“
SHUMEN
Nikola
Vaptsarov” Foreign Language
High School,
Shumen, Bulgaria
Comparative analysis
in the present situation of
freedom of speech in Bulgaria
and Thailand
After 20 years of
democratic transition, nowadays we can say that in Bulgaria there is freedom of speech
and the access to information is guaranteed with a special law. There is a
positive advance in the normative documents, which guarantee free access to
information and public data base. The presence of the necessary normative base
does not still mean that the rights of the citizens about access to information
are kept.
There is an extreme institutional non-effectiveness,
accretion in juridical and executive authority with criminal groups, police criminality.
Not only the cases in which there are seen attempts for
political or economic pressure over media. This tendency, typical of the last
few years is noted from external independent observers.
In its report on Bulgaria
the internet site “Reporters without borders” puts the corruption and the political pressure among dangers,
which threaten freedom of speech and in that attitude Bulgaria is shown as a negative
example. In the classification of freedom of speech the independent organization
puts Bulgaria
in the 59 th place among 173 countries all
around the world and in the last places among all countries in the EU.
“The safety of the journalists, who publish materials concerning
party financing, bribes and organized criminality, is threatened. Every year
there are cases in which journalists become victims of a physical force and
this is of equal meaning as a censorship.”
There are no taboo themes in the country, but some are
treated with attention. Smuggling, the traffic of people and drugs are rarely discussed
at close quarters. Some journalists have become reconciled and use auto
censorship, others actively oppose to the political and economic pressure.
Although part of the journalists in the capital city are being able to oppose
the pressure and the auto censorship, the ones who live and work in the countryside
are not able to oppose to the pressure. The symbiosis between local authority and
criminal groups create unfavourable circle for through researches.
There is freedom of speech in Bulgaria but it is not guaranteed.
We can say that the freedom is in the Internet, but not in the media. There are
many factors in the country which do not prefer the social life to be accessed
by anyone.
The year 2008 was a year of threats, attacks and some
attempts for murders; people who tried to show their oppinion were killed. The murder
of Georgi Stoev in April 2008, an ex-member of criminal
groups and then a novelist, a chronicler of the mafia, has not revealed yet and
is not considered to be revealed.
The cruel beating over Ognian Stefanov in September,
2008, a chief editor of Frog News, who
was attacked and beaten with hammers and other metal bars because of revealing
secret documents in the Internet in August the same year. That happened
immediately after he denied on his web pages that he is connected with the web
site: www.opasnite.net. His colleague, Alexander Ivanov, an assistant editor of Frog News, is also threatened
with a murder and he had to spend some weeks under 24-hour police protection.
In
similar ways the criminals are gathering fear into the people and in that way
they are creating a well place where they can do illegal things. It seems that
what the criminals do is also good for the former rulers of the country because
many of them are connected with huge criminal deals.
In
August 2008 boomed a debate for eavesdropping on telephone conversations after
the national agency of security (DANS) tried to identify the authors of www.opasnite.net and it showed that many
reporters were feared to identify the authors and the resources of information.
The
last fact makes us think that the country is disposed to tolerate the areas
which restrict freedom of speech with criminal ways instead of guaranteeing the
freedom and access of information.
The last fact suggests us that the
state is willing to tolerate rather circles which limit freedom of speech, even
criminal means, rather than to guarantee freedom and access to information.
Thailand
is translated "the land of freedom". It belongs to a group of new
industrial nations with economic success through liberal trade and investment
policies, but concerning freedom of speech it is far behind in the standings. An
Asian country which is considered more democratic than its neighbors, Myanmar, Cambodia,
Laos,
takes 124 place among 173 countries. Although freedom of speech is guaranteed
by the Constitution in 1997, censorship exists in the country. It is required
primarily for the protection of national security, preserving public order, but
mostly to prevent criticism of the royal family and insults to Buddhism.
According to the law Lèse majesté
any affront to his Majesty is considered as an insult to the dignity of the
Administrator and to the country itself. Repression, manipulation, strict
controls are part of the censorship in Thailand. They are increasing and also
journalists and writers were arrested and charged with defamation according to
this law. The Australian writer Harry Nikolaidis was
sentenced to 3 years and spent several months in prison for publishing his book
which describes the king's son’s behaviour. The most
severe verdict reached in Thailand
is on Suuicha Takor. He is
an Internet user, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after the court found
him guilty as charged for insulting the monarch. Takor
published in You Tube forged photos of the King and at present the site is not
accessible to the people of Thailand.
According to the report in 2008 by
Reporters Without Borders Thialand press is freer
than that of neighboring arise. English-language newspapers The Nation and
Bangkok Post, and some other newspapers Thailand enjoys the freedom of
expression on various issues except one, which is taboo - the king and the royal
family. Most journalists express the same tribute to the king and the majority,
but others impose their self-censorship.
In 2006 a military coup by the
government of Thaksin Shinawatra
was overthrown from power. Since then, the Army continues to keep under control
more than 120 radio stations and 2 TV stations. The established system of
government censorship and surveillance in the Internet space has blocked more
than 50 000 web pages to prevent criticism of the monarch. Coverage of
demonstrations by opponents (yellow and red shirts) of the former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
is dangerous from the perspective of journalists. An example is the physical
attacks on reporters and a television studio at the end of 2008 .
"Independent media do not exist or they
face huge difficulties, the press acts as a spokesman for the ruling regime, citizens’
access to objective information is very limited," said Freedom House.
Law on offence against the monarch
became one of the biggest threats to freedom of expression. They are an
extremely serious problem and a blow to press freedom in Thailand, because of the coup,
political unrest, riots and a state of emergency.
Comparing Bulgaria
and Thailand,
it is clear that the situation regarding freedom of expression is similar - the
two countries share a common problem - the restriction or revocation of the
ability of citizens to express their views freely. In Bulgaria there is no topic - taboo,
the media are defined as "partly free" because of their dependence on
various political and economic interests and frequent interference in their
work of government institutions and private interests. Thailand is among the countries
where the press is not free. Along with Russia,
the Philippines, Ethiopia and Uganda,
in Thailand there is a
difference between Bulgaria
and Thailand
as follows:
- In Thailand,
the state used its repressive apparatus to restrict freedom of expression.
- In Bulgaria,
the state does nothing to guarantee freedom of expression.
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