Prachatai, 19 July 2007: A Thai Civilization lecturer is being threatened with a lèse majesté charge as the police believe the questions he asked students in their examination are slanderous to the monarchy.

Asst. Prof. Boonsong Chaisinghanon, a philosophy lecturer of the Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University is reported to have received a letter from Asst. Prof. Maneepin Promsudhirak, Acting Dean of the Faculty, requesting the answer sheets and score details in a Thai Civilization course that Asst. Prof. Boonsong teaches. The letter says:

"A request has been made by investigating officers of Muang District Provincial Police Station, Nakhon Pathom, for the answer sheets and scores given to students who sat the examinations for the Thai Civilization courses from the years of 2005 until the present. The documents will be used in the preparation of evidence for lèse majesté charges. Please send the said materials to the Faculty by 20 July 2007 for onward submission to the investigating officers."

In an interview with Prachatai, Asst. Prof. Boonsong said "It is unusual that the examination papers have leaked (to the police). Normally, a request for examination papers has to be made officially through the Dean, who will have to ask for prior consent from the lecturer. Reasons have to be supplied as to what the examination papers will be used for and the lecturer who writes the examination papers retains the rights to consent or not to the request."

According to the lecturer, essential to the principle of democracy are rights and freedoms of expression in public fora and these have to be respected. A lack of freedom of expression in academia simply undermines the pillar of higher education. Learning processes in higher education should make students become inquisitive, able to ask questions and critical, so that they can develop their own wisdom and become quality citizens. Without academic freedom, there can be no wisdom society.

"We need to come to terms with various phenomena in society as they reflect what is going on, the social structure and power interaction of various groups. All these issues are critically important for education. Therefore, the "yellow shirt" fever (whereby Thai people en masse wear yellow shirts supposedly to honor His Majesty the King) cannot be ignored. Students need to be encouraged to debate the issue."

Asst. Prof. Boonsong further mentions that a debate on the yellow shirt fever is entirely different from criticizing the monarchy. It is not a vicious attempt to use the monarchy as a ploy against opponents. Doing so is not acceptable since the monarchy is hailed as a cultural icon and therefore should not be subject to such tricks.

Nevertheless, Asst. Prof. Boonsong believes that the attempt to press lèse majesté charges against him stems from some ill intent. Late last year, a ranking professor in the same faculty submitted a complaint to the Minister of Culture, Khunying Khaisri Saengarun, claiming his and another lecturer's teaching was slanderous to the monarch. The matter was cleared up with the President of the University and the Chairperson of the University Council.

He believes that some lecturers in the same Faculty with whom he has been in conflict are behind this conspiracy to hold him accountable for a serious crime. He had questioned the transparency of the former Dean and requested an inquiry. Also, he had accused another lecturer of using university office supplies for his own business.

The embattled lecturer said he will ask the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts for reasons why immediate permission has been granted to the request for the examination papers and the scores. This could also be considered a violation of the students' rights.

Example questions for the 2005 examination paper (Thai Civilization Course)

6. Do you think the monarchy is necessary for Thai society and how? How should it be adapted to a democratic system? Please debate.

9. What would be an appropriate development model for Thai society in order to prevent ourselves from becoming victims of globalization?

10. How should we combat the culture of militarism and feudalism in Thai society? Please debate.

Example of questions for the 2006 examination paper (Thai Civilization Course)

1. Do you think Thai-ness exists in Thai society at all and should we have own unique national identity?

3. What are your thoughts about the anti-Thaksin movement led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD)? Is this kind of social movement appropriate and will it benefit Thai society? Please debate.

5. How can Thai people deal with terrorism in the South in order to engender justice for all parties? Please debate.

6. How does the "yellow shirt fever" reflect problems in Thai society? Are they problems that need to be tackled and how? Please debate.

9. Do you think militarism and bureaucratic polity affect Thai society? If so, how should we deal with them? Please debate.

10. How should this draft constitution be enhanced? What should be its main focus? Why? Please debate.

Translated by Pipob Udomittipong