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If You Can't Say Something Nice (r)



/* Written  6:40 am  Apr 29, 1994 by strider@xxxxxxxxxxx in igc:soc.culture.th */
/* ---------- "If You Can't Say Something Nice" ---------- */



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IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE....
Burmese Magazine Insults Thai Crown Princess

by Reg B. Strider


Rangoon--

In an incident that may prove embarrassing to Burma, a government-run
magazine has insulted the Crown Princess of Thailand.  An article appearing
in the February edition of the Myatkhin'thit (The New Grasslands), 
insinuates that Crown Princess Sirindhorn would have been a prostitute
if she were not the King's daughter.
 
The penalties for lese majeste are heavy in Thailand but it
is considered especially provocative to malign Princess Sirindhorn, who is
the most popular member of the royal family.

The article purports to be a conversation between a Thai and a Vietnamese, in
which the Vietnamese is quoted as telling the Thai:

     Though your girl is not Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, you believe that
     she is more intelligent and more patriotic.  Sirindhorn is a well-
     known person as she was born from the Thai King; however, if she
     were born from an ordinary farmer or fisherman, she would have
     become a prostitute.
                         (Myatkhin'thit, Feb. 94, p. 135)

Although Thailand and Burma have a centuries-long history of conflict, the
Thai government has been one of Rangoon's few international supporters since
the Burmese army massacred thousands of unarmed protestors in 1988 and
reneged on a 1990 handover of power to an elected government.

The price Bangkok exacted for refusing to isolate Burma included lucrative
logging and fishing concessions.  The Burmese government has since accused
Thai fishermen and loggers of overfishing and extracting far more timber than
was allowed by the contracts.

In retaliation for what the Burmese see as rapacious conduct by Thai
businessmen, a number of Thais illegally fishing in Burmese waters have been
killed and Rangoon is increasingly turning for trade to Singapore and other
countries instead of Thailand.  The article insulting Princess Sirindhorn may
be a further expression of Rangoon's resentment.

Given the heavy government censorship in Burma, it seems unlikely that the
article could have been printed without authorization from senior Burmese
officials.  Myatkhin'thit magazine began publishing in 1990, and is similar
in style to a scandal sheet.  It regularly insults foreign and domestic
opponents of the regime and among its targets have been pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi and western diplomats.

In a 1993 report by the PEN American Center detailing censorship in Burma,
the report's author noted that Myatkhin'thit:

     ...does not have to contend with the multiple obstacles of checks
     on authors, the filling in of forms with biographical details of
     all contributors [and] predistribution scrutiny...

According to the report, Myatkhin'thit runs stories:

     that criticize and attack the student movement...it also frequently
     features articles that describe in minute detail rape, corruption,
     and murder in foreign countries, with the aim of discrediting these
     very countries that are calling on the SLORC to respect the rights
     of Burmese citizens.

               Anna J. Allott, 
               "Inked Over, Ripped Out: Burmese Storytellers and the Censors"
               A PEN American Center Freedom-to-Write Report.  
               PEN American Center: New York, NY.  1993 (p. 19)