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Viewing cable 06BANGKOK1629, MEDIA ACTIVIST WINS LANDMARK LIBEL CASE AGAINST

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06BANGKOK1629 2006-03-16 10:56 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Bangkok
VZCZCXRO0732
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHBK #1629/01 0751056
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161056Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7224
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001629 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV TH
SUBJECT: MEDIA ACTIVIST WINS LANDMARK LIBEL CASE AGAINST 
THE SHIN CORPORATION 
 
REF: 05 BANGKOK 4723 
 
1. (U) On March 15, the Thai Criminal Court ruled in favor of 
media activist Supinya Klangnarong, affirming that she had 
not libeled the Shin Corporation.  Shin Corp, which was until 
January owned by the family of Prime Minister Thaksin 
Shinawatra, had filed the case against Supinya and five 
executives of the Thai Post in October 2003 alleging that 
comments by Supinya (stating that Shin Corp's profits had 
increased dramatically since Thaksin had become Prime 
Minister) had hurt the company's reputation.  Supinya faced 
up to two years in prison for criminal libel and a $US 5,000 
fine. 
 
DAVID VS. GOLIATH 
 
2. (U) In front of a packed courtroom filled with over a 
hundred Supinya supporters, Judge Nawachart Yamasmith ruled 
that the published remarks were protected by Thailand's 
freedom of the press, and were made for the benefit of the 
public.  Supinya had made her comments in good faith without 
the intention of defaming Shin Corp.  Furthermore, the judge 
stated that Supinya's comments had not caused any damage to 
Shin Corp or its reputation.  Shin Corp is a publicly listed 
company, and as such is subject to public scrutiny. 
 
3. (U) In February, amidst fallout over the sale of Shin Corp 
to the Singaporean company Temasek which angered many Thais, 
Shincorp offered to drop the suit as a way of avoiding 
further negative publicity.  The offer took Supinya's camp by 
surprise and after a few days of deliberation, she and her 
co-defendants rejected it saying that they preferred to hear 
the verdict of the court.  She said she would only accept the 
offer if Shin Corp agreed to make a public statement 
acknowledging the public's right to scrutinize public 
business dealings.  Shin Corp was unable to drop the case 
without Supinya's consent since, under Thai law, she has the 
right to seek to clear her name.  After the refusal, Shin 
Corp said the offer had been made only on the condition that 
Supinya apologize.  Minutes before the final verdict was 
read, Shincorp lawyers again unsuccessfully tried to persuade 
the defendants to have the case dismissed. 
 
DAMNED IF THEY DO, DAMNED IF THEY DON'T 
 
4. (U) Many analysts point out that the beleaguered Shin Corp 
had boxed itself in between a rock and a hard place.  By 
losing the case, they suffer a humiliating legal defeat to a 
scrappy NGO.  Winning the case would have meant more bad 
publicity and charges that the massive conglomerate was 
seeking to crush Thailand's cherished freedom of the press. 
Despite domestic and international criticism throughout the 
trial, Shin Corp had insisted that it would weather the bad 
publicity and pursue the case to its conclusion.  However, 
their position changed once the sale by the Prime Minister's 
family sparked much widespread controversy. 
 
5. (U) Poloff observed the courtroom packed with a who's who 
of the opposition and NGO community- a leader of the People's 
Alliance for Democracy, a Thai senator, academics, 
international journalists as well as ordinary friends and 
supporters were in attendance.  While Supinya had complained 
to Poloff only last year that the domestic Thai news media 
was neglecting her case, the increasingly emboldened Thai 
national media were there in large numbers.  Although the 
positive outcome was not guaranteed, most observers said they 
were not surprised by the verdict.  Dr. Niran 
Phithakwatchara, a Senator from Ubon Ratchathani Province, 
told Poloff that the decision was not unexpected as the Thai 
courts were the last truly independent institutions in 
Thailand.  He added that as for the Constitutional Court, 
that was another matter. 
 
6. (U) Shincorp has thirty days to appeal the decision, but 
none is expected.  The company's $400 million baht ($US 10 
million) civil suit against Supinya is technically still 
pending, but observers say it has virtually no chance of 
success after yesterday's failure.  Both sides may yet come 
to an agreement to drop the case. 
 
SUPINYA SPEAKS TO THE CROWD 
 
7. (U) Regardless of which way the verdict went, Supinya 
would have had plenty to say to the anti-Thaksin rally which 
continued to camp outside Government House.  Late last night, 
Supinya spoke to the thousands of assembled anti-Thaksin 
protesters, saying that she would counter-sue the Prime 
Minister unless he agreed to quit.  She also announced that 
her next major crusade would be to campaign to "free" iTV and 
Thaicom satellites, sold as part of the Shincorp-Temasek 
deal, and return them to their rightful place as Thai 
 
BANGKOK 00001629  002 OF 002 
 
 
national assets. 
 
8. (SBU) COMMENT. David truly has beaten Goliath.  As the 
Senator noted, the verdict in this case is one more example 
of how the lower Thai courts seem to increasingly be willing 
to judge a case on its merits, and not on the stature of the 
political actors involved.  The case is also interesting for 
the amount of last-minute coverage it received from the local 
media.  Although the case had attracted a great deal of 
international attention, the Thai press largely ignored what 
was very much a landmark case for them, and one that should 
have hit home.  The verdict, widely reported in the Thai- and 
English-language press today, is yet another sign of the ebb 
of media self-censorship that has been ongoing since the 
anti-Thaksin rallies got started.  END COMMENT 
BOYCE