While Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed not to tamper with press freedom, over the past two weeks the administration launched an unprecedented crackdown on websites deemed as slandering the institution of monarchy. 

Some 2,300 websites have been blocked, 400 are being investigated, and more can be expected. Even before Abhisit's pledge, three persons were already in jail for lese majeste. Self-censorship of anything mildly critical of the institution of monarchy by mainstream Thai newspapers has become an accepted norm of the so-called free press.

In a meeting between the big-wigs of five major media associations and Abhisit earlier this week, none of the senior editors raised even a single question about the crackdown on the websites.

This writer believes that there are three good reasons why Thais should be very concerned about the issue.

It's bad for democracy, freedom of expression, press freedom and critical thinking.

Successive Thai governments have claimed they want to groom Thai children into critical-thinking adults. The ongoing crackdown is detrimental to the nurturing of critical minds. While a number of dictatorial regimes in the world are progressing towards greater freedom, Thailand is regressing.

Already, the move on the Internet front has raised eyebrows at international organisations such as Reporters Sans Frontiers, which questioned this week whether Thailand was becoming a new "enemy" of the Internet.

There can be no genuine democracy in a society where self-censorship is so internalised and practised by journalists and editors without question, and massive crackdown on the Internet does not alarm journalists.

It will backfire on the institution of the monarchy.

How can anyone expect that the current massive crackdown will reflect positively on the institution is beyond this writer's reasoning. His Majesty the King is well loved by Thais and the mainstream media reflect that on an almost daily basis. The crackdown will only raise questions why Thai authorities feel so insecure.

The judicial system is being distorted due to media self-censorship.

Forty-something Boonyuen Prasertying has been in jail for lese majeste since last August, serving her six-year term while the media virtually shun reporting about it. Equally little known in Thailand but better known abroad is the case of 41-year-old Australian Harry Nicolaides, who wrote a novel and was subsequently arrested for lese majeste. The Thai media mostly decided not to report about it and Nicolaides has been in jail since last July. Four pleas for bail have so far been rejected.

The media failed to report that Boonyuen was allegedly cajoled by the authorities to "confess" with a "promise" of a less severe sentence. The maximum jail sentence for lese majeste is 15 years and Boonyuen got six.

Not all will simply confess, however. Early this week, Chulalongkorn University political scientist Ji Ungpakorn became the latest to be charged with lese majeste for his book entitled "Coup for the Rich".

Ji vowed to fight, but while 10 foreign correspondents showed up at his press conference on Tuesday, only three Thai reporters were there.

Boonyuen might have reacted differently if the trial had been handled in full spotlight and with the scrutiny of the media.

In the final analysis, the crackdown will likely get uglier. But people cannot forever be coerced not to express opinions. Any harsh and unreasonable crackdown will only encourage more doubts and gossip.

The government has to learn to deal with the issue in a democratic and transparent manner lest they end up causing more problems for the institution.