Kenney cautious with tweets

US Ambassador Kristie Kenney's tweets are usually of a laid-back nature. But that wasn't the case yesterday, when her special "chat" with tweeple landed her in the middle of Thailand's hottest political topics.

She was asked about Thai-American lese majeste convict Joe Gordon, as well as about Article 112, Thaksin Shinawatra, and freedom of expression in Thailand in general. Credited with bringing a new approach to diplomacy, this time the ambassador had to rely on tried-and-trusted diplomatic answers to prevent the one-hour session from becoming too incendiary.

On Gordon, she said the US Embassy would continue to assist him in every possible way, including continually raising his case with Thai authorities. Asked for her opinions on Article 112, she replied that she had high respect for the Thai monarchy, but was "troubled by prosecutions inconsistent with international standards". Thaksin's future, she said, was up to Thailand to decide.

It was a politically charged Q&A session, sprinkled with questions on her Thai-language class, her love of Thai food, and US visas. She referred questions on Burma and US perspectives on the Asia-Pacific region to more detailed sources of information such as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's speeches.

Like all Twitter celebrities, the envoy could not escape sarcasm relating to her ideological stance. After tweeting that she and her country believe strongly in freedom of expression, someone asked her if that ideal extended to "other planets" as well.

Another participant, apparently trying to get her to define "freedom" a little more precisely, reminded her of the Occupy Wall Street protesters and the way they were treated by US authorities. WikiLeaks, unpopular with Washington, also featured in some tweets.