Chula university cancels launch of book critical of Thai military

Chulalongkorn University cancelled plans to host a seminar and book launch for a publication by one of its scholars, Doctor Puangthong Pawakapan, which discusses the role of the Thai military. The event, originally scheduled for this upcoming Friday, September 28, has been moved to the Jim Thompson Museum instead of being held on campus as originally planned.

Dr Puangthong, an academic at the Political Science Faculty, shared the news on Facebook, stating that university executives barred the use of any venue at Chula for the launch of her book titled ‘Infiltrating Society: The Thai Military’s Internal Security Affairs,’ without providing a clear reason.

Despite this, the university’s International Relations Department continues to support the event.

The seminar will focus on the Thai edition of her award-winning book, originally published in English by the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore in 2021. The Thai edition is printed by Same Sky Books. The book is based on a two-year research project that earned awards from Chulalongkorn University in 2023 and from Foreign Affairs magazine in 2022.

This cancellation follows criticism from the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) on 14 September, which accused Dr Puangthong of lacking expertise in security matters. ISOC called for the book and related forums to be banned, claiming they could mislead the public and harm the image of the military.

The agency threatened legal action against her and requested the university review her ethics.

In response, Dr Puangthong defended her work in a subsequent, highlighting that her research had been rigorously reviewed by international experts. She invited ISOC to join the seminar and publicly discuss the issue instead of seeking to suppress it.

The upcoming forum will include notable speakers such as Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, co-founder of the now-disbanded Future Forward Party, and Prajak Kongkirati from Thammasat University’s Political Science Faculty, both known for their criticism of military coups and political interference by the armed forces, reported Bangkok Post.