There is disturbing news that one of our colleagues in Thailand Supinya
Klanangrong, who was sued by libel by the Thai Prime Minster's business
empire, lost the verdict today for the case to be dropped...will find out
more...
Here is a backgrounder again from Bangkok's "The Nation"...
>
> The Nation's article starts from here :::::>
>
>
> SPECIAL: Supinya's big day in court
>
> Published on Jun 22, 2004
>
>
> Today the Criminal Court will issue an unprecedented ruling on whether
> to accept a libel lawsuit filed by the prime minister's business empire
> against leading activist Supinya Klangnarong. She was sued for bringing
> to the public's attention an issue wholly unfamiliar to the justice
> system of Thailand - conflict of interest. Pravit Rojanaphruk talked to
> her before her big day in court.
>
> Life for 31-year-old media freedom campaigner Supinya Klangnarong has
> changed quite a lot since she was sued last October by Shin Corp, the
> telecommunications giant owned by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's
> family. Her case was widely reported in the local media and beyond.
>
> Supinya accused Shin Corp, which owns the iTV television station and
> many other communications firms, of being a major beneficiary of the
> Thaksin administration's policies, having trebled its wealth since the
> premier came to power three years ago. She also accused the firm of
> using the profits, in turn, to further advance Thaksin's political
> clout.
>
> Since then, Supinya has become a globetrotter of sorts, flying off to
> places like Sri Lanka, Switzerland, India and Slovenia. Last week she
> was in London talking to workers from non-governmental organisations
> (NGOs) such as Amnesty International and Article 19, a free-speech
> advocacy group, and with members of journalist unions about how press
> freedom is facing a new kind of threat in Thailand.
>
> "[Foreigners] are interested in why this huge corporation related to the
> prime minister decided to sue me," she said, adding that invitations to
> talk at local universities and seminars had increased dramatically since
> October.
>
> At 1.30pm today, the Criminal Court will finally decide whether to take
> up or drop the case. Supinya is anxious but prepared for both
> eventualities.
>
> "If the court takes up the case, I will turn a crisis into an
> opportunity," she said, explaining that such a decision would give her
> the opportunity to focus more on the relationship between the
> corporation and the prime minister's administration.
>
> "But deep down, nobody wants to fight a court case," she said, adding
> that some libel cases have already dragged on for five or six years with
> no end in sight.
>
> She has no regrets about her remarks, which appeared in the
> Thai-language Thai Post newspaper last July.
>
> Supinya is a graduate of the Faculty of Communication Arts at
> Chulalongkorn University and has a postgraduate degree in media and
> communications at Westminster University in London.
>
> Supinya said friends and colleagues had asked her why she did not try to
> evade the legal trap by not mentioning the name of Shin Corp outright,
> and instead make a vague yet concrete enough reference for everyone to
> guess what firm she was talking about.
>
> "If I could rewind the clock and go back in time, I would mention the
> name of the firm again," she said. "Without this, people are no longer
> in a position to scrutinise the powerful. It is about freedom of speech,
> and society should learn to accept it. It is a reminder to the private
> sector that they cannot simply do whatever they want and remain
> untouchable."
>
> Supinya is not too upset, however, admitting she is quite fortunate to
> be working for an NGO as secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular
> Media Reform, and to have been relatively well-known to the public even
> prior to the lawsuit action.
>
> "If I was an academic, they would just try to publicly discredit me. If
> I was a rural villager, I might simply have been abducted. Thank
> goodness I haven't been and am still living safely without political
> harassment. However, the lawsuit has had an impact on my courage to
> speak."
>
> While 60 people turned up at the court on the day she was asked to make
> a first appearance, Supinya is not counting on that many today.
>
> "If I win, they may appeal and it could drag on, like cancer. If I lose,
> I will appeal to higher courts. In the end, it depends on how strong you
> are and you must come to terms with it yourself. I have also learned to
> trust my attorney," said Supinya, referring to a 50-something volunteer
> lawyer from the Law Society of Thailand by the name of Nakorn.
>
> The Business for Society Network donated Bt50,000 as a starting fund for
> Supinya's legal defence. However, more money will be required if the
> case drags on.
>
> "Public interest in my case may wane eventually, but as long as I have
> my trusted attorney, I won't be afraid. What's more, at least my case
> has caught the public's attention - many more such cases ended without
> the public even knowing about it," she said.
>
> "I now realise that the case has become part of my work, even without my
> knowing it. But it has also alerted the public about what is at risk
> here."
>
>
>
> (c) Nation Multimedia Group
> 44 Moo 10 Bang Na-Trat KM 4.5, Bang Na district, Bangkok 10260 Thailand
> Tel 66-2-325-5555, 66-2-317-0420 and 66-2-316-5900 ; Fax 66-2-317-2071
> Contact us: Nation Internet
>
> (end of The Nation story)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pradip Thomas
> Sent: 22 June 2004 10:40
> To: All Staff
> Subject: FW: SUPINYA vs SHIN Corp
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ubonrat@isai.or.id [mailto:ubonrat@isai.or.id]
> Sent: 22 June 2004 10:29
> To: alalegre@fma.ph
> Cc: ubonrat@isai.or.id; Myriam Horngren; peyer@bfa-ppp.ch;
> sean@nexus.ie; Pradip Thomas; patcha@patcha.jinbo.net;
> ninasomera@fma.ph; mjasia@fma.ph
> Subject: SUPINYA vs SHIN Corp
>
> Dear All
>
> This is a quick note to let you know that Supinya's just lost her
> libel
> case in court this afternoon. Got an SMS from her a little while ago.
> I
> attach some infor on the case. But I need to find out the precise
> verdict to send out an alert and ask for more help.
>
> Ubonrat
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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