Assoc. Prof. Phuangthong sees ‘ISOC’ may have problems with reading – not understanding academic work that is different from the reproduction of ideas, the issue of banning the book ‘In the Name of Internal Security’, pointing out that after the 2014 coup, the space in universities has become narrower – there are more restricted areas for research, causing fear.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Puangthong Pawakraphan, lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, as the author of the book “In the Name of Internal Security: The Thai Army’s Infiltration of Society,” gave an interview before explaining to the House of Representatives’ Committee on Political Development, Mass Communications and Public Participation regarding the Internal Security Operations Command’s (ISOC) press conference regarding the book on security and guidelines for protecting academic freedom.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Puangthong said that even though the ISOC stated that it does not threaten and
has no power to prohibit sales, but it is asking for cooperation to stop sales, she still does not understand what exactly it means. At the book launch tomorrow, will it be able to be sold? If it is sold, will the book be taken away or will it be tracked down to the publisher? Personally, she thinks that the ISOC has a problem with reading and does not understand academic matters in universities, which is different from the reproduction of ideas.
As for the case of students posting signs in front of the university, I did not discuss this with the students because I do not teach military matters directly, so I did not bring it up in class. However, when students asked me, I simply replied that we would just look at the situation.
When asked whether such incidents, which are occurring more frequently in Thai academic circles, will reflect on the security of the country, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Puangthong said that since the 2014 coup, university spaces have become narrower. This can be seen from the filing of compla
ints against professors, books written, and students who use the spaces. Sometimes, it is a case of university administrators or academics taking action against each other. Sometimes, it is a complaint filed by a government agency, which the ISOC has filed.
“This has created fear in universities and made them feel that there is more and more restricted research space, creating academic embarrassment, leading to questions about what will happen if they do this, what should they do to survive? I think this has a long-term impact on the knowledge of Thai society, which is a sad thing,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Puangthong.
Source: Thai News Agency