Thailand has banned YouTube because it contains a video that insulted their monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The video has apparently already been removed. As IHT notes:
In Thailand, insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej is a serious offense. Last week, a Swiss man convicted of vandalizing images of the king and Queen Sirikit was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The explanation...
(The Thai Communications Minister) told The Associated Press that the government would continue its crackdown. "It's not about freedom of expression," he said. People who create Web sites insulting the monarchy "are abusing their rights and clearly don't mean well for the country."
Naturally, the first thing I did was try to find the video in question. I found one insult clip awash in a sea of pro-King video love letters bolstered by heart-felt "Long Live the King" comments that are currently banned from view in Thailand. For example, the instructive "[In the Heart]: Why We Love our King"...
Or, Thailand's King Greeted by World Royalties...
Or, this simple amateur shot of a fountain that eventually spells "Long Live the King" and has over a thousand views. Or, a "Why Thai People Love Their King" video of someone taking a video of their TV that has nearly 6000 views. Or "60 Glorious Years: Thailand Marks King's Anniversary."
The pro-King videos go on and on.
In fact, it could be argued that YouTube is might be the single most robust and effective privately-run repository of pro-King Bhumibol Adulyadej propaganda in the world.
And, yes, we've seen this video before. It will be interesting to see if Thailand will pull a Turkey and make this a temporary "time-out".
Update: Check out John Earnhardt's comment below about respecting the norms and rules of another nation.
Sean:
I agree that more information is better and we should let people choose what information they want to access and not access based on the contents own merits. However, we also need to respect that we don't live in these other countries that we might disagree with and cannot fully understand their culture. To us, it is a no-brainer, but to the Thai people, maybe they get a great satisfaction out of viewing their King as a great and just man and anyone who says differently could be just a huge Thai buzz killer. Who knows? What I do know, however, is that I love Thai food. So I say, Long Live the King!!!
Posted by: John Earnhardt | April 05, 2007 at 01:13 PM
As for monarchies blocking Youtube, I don't think censorship is hardly ever permissible, and especially not when it concerns one of the most important figures in the state. How can you say you're a free society when criticism of a man who is vital to the country's image is illegal?
Thanks for the UPES update, Desertman! I knew they were working on something, but I didn't know they had put it up in English. It looks like SADR is finally recognizing that the web is one of its most useful tools for achieving self-determination.
Posted by: Karina | November 07, 2007 at 05:26 AM
There was a ban of you tube even in Morocco which is a monarchy - so i think its ok if there are bans wherein heads of state are termed in a derogatory manner.
The difference is that in Thailand the Thai people by and large were supportive of the ban as a video insulted the king.
In morocco i am not sure as to how popular king Mohammed is. But he has to take measures to control his regime.
Posted by: Thailand property | November 07, 2007 at 05:31 AM