officer Colonel Burin Thongprapai and FCCT president and BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Despite this, there were still some five officers in plainclothes sitting with the audience to observe the event.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Academic-freedom-hit-by-all-Thai-govts-30275172.html


-- The Nation 2015-12-18

[rkidlad]

Yes, they have ridiculous defamation laws which mean people won't be held accountable for being, corrupt, lazy and feckless.

[tbthailand]

All the academics panned the junta and The LapDog puts their best spin on it...

Good boy, good boy, ... sit LapDog, sit....

How pathetic.

[oneday]

Academia and the public at large will NEVER have the freedoms they desire until these freedoms are hard coded into the constitution. Furthermore, freedoms should not be addressed just for academics, they must be addressed for every single person living in Thailand.

Good luck!

[Srikcir]

Pongkwan is simply an appologist for the current regime.

It has been the military that has consistently overthrown Thai governments, abolished constitutions and exercised what is deems its right of absolute power over Thai sovereignty.

It's not that Thailand's Constitutions have failed to protect such freedoms. The 2007 Constitution was very specific in Part 13, Article 68 as to the Right of Thais to Protect the Constitution:

“No person shall exercise the rights and liberties prescribed in the Constitution to overthrow the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State under this Constitution or to acquire the power to rule the country by any means which is not in accordance with the modes provided in this Constitution. “

It has been the Thai autocracy leveraged by the military that deems their rights are superior to the Thai electorate and constitutions. When people like Pongkwan are willing to stand against such eliticism that protection of Thai rights and liberties can become something meaningful.

[blazes]

I once read of a university in the States (U of Connecticut) where a student could lodge a complaint if she felt herself "conspicuously excluded from a conversation."

This was at the beginning of the PC early 1990s (now even worse than that, of course). You don't always need soldiers to enforce a particular view of the world. Self-censorship is the best mode of "attitude adjustment" (as Antonio Gramsci pointed out at the beginning of the twentieth century).

[thelonius]

All the academics panned the junta and The LapDog puts their best spin on it...

Good boy, good boy, ... sit LapDog, sit....

How pathetic.

"Ahead of the event, a group of military officers visited FCCT to voice concern that the panel discussion could cause protests. However, the discussion was given the go-ahead after a 90-minute chat between the junta's legal officer Colonel Burin Thongprapai and FCCT president and BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Despite this, there were still some five officers in plainclothes sitting with the audience to observe the event."

This says all you need to know about military interference in academic affairs (and everybody elses affairs for that matter). In fact the most surprising thing to note, apart from the fawning, deliberately misleading headline of course, is the fact that the junta actually has a legal officer - possibly the easiest job in the world.

junta: Is what we're doing legal?

junta legal officer: You said it was, why do you even have to ask?

[phoenixdoglover]

It took a bit of courage for the academics to stand up and describe how their freedom is being curtailed, in the presence of five plainclothes officers, and after the event was almost shut down.

We online pundits have it easy. For now.