THE GUARDIAN: Not content with lese-majeste laws to protect the revered monarchy that are among the world's most draconian, Thailand is to build a wall around the kingdom to keep out detractors.
But the barrier will be virtual, a national internet firewall to block websites deemed insulting to the throne of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who at 80 is the world's longest serving monarch.
For the princely sum of almost £9m the Thai information ministry will shield the king and his adoring subjects from the sleights – real or perceived – of those who mock online.
Thailand's government, locked in a bitter struggle with staunchly royalist demonstrators who have been on the streets for months, has been accused of harbouring republican tendencies and being hostile to the monarchy.
It refutes the charge, but the move to construct the firewall appears to be the result of pressure from the powerful military and its demand that criticism of the monarchy be stamped out.
The firewall will also give Thailand's bureaucrats the power to block other websites it labels inappropriate, like those run by perceived terrorist groups or showing pornography. But the first target will up to 1,000 websites suspected of carrying material regarded as offensive to the king. >>> Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok | October 30, 2008
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