THAILAND'S MOMENT OF TRUTH - ZENJOURNALIST

y their politicians, generals, bureaucrats and business tycoons in the same way: everybody knows it’s all
fake, but everybody feels it wouldn’t be polite to interrupt the theatrics by saying so. With the greatest
of respect, it’s time to say the show is over. Thailand needs to start dealing with reality. Especially now,
when the whole country is convulsed by anger and pain and anxiety, and when so many dark clouds are
gathering on the horizon.
Everybody knows that a storm is coming. The only question is how much time is left before it hits. What
happens then will fundamentally define what kind of country Thailand becomes in the 21st century. You
don’t get any shelter from a storm just by closing your eyes and refusing to look at it.
When I realized I would not be able to say what needs to be said about Thailand as a Reuters journalist,
I began making copies of all the U.S. cables relating to the country over a few fraught sleepless nights
of frenetic cutting-and-pasting and excessive amounts of Krating Daeng. Technology has made the theft
of secret information much easier than it used to be: an eccentric Thai writer and publisher called K.S.R.
Kulap Kritsananon had a much more difficult time 130 years ago when he wanted to share the wealth of
accumulated historical wisdom contained within the manuscripts held in the Royal Scribes’ library in the
Grand Palace. He saw his chance when the library was under renovation and the manuscripts taken out
of the palace and entrusted to the care of Prince Bodinphaisansophon, head of the Department of Royal
Scribes. Craig Reynolds tells the story in Seditious Histories: Contesting Thai and Southeast Asian Pasts:
The accessibility of these manuscripts to Kulap sparked his curiosity, and out of his love for
old writings, he paid daily visits to admire the most ancient books in the kingdom. Naturally,
he desired copies for himself, his passion for old books guiding him around any obstruction.
According to Prince Damrong’s account of the episode, based on conversations with Kulap’s
accomplices, he circumvented the prohibition on public access to such documents by persuading
Prince Bodin to lend the texts overnight one at a time. With a manuscript in his possession, Kulap
then rowed across the river to the Thonburi bank to the famous monastery, Wat Arun or Wat
Claeng. There, in the portico of the monastery, Kulap spread out the accordion-pleated text its
entire length, and members of the Royal Pages Bodyguard Regiment, hired by Kulap to assist in
this venture, were then each assigned a section of the manuscript. In assembly-line fashion, they
managed to complete the transcription within the allotted time. Kulap then rowed back across the
river to return the original, with the prince apparently none the wiser.
On June 3, 2011, I resigned from Reuters after a 17-year career so that I could make this article freely
available to all those who wish to read it. Reuters was explicitly opposed to my actions and sought to
prevent me writing it while I was employed there. They have also informed me several times of the
potential consequences of making unauthorized use of material that came into my possession through
my work as a Reuters journalist. I have chosen to disregard those warnings, but it is important to make
clear that Reuters made every reasonable effort to stop me publishing this story, and some frankly rather
unreasonable efforts too. Responsibility for the content and the consequences of my article is mine, and
mine alone.
Besides having to leave a job I loved with a company I had believed in, it also seems likely that I
can never visit Thailand again. That feels unbearably sad. But it would have been infinitely sadder to