ภาพจาก Thai News Pix
Narisara Viwatchara
Yesterday at 1:56 PM ·
จดหมายฉบับนี้ดิฉันและเพื่อนร่วมอุดมการณ์พี่ต้น Anthony Chaiwarin ผู้ซึ่งได้ประสบความสำเร็จทางด้านการศึกษาและการงานในเมกาได้ร่วมกันเขียนและได้ส่งไปยัง Cindy McCain แห่งสถาบัน McCain Institute ให้เป็นผู้เสนอชื่อคุณอานนท์นำภาให้กับคณะกรรมการโนเบลสาขาสันติภาพของปีนี้เนื่องจาก การเสนอชื่อให้ได้รับการพิจารณาต้องได้รับการเสนอจากองค์กรหรือบุคคลที่มีชื่อเสียงในระดับชาติหรือเป็นอาจารย์มหาวิทยาลัยหรือบุคคลที่เคยได้รับรางวัลโนเบลเท่านั้นและท่านก็ตอบรับ ด้วยความยินดี Cindy McCain คือภริยาของวุฒิสมาชิก John McCain ที่ได้เสียชีวิตไปแล้วอย่างน่าเสียดาย การเสนอชื่อต้องเป็นไปตามกฎเกณฑ์ของคณะกรรมการโนเบลที่ได้ตั้งไว้ไม่ใช่ว่าใครที่ไหนจะเสนอชื่อก็ได้
Dear Cindy McCain,
We are part of a small human rights coalition that seeks to examine and attain human rights within regions of Southeast Asia. We consider you and your late husband, John McCain, to be among the most honorable and respectable , with political views that strongly resonate with ours, and have thus made contact with you to fulfill a specific mission.
There is a law that exists in Thailand that is known as lese majeste, which prohibits anybody from spreading critical information about the King, regardless of whether the information is factual or not. The law is specifically designed to silence political dissidents, and has been executed to imprison all those who dare speak out against the monarchy. This outright censorship reminds us that we are grateful to be living in a country where freedom of speech is a prized value.
In Thailand, much of the working class resides in a state of poverty, living a bleak and meager existence. Children often go malnourished, families are forced to sell their daughters off into prostitution, and slave labor is rampant within sweatshops. Suffice to say that in Thailand, life is destitute for many. And yet, with a fortune at a net worth of $30 billion, Forbes ranks King Vajiralongkorn as the richest monarch in the world. To even expose the wage disparity and economic disparity between the aristocrat and the working class is to be committing lese majeste.
Among the many prisoners who have suffered the fate of lese majeste includes the human rights lawyer, Arnon Nampa, a lifelong political activist, and a lawyer for the poor. Mr. Nampa has become a strong public figure within the anti-coup movement, by representing the working class within groups such as the the Assembly of the Poor and the Red Shirts of Thailand. Not only is he politically active in a country where the poor are still grossly underrepresented in politics, Mr. Nampa dares to commit the ultimate sacrifice, by being the only person in Thailand brave enough to continuously expose the harsh economic disparity in the country, and by publicly voicing his criticisms against the monarchy.
He paid the ultimate price for this political activity, when he was sentenced to several years in prison for breaking lese majeste laws, though all the cases are under appealed.
We understand that you are a woman of honor, conviction, and morale; so surely issues pertaining to free speech and lese majeste laws must be a vital concern to each and every one of you.
Therefore, we kindly ask of you to spread the word about lese majeste by nominating Mr. Arnon Nampa, for this year’s highest honor: The Nobel Peace Prize, it would immensely help our cause, by gaining publicity to the lese majeste issue that remains virtually unknown to the general populace. Such a feat would be the hallmark that paves the way for human rights in Southeast Asia.
We sincerely look forward to corresponding with you in the future days to come.
With sincerity and respect,
Narisara Viwatchara
Anthony Chaiwarin and friends
Union of Thai-Americans for Human Rights and Democracy
