Thursday February 16, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Australian author pardoned for insulting Thai monarchy

World Feb. 21, 2009 - 04:56PM JST ( 10 )

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10 Comments

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timeonFeb. 21, 2009 - 05:32PM JST

good story, now the book will turn into a best seller
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DisillusionedFeb. 21, 2009 - 06:11PM JST

The book is a good read
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rajakumarFeb. 21, 2009 - 06:26PM JST

Glad this turned out good, in the end.
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proxyFeb. 21, 2009 - 06:53PM JST

This sounds crazy "going to jail for insulting a king" but it is no different than anti-free speech "hate speech" legislation in "advanced" Western countries. "Hate speech" is ill defined but includes speech intended to degrade a social class. Yes, the rich are a social class. Harry Nicolaides had better avoid traveling to Canada lest the Canadian human rights commission gets their hooks into him.
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smithinjapanFeb. 21, 2009 - 08:16PM JST

Good for him. It was going to turn out this way, I figured, but glad to hear it didn't take a year or so. A short fall in the sewerage is enough. I doubt this guy will be going to Thailand again any time soon, and he's got more goods for his book if need be.

Very sad about his mother. Sounds like the abridged version of 'The Damage Done: Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison' (awesome read!). Of course, Nicholaides wasn't dealing drugs.
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presto345Feb. 21, 2009 - 09:40PM JST

When you travel to and/or decide to live in a foreign country the most important thing to realize is that you abide by the rules of the host country. If and when you hit upon an obstacle you were not aware of it is still your own mistake. Thailand is not another extension of countries we describe as western. It's different and you'd better respect it rather than attempt to reform it. Criticize or condemn it, but it won't do you any good. This Aussie was extremely lucky the King took pity on him.
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jeancolmarFeb. 21, 2009 - 10:22PM JST

The good thing is that Thailand is not a very strong country. Even Australia could sit on the Thai government's head. Bad publicity. Lost tourist dollars. Maybe lost investment. Wouldn't look nice particularly when this guy was jailed for a passage in an obscure book that did not even insult the King directly. Yeah, the King not pity on him. Maybe not quite.
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cleoFeb. 21, 2009 - 10:51PM JST

When you travel to and/or decide to live in a foreign country the most important thing to realize is that you abide by the rules of the host country

I couldn't agree more. But it isn't as if Nicholaides was standing on the steps of the royal palace shouting out insults; it's one short passage in an obscure self-published book of which apparently only 7 copies had been sold. The Thai authorities could have simply ignored it, but as it is they've managed to splash the insult across the international newspapers. A bit of an own goal, I think.

Friends of Nicholaides have put the whole book up on the web here - http://psydj.tv/text/verisimilitude-harry-nicolaides.pdf

The insult to the monarchy occurs on P115, but the whole book seems to be a bit of a slur on Thailand as a whole and, sorry Harry, rather poorly written. But maybe now the free publicity will enable you to sell the remaining 43 first editions.

I hope his Mum gets well.
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blvtzpkFeb. 22, 2009 - 01:37AM JST

Gives all us Melbourne boys a bad name....
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TriumvereFeb. 22, 2009 - 12:34PM JST

Well, kind of expected this; the King doesn't actually support the draconian les majesty laws which are supposedly enforced in his name. He has pardoned others before.

Wonder if Nicolaides make lemonade here by utilizing the publicity to get his book noticed.