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November 10, 2009
Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor
Times Online (UK)

The Thai government has banned an interview in The Times with the ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and warned that its security agencies will take “appropriate actions” against any media organisations that report his remarks about the country’s royal family.

A spokesman for Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Prime Minister, warned journalists not to report the contents of the interview and hinted that the Government would use the country’s draconian lèse-majesté law, which imposes sentences of up to 12 years in jail for insulting the king or his family.

Internet users in Thailand said last night that it was impossible to access the news article, in which Thaksin spoke of his hopes for his country after the death of the revered King, Bhumibol Adulyadej. It is not clear whether this is a result of censorship but the Ministry of Information routinely blocks web pages that are deemed to contain information unflattering to the monarchy.

According to the Bangkok Post, Thepthai Senpong, Mr Abhisit’s spokesman, said that “the comments in the interview were offensive to the royal institution”. He added that the ruling Democrat Party would recommend “appropriate action” by the Government and security agencies against media that report the interview.

“I would like to say that Thaksin’s interview violates the monarchy, which is the country’s main institution,” Kasit Piromya, the Thai Foreign Minister, told reporters in Bangkok. “I wonder what the hidden agenda was that caused him to make this inappropriate move. In his interview, there are several parts referring to His Majesty the King, the Crown Prince and the monarchy, and [they] also refer to His Majesty’s role in politics.”

He said that the Justice Ministry would consider whether to charge Thaksin with lèse-majesté on top of the two-year prison sentence imposed upon him in absentia for a land deal transacted during his five years as Prime Minister.

The controversy over the interview focuses on Thaksin’s remarks about Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. He emphasised his loyalty to King Bhumibol, who has been in hospital for seven weeks but spoke of his hopes for a lesspoliticised royal palace after the king’s passing.

Mr Thaksin issued a statement saying that The Times’s report was “distorted” and “untrue”. The text of the interview, posted on Times Online, matches the recording of the conversation and was transcribed by a press representative of Mr Thaksin.

Mr Kasit said that Thailand would begin extradition proceedings against Mr Thaksin today, as he arrives in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. It will be his first time back in the region since fleeing in August last year, and the trip is aggravating tensions between the neighbours.