The Economist Curbs Distribution in Thailand

By AMBIKA AHUJA / AP WRITER

BANGKOK — The latest issue of The Economist will not be distributed in Thailand because of its coverage of the country's monarchy, the magazine said.

It is the second time in as many months that the British magazine was pulled from circulation in the Southeast Asian nation.

The magazine sent an e-mail to subscribers in Thailand saying its distributor, Asia Books, decided not to deliver copies because the January 24 issue contains a story about an aspiring Australian author who has been jailed for three years for defaming the Thai monarchy.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy but has severe lese majeste laws that mandate a jail term of three to 15 years for any person who "defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir to the throne or the Regent."

A staff member of Asia Books confirmed Monday that the issue will not be put on sale, but said she did not know the reason. She declined to give her name because she was not authorized to speak to the press.

Thai broadcast and print media routinely exercise self-censorship when it comes to coverage of the royal family, but the rise of the Internet has seen the taboo about writing about the monarchy tested. Thai authorities have responded by trying to block more than 2,000 Web sites.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, is generally regarded among Thais as a champion of the poor and oppressed. In the past he has set up job schemes in rural villages to promote self-reliance.

Until recently, prosecutions for insulting the monarchy have been uncommon, with the charge mostly used for partisan political purposes as a way of smearing targets.

But questions and debates about the monarchy have assumed a higher profile as the country considers the eventual succession to Bhumibol, the only king most Thais have ever lived under.

Although he is a constitutional monarch without much official power, Bhumibol—with the backing of the military—has since the 1960s held substantial political influence, usually exercised only in times of national crisis.

The December 4 issue of The Economist contained an article called, "Thailand, its king and its crisis." The article quoted from "The King Never Smiles," an unauthorized biography of the monarch, which is banned in Thailand.

The magazine did not distribute the issue in Thailand out of consideration for lese majeste laws.