Publisher appeals ban
The publisher of a political magazine yesterday lodged a petition with the Interior Ministry over a ban on its current edition, saying officials had made an illegal order to confiscate the magazine from news stands.
Thanapol Eawsakul, editor and publisher of Fah Diew Kan (Same Sky) magazine said the instruction by publishing officials using the 1941 Printing Law to ban the publication was unfair because he had not been given a chance to defend the publication before the decision was made.Article 9 of the law authorises officials to ban any publications opposed to social order and public morality. The current edition of the quarterly, which is running a series of debates on the role of the monarchy in Thai politics, says nothing against social order, nor does it violate Thai moral norms, Thanapol said. The instruction of the Bangkok publishing official is also unconstitutional since it violates article 39 of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression in all forms, spoken, written, printed or published, the editor said. Police chief Kowit Wattana, as the Bangkok publishing official, barred the distribution of the magazine on March 28 after a group of pro-government protesters accused the journal of lese majeste and burnt a copy during a heated demonstration at Chatuchak Park on Tuesday. Thanapol said the decision to ban his publication was politically motivated as it had been popular since December and drawn no objections from the authorities. Police seized all available copies from bookshops in Bangkok on Wednesday. Thanapol said he would wait 30 days to hear the response of the Interior Ministry before filing the case with the Administration Court should the ministry rejected his appeal. The publisher said he would reprint 6,000 copies to assert his right of expression under the Constitution. Supalak Ganjanakhundee The Nation
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