Don't pack George Orwell's 1984 in your suitcase

Commentary on the coup restrictions in Thailand reached absurd levels recently when an article in the in-flight magazine of Philippines Airlines gave 5 tips on travelling safely in post-coup Thailand, including which books not to pack.

Tip number 4 warned passengers not to carry a copy of Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 in their luggage for fear of being taken for an anti-coup protestor, and potentially arrested. The article carried several other advisories such as ‘how to safely ask for a selfie’ , or avoid wearing red.

While somewhat tongue in cheek, the article seized on an exaggerated symbol of resistance to a coup which has, well, seen very little resistance, in fact widespread approval from Thailand’s population who had become sick of the political deadlock and mostly were relieved that the army had stepped in.

A few students made a weak symbolic protest by sitting in public places with a copy of a book that describes a totalitarian state rather far-fetched and removed from the actual situation presently experience. They were told to stop, but this was seized on by media worldwide as a throw-away news item for a event that was somewhat of an anti-climax for the headline seeking newsrooms of Fox, the Daily Mail and other notorious news channels.

Spotting a tweet on the Philippines Airline article, a journalist from the Telegraph newspaper in Britain further gave mileage to the warning. Tourists in Thailand, by contrast, have experienced very little sign of any oppression or unreasonable censorship, although the military junta have been keeping a tight control over misleading press and reportage of any criticism to the coup, in the interests of national security.

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