‘It’s only a warning,’ Thai junta insists of controversial communication to media

The ruling Council for National Security (CNS) in Thailand is trying to soften a chilling message sent to the country’s media on January 10, saying a ‘request’ to stop airing news about ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his cronies was merely that. A request. At most, the CNS called it a ‘warning’. The Bangkokpost.com quotes the military leaders as assuring that the ‘CNS never wishes to control media. Still, the assurances come with some ambiguity. CNS spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said over an interview on Channel 3 that while ‘CNS is still willing to listen to critics…we just feel that it is inappropriate to listen to opinions of the old political party that was the cause of disunity and confusion in the country.’

Thai military junta invokes censorship order on broadcast media for the first time

The military junta in Thailand has ordered the broadcast media to refrain from reporting about deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his cohorts.

The ruling Council on National Security (CNS) is invoking military order No. 10 for the first time since issuing it on 20 September 2006, the day after it staged a bloodless putsch. The order urges media cooperation in reporting state affairs accurately and constructively, with peace and national unity as the primary considerations, and explicitly targeted news reports that might by deemed as bolstering Thaksin’s position.

Anti-cybercrime law may fetter free expression on Internet, says SEAPA

Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is alarmed that Thailand’s interim, military-installed government plans to push through a draft legislation on computer-related crimes which contain provisions that may curtail freedom of expression on the Internet.

Thai leaders stand pat on martial law as media, civil rights advocates grow restless

Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont says there is a need to keep martial law in place in Thailand, three weeks after the military coup that toppled the government of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Surayud’s defense minister, Boonrawd Somtas, had suggested that martial law could be lifted in a few months, but the current prime minister refuted any such optimistic plans, calling Somtas’ comment a mere reflection of his “personal opinion”.

There are signs, however, that some members of Thai civil society are growing anxious with the lack of a timframe for ending martial law. The Thai Broadcast Journalists Association says the broadcasting industry and media in general are intimidated enough to “feel suffocated” and to practice widespread self-censorship. The webmaster of www.19sep.org — shut down after last month’s coup — criticised the attitude of the coup leaders and the new administration as paternalistic. And the Center for Popular Media Reform organized an illegal assembly to lament the “death” of Thailand’s 1997 Constitution.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on October 12 will hold a panel discussion entitled, “Voices against the Coup: All is not well in the Land of Smiles”, featuring some of the staunchest and most vocal critics of the Thai coup and its adverse impact on the Thai media environment.

Thailand’s Interim Constitution

Concern and debate are growing over Thailand’s interim constitution. For a PDF copy of the The Nation’s English translation of the charter, click here. The general who led the coup that ousted former prime minister says the charter adequately assures Thais of civil liberties and of media freedom. Many legal experts and academics are not so sure. A wiki on the issue and the ongoing debate has been set up on Wikipedia.

Thai government shuts down academic site, web forum on military coup

A website set up by academics in northern Thailand has been shut down after staging “a high-profile protest against the draft interim constitution,” Bangkok’s The Nation is reporting. The website, Midnight University has provided an important and popular forum for Thais to discuss the virtues and risks they saw in a recent coup that ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Somkiat Tangnamo, the webmaster and “rector” of Midnight University, said the shutdown of the website on Friday night led to the loss of 1,500 scholarly articles provided for free public education. “This particular action is a threat against academic freedom, a threat against press freedom, and a threat against an important public sphere. It in effect removed the public sphere from the society, which is unacceptable and cannot be justified,” The Nation quoted him as saying.

Thai media want clear free expression guarantee in interim charter

The Thai media will call on the Council for Democratic Reform (previously called Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy) to guarrantee free expression and and press freedom under Thailand’s interim Constitution.

Thai journalists and Press Council demand media protection in interim Constitution

A group of Thai media organisations has issued an open letter to the military rulers demanding protection for the media in the interim Constitution that will take effect on 3 October 2006.

AJI: Stop military intervention against press freedom in Thailand

The development after a military coup on 19 September 2006 in Thailand is apparently getting worse. A series of policies issued by the military administration, which calls itself the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM), has clearly threatened civilian freedoms and fundamental rights in a democratic community. The military junta has arbitrarily revoked the basic rights enjoyed by the Thai people prior to the coup, banning differences in opinions, arresting protesters, closing down hundreds of community radio staions and limiting radio relays.

Bloggers give alternative source of information in military-ruled Thailand

With the traditional print and broadcast media largely under control of the ruling military, bloggers in Thailand have been quick to respond to the need for the Internet to fill in information gaps about the coup by providing alternative reports and personal opinions. The INQ.net reports of a blog by Rebecca McKinnon, co-founder of Global Voices, on such efforts.