Thailand's banning of a rare "warts and all" biography of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej only stokes interest in the book and risks an eventual explosion of pent-up political tension, an academic said.
"Banning books is usually something we associate with fascist and repressive regimes," Australian anthropologist Annette Hamilton told a seminar on The King Never Smiles at an international Thai studies conference in Bangkok on Thursday.
"When silence is enforced for a long time, noise -- when it comes -- is deafening," he said.
The book, by US journalist Paul Handley, portrays Bhumibol as an austere and deeply political monarch whose desire for stability and unity has stifled democratic development.
`This book raises in a dramatic way some of the most important matters concerning the past, the present and the future of the kingdom,'' Hamilton said, adding that it "presents such a profound challenge to a prevailing Thai world-view that we can see that many people would respond with fear and negativity."
Many Thais regard the king as semi-divine and credit him with steering Thailand through huge political and social turbulence.
However, critics say this perception is propped up by draconian lese majeste laws, which make any insult or threat to the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in jail. Even though Bhumibol made it clear in 2005 that he should not be above criticism, the government banned the book in January 2006, arguing it "could disrupt public order and the good morals of society."
Handley, declared persona non grata in Thailand, did not attend the conference, one of the few times the monarchy has ever been debated critically in public inside Thailand.
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