Thailand blocks YouTube for clip mocking king
Wed Apr 4, 2007 7:23AM EDT

By Nopporn Wong-Anan

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's military-appointed government blocked access to on-line video-sharing Web site YouTube on Wednesday after its owner, Google Inc., declined to withdraw a video clip mocking the country's revered monarch.

Communications Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom told Reuters he had ordered a block of the entire site, www.youtube.com from Thailand after the ministry's attempts to get the offending page removed last week failed.

"Since Google has rejected our repeated requests to withdraw the clip, we can't help blocking the entire site in Thailand," said Sitthichai, a telecoms professor who said he had spent most of his academic life researching eavesdropping devices.

"When they decide to withdraw the clip, we will withdraw the ban," he said.

YouTube, which has dominated the user-generated on-line video market since it was founded in February last year, carried a 44-second clip ridiculing King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, who is revered by all 63 million Thais.

The sender of the clip, seen more than 16,000 times, was named "paddidda" and has been rudely attacked by most of 99 comments, according to the Web site.

"The king is the most revered figure in the country; he is untouchable," said Metha Sakaowrat, president of the Information Technology Press Club -- a guild of Thai IT journalists.

Sitthichai said YouTube had told Thai officials it did not find the clip offensive so turned down the request to remove it.

WOMAN'S FEET

Officials at YouTube or Google, which paid $1.65 billion last year for the video-sharing site, were not available for immediate comment on the clip, a series of altered images of the King.

The most offensive to Thai Buddhists was the juxtaposition of a pair of woman's feet, the lowest part of the body, above his head, the highest part of the body.

The blackout is the latest move by the generals who ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup last year against Web sites deemed offensive to either the monarch or the army, or pro-Thaksin.

One site blocked last week was running a signature campaign against the king's top adviser, General Prem Tinsulanonda, whom anti-coup activists accuse of agitating for the putsch against Thaksin.

The coup leaders and the appointed government deny muzzling free speech.

Criticizing or offending royalty is a crime in Thailand. Those guilty of lese majeste can be jailed for up to 15 years.

Last week, a Swiss man was sentenced to 10 years in jail for defacing images of the king, a rare prison term for a foreigner.

Oliver Rudolf Jufer, 57, received 20 years for five acts of lese majeste, but the judge reduced the term to take into account Jufer's guilty plea. He had faced a maximum of 75 years in jail.

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I went for a look. I can totally understand why the clip is offensive to Thai people, especially the slides where feet are shown. But I find a lot of the comments are even more offensive than the clip. Sicko idiots that obviously have nothing better to do with their lives .

Youtube seem to be ignoring their own codes of conduct for member by allowing this to go on

quote:

We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech which contains slurs or the malicious use of stereotypes intended to attack or demean a particular gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or nationality.

Youtube should withdraw this clip immediately as it is a magnet for trouble causing foul-mouthed imbeciles that know nothing at all about Thailand, its people, or the Monarchy

[MODERATOR EDIT: Fixed syntax error in link]

The video clip now seems to have been removed from YouTube.

I wonder how long it will be before the ban is lifted? Anyone in Thailand able to try?

[MODERATOR EDIT (Tobias): Direct link to the offending video page (and the defaced photo of the King) removed to avoid upsetting members here. Some of the language and threats found following the link is unsuitable for linking via this forum. Members who wish to see the content can quite easily search for it on YouTube should they choose to do so.

Interestingly, the video has "... been removed by the user" and not (it appears) by YouTube.

The defaced picture of the King is still there ... and those dreadful comments by some who were against the video being broadcast.

Apologies for overlooking the fact that the YouTube page still includes the defaced picture of the King.

It was my intention only to highlight the removal of the video clip (and how long it takes Thailand to respond), and it was certainly not my intention to offend anyone.

No problem at all jkmple and certainly no need to apologise. I was shocked myself to see the terrible comments that were left by some individuals. Some very nasty indeed including death threats against the chap(ess) who uploaded the video!

Personally I think Lese Majeste laws do not have a place in modern society, the extreme nature of the reaction here is just amazing.

I will be very surprised if the Thai government unblocks YouTube whilst that image of the King remains.

The sad thing is, some of the comments left by certain (apparently) Thai individuals will reflect badly on Thailand and its people.