US Embassy 'to keep out of Thai affairs'

Royalist group protests against meddling in Thai justice system

The US Embassy in Bangkok yesterday issued a statement emphasising its policy of not interfering in Thailand’s internal affairs after an uproar on its Facebook page threatened to boil over.

Thai royalists recently bombarded the embassy's Facebook page with criticism of Washington's stance on recent lese majeste convictions. Royalist group Siam Samakkhi, led by Tul Sitthisomwong, yesterday held an anti-US rally outside the embassy on Wireless Road and submitted a petition to protest against what it sees as Washington's interference in Thailand's judicial system. A petition was also submitted to UN officials.

The UN and US earlier expressed concern over the harsh sentencing of people convicted of lese majeste following verdicts handed down against Amphon "Akong" Tangnoppakul and dual Thai-US citizen Lerphong Wichaikammart, also known as Joe Gordon.

Amphon was sentenced to 20 years in jail for sending four text messages insulting the monarchy, while Lerpong was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for translating parts of a banned book about the King and posting them on the Internet while in the United States.

Posting on its Facebook page, the US Embassy repeated Ambassador Kristie Kenney's earlier statement that the US government has the utmost respect for the Thai monarchy, the Royal Family and Thai culture.

"President Obama, Secretary Clinton and the US Embassy in Bangkok all recently offered heartfelt congratulations to His Majesty the King of Thailand on the very special occasion of his 84th birthday. Thailand is our oldest friend in Asia and we will continue to stand by the Thai people," the statement said.

The embassy was treated to a dose of its own "freedom of expression" medicine when rival Thai political groups faced off in an obscenity-laced exchange on its Facebook page over the course of a few days.

The heated exchange followed the ambassador's "chat" session a week ago with fellow Twitter users, during which "freedom of expression" was a dominant topic. The session came a day after Thai-American Joe Gordon was sentenced to two and a half years in jail for translating parts of the banned book "The King Never Smiles" and posting the passages on a website while in the US.

The embassy issued a statement on the heated Facebook exchange, saying, "As always, we welcomed your discourse and diverse views on our wall and pages. Please be mindful of our existing terms of service, however, by refraining from using language that is profane or abusive."

A glance at the embassy's FB page on Thursday night revealed that all postings had been deleted.