Thai Govt Urged To End Press Intimidation

[webfact]

Govt urged to end press intimidation

By The Nation

Three groups representing the media profession yesterday issued a statement calling for an end to intimidation designed to gag the press and suppress dissenting views.

The statement, co-sponsored by the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand and the Thai Journalists Association, was issued in reaction to an intimidating e-mail that has been circulated against a Channel 7 reporter who posed tough questions to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Parties concerned should understand that media professionals are obliged to do their job by uncovering and reporting facts to the public, the statement said, urging all sides not to see the press as a party to conflict.

The Constitution's Article 28 sanctions freedom of speech; therefore, a group subscribing to a political belief should not silence those with differing views through intimidation, the statement said.

On the other hand, it also urged those with different political views to exercise restraint and tolerance in advancing their political causes, because excessive and undisciplined activities could trigger violence.

In a related development, Channel 7 said that its reporter had worked within professional guidelines and it considered the e-mail campaign an intimidation tactic.

The television station also thanked media groups for timely intervention and for providing moral support. It also called on the authorities to guarantee safety for media professionals.

Many suspect that the e-mail-forwarding tactic originated from the red-shirt movement.

Democrat MP Wiratana Kalayasiri said he understood the e-mail was being circulated among supporters of the ruling Pheu Thai Party.

"I want to warn certain politicians to not count on intimidating the press, because without a free press, the country could plunge into danger," he said.

Meanwhile, Kamphaeng Phet resident Pornthip Paksanont stepped forward yesterday to admit that she was the red-shirt supporter who first posted the e-mail.

"I sent it to other red shirts and had no intention of harming the reporter," she said.

Pornthip said she just wanted to communicate with other red shirts and was surprised that her e-mail was being circulated.

She added that she regretted her action and would apologise to the reporter for any ill feelings caused.

Chulalongkorn University journalism lecturer Pirongrong Ramasoota said the prime minister should launch an awareness campaign on tolerance, adding that what had happened was a classic case of government supporters being biased and perceiving people with differing views as enemies.

-- The Nation 2011-08-27

[Who, me ?]

So much for press freedom with red democracy...

[Buchholz]

So much for press freedom with red democracy...

With the email sent to Channel 7, they've moved from the economic and legal intimidations/threats of the TRT Party days to just plain physical threats.

.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Buchholz

[AleG]

What did the e-mail said?

[Misterwhisper]

Let's be frank, shall we? Some radical elements among the redshirts are not one iota better than the brownshirt intimidation and assault squads during Germany's early Nazi era.

And if you're stating such an obvious and undeniable correlation, you are often branded as being "against democracy and social equality" by some of the redshirt sympathizers in this forum. So be it.

[OzMick]

Anybody like to form a sweepstakes to guess when the first political defamation case appears?

Oh yeah, Surapong.

[OzMick]

Let's be frank, shall we? Some radical elements among the redshirts are not one iota better than the brownshirt intimidation and assault squads during Germany's early Nazi era.

And if you're stating such an obvious and undeniable correlation, you are often branded as being "against democracy and social equality" by some of the redshirt sympathizers in this forum. So be it.

I wonder if they know about the night of the long knives?

[khaowong1]

"because without a free press, the country could plunge into danger" oops. too late.

[gohmer]

I think so many foreigner's and Thai alike miss a critical point about this whole red shirt - yellow shirt, Thaksin thing. It's not about Thaksin, its not about red-shirts or any other shirt. It is about democracy, first and last. Thailand has had 18 coups and as many constitutions since first becoming a constitutional monarchy. Democracy has yet to take hold and it will take decades. It is like the Israeli - Palestinian situation, who through the first stone. Both sides have to give up on their uncompromising position in order to function in a democratic way. As long as the yellow shirts stay focused on one man and the reds hold hatred for having their rights yanked away every time they try to have them, then the same drama will continue.

As far as this email goes, the media is criticizing the gov't for the very thing it stands for - freedom of speech. Since I have not seen anything that states a deliberate threat in that email, then isn't the lady that started it exercising here right to free speech? Don't the red-shirts have a legitimate right to be angry over having their vote and rights taken away or suppressed for as many years as it has been?

And it seems that all of this fighting always ends up back to Thaksin's. I don't have all the facts, nor does most anyone else. However, I can certainly make a free-speech observation and say that I don't doubt that Thaksin used his power to gain something while in office, but let's be truthful here, is there a single Thai politician that doesn't do the same. The only difference between Thakin and the rest is maybe the scale, but not the act, they all do it. And, the one thing that Thaksin might have a legitimate argument about is the seeming fact that he was taken out in a military coup, which then the military setup the gov't that convicted him. This doesn't seem to follow the "rule of law", it seems more like an African Junta style railroading of an opponent. If Thaksin was guilty, then the democractic process based on a constitution that provides a mechanism for this (US impeachment style if you will) is the only way to maintain a "rule of law" and properly handle such situations. It is also the mechanism to discourage leaders from abusing power since they can't hide behind a majority party protection.

Here's another thought about Thaksin, lets say that Thaksin abused his power and made tax-free profits, had he then turned around and gave, let's say, 25% of it to charity (schools, medical, environmental protection, scholarships, small business grants, etc), he would have never been taken out in a coup and convicted of a crime. This is due to my belief that he would have become a national hero (Mandela type) and any miss-propriety would have been overlooked. He would have had not only the support and love of the red-shirts, but many of the middle-class who are neither red or yellow. This much broader base of support would have made it much more difficult, if not impossible, to have taken him out. Unfortunately, Asian culture, particularly Chinese, do not have a concept of philanthropy as does western cultures (i.e., Buffet and Gates). IMHO, Thaksin really missed a world-class status by being greedy, not being a crook.

[pisico]

I think so many foreigner's and Thai alike miss a critical point about this whole red shirt - yellow shirt, Thaksin thing. It's not about Thaksin, its not about red-shirts or any other shirt. It is about democracy, first and last. Thailand has had 18 coups and as many constitutions since first becoming a constitutional monarchy. Democracy has yet to take hold and it will take decades. It is like the Israeli - Palestinian situation, who through the first stone. Both sides have to give up on their uncompromising position in order to function in a democratic way. As long as the yellow shirts stay focused on one man and the reds hold hatred for having their rights yanked away every time they try to have them, then the same drama will continue.

As far as this email goes, the media is criticizing the gov't for the very thing it stands for - freedom of speech. Since I have not seen anything that states a deliberate threat in that email, then isn't the lady that started it exercising here right to free speech? Don't the red-shirts have a legitimate right to be angry over having their vote and rights taken away or suppressed for as many years as it has been?

And it seems that all of this fighting always ends up back to Thaksin's. I don't have all the facts, nor does most anyone else. However, I can certainly make a free-speech observation and say that I don't doubt that Thaksin used his power to gain something while in office, but let's be truthful here, is there a single Thai politician that doesn't do the same. The only difference between Thakin and the rest is maybe the scale, but not the act, they all do it. And, the one thing that Thaksin might have a legitimate argument about is the seeming fact that he was taken out in a military coup, which then the military setup the gov't that convicted him. This doesn't seem to follow the "rule of law", it seems more like an African Junta style railroading of an opponent. If Thaksin was guilty, then the democractic process based on a constitution that provides a mechanism for this (US impeachment style if you will) is the only way to maintain a "rule of law" and properly handle such situations. It is also the mechanism to discourage leaders from abusing power since they can't hide behind a majority party protection.

Here's another thought about Thaksin, lets say that Thaksin abused his power and made tax-free profits, had he then turned around and gave, let's say, 25% of it to charity (schools, medical, environmental protection, scholarships, small business grants, etc), he would have never been taken out in a coup and convicted of a crime. This is due to my belief that he would have become a national hero (Mandela type) and any miss-propriety would have been overlooked. He would have had not only the support and love of the red-shirts, but many of the middle-class who are neither red or yellow. This much broader base of support would have made it much more difficult, if not impossible, to have taken him out. Unfortunately, Asian culture, particularly Chinese, do not have a concept of philanthropy as does western cultures (i.e., Buffet and Gates). IMHO, Thaksin really missed a world-class status by being greedy, not being a crook.

Freedom of speech as long as you agree with the TV politburo. After this posting, the usual rabid suspects will make you feel like a salmon going up stream. They do not take kindly anyone who does not judge, convict and hang Thaksin. Furthermore, anyone voicing an opinion contrary to their view will get all kinds of epithets and insults. They do not debate the issues, they attack the person. They make it an "ad hominem" crusade. They fully justify that a reporter with an agenda has more rights than a Red Shirt alerting others in their group.The opponents of the Reds are more equal than the rest of us. They truly believe that they own the truth, not the rest of us. Then again, their interpretation of freedom of speech is only fully available to them. Could it be that Soren Kierkegaard was right? "The ones demanding freedom of speech do so to make up for their lack of freedom of thought".

[pisico]

The Nation in this article(?) and/or opinion piece makes it a point to mention the Constitution's Article 28.

It also quotes the words of Democrat MP Wiratana Kalayasir

"I want to warn certain politicians to not count on intimidating the press, because without a free press, the country could plunge into danger," he said.

Many suspect that the e-mail-forwarding tactic originated from the red-shirt movement. (This last line seems like The Nation's opinion, not the MP's.)

But the whole TEXT of the email is MISSING from the OP. Why?

Why The Nation did not publish in its entirety the text of the debated email in question?

Can anyone offer a plausible explanation other than the usual: oops! An oversight!?

[metisdead]

Posts with quoted content from Bangkok Post have been removed.

31) Members are not allowed to quote news articles or material from Bangkokpost.com or Phuketwan inside topics on Thaivisa.com. Posts from members containing quotes will be deleted from the forum. Members posting links referring back to the sites is also not allowed and will be deleted.

[Buchholz]

As far as this email goes, the media is criticizing the gov't for the very thing it stands for - freedom of speech. Since I have not seen anything that states a deliberate threat in that email, then isn't the lady that started it exercising here right to free speech?

Good that the email writer recognized the error of her ways and plans to apologize to the reporter who received it.

Also encouraging to read that Yingluck and Chalerm acknowledge these Red Shirt email threats against the press and plans to have them investigated.

Also encouraging to read that Chalerm has directed the Red Shirt Udon Thani Leader Kwanchai to tell his more rabid Red Shirts to cool their jets.

From a different news source, it'll be interesting to see if Red Shirts do listen to their PTP and Red Shirt bosses, as it seems more than one is quite discontent with how their "revolution" has evolved since the election.

Yingluck refused to give any ministerial posts to Red Shirt members for fear that this could upset her enemies in high places, her government could find itself in a difficult position as it deals with issues related to the Red Shirt movement. These members have already complained that they were "used" by the Puea Thai in the election campaign and have claimed that the party owed its victory to their unflagging support.

Frustration within the Red Shirt movement is becoming increasingly apparent. For example, core leaders are now urging the Yingluck government

Aug. 27, 2011

http://www.todayonline.com/Commentary/EDC110827-0000241/Yinglucks-real-challenge-may-be-Thaksin

Edited August 27, 2011 by Buchholz

[AleG]

Freedom of speech as long as you agree with the TV politburo. After this posting, the usual rabid suspects will make you feel like a salmon going up stream. They do not take kindly anyone who does not judge, convict and hang Thaksin. Furthermore, anyone voicing an opinion contrary to their view will get all kinds of epithets and insults. They do not debate the issues, they attack the person. They make it an "ad hominem" crusade. They fully justify that a reporter with an agenda has more rights than a Red Shirt alerting others in their group.The opponents of the Reds are more equal than the rest of us. They truly believe that they own the truth, not the rest of us. Then again, their interpretation of freedom of speech is only fully available to them. Could it be that Soren Kierkegaard was right? "The ones demanding freedom of speech do so to make up for their lack of freedom of thought".

Now, that's funny with a OP related to threats to people that disagree with the Red Shirts and yesterday's case of Red Shirts beating and abusing people for peacefully and non confrontationally protesting at parliament.

Any comments about that?

[scotbeve]

So much for press freedom with red democracy...

You mean a continuance of yellow / dems. policy??

[Buchholz]

So much for press freedom with red democracy...

You mean a continuance of yellow / dems. policy??

Nothing to the fervor Chalerm is proposing with his "War Room" to deal with unwanted ideals.

.

[Oberkommando]

The new boss is exactly the same as the old boss as they all answer to the same higher power.

[Oberkommando]

Nothing to the fervor Chalerm is proposing with his "War Room" to deal with unwanted ideals.

Chalerm as odious as always, but let's not forget Abhisit spent B500m on his 'war room' to suppress the media and in particular the internet.

When you claim one side is worse than the other, you inevitably fail to realise they are all just as nasty, evil, greedy and as toady as each other.

But, Thailand deserves the government it gets and politicians are fair representatives of the Thai people IMO.

[Buchholz]

Nothing to the fervor Chalerm is proposing with his "War Room" to deal with unwanted ideals.

Chalerm as odious as always, but let's not forget Abhisit spent B500m on his 'war room' to suppress the media and in particular the internet.

Chalerm in his ardent efforts to surpass anything done by anyone else will surely put that alleged sum to shame.

.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Buchholz

[scotbeve]

So much for press freedom with red democracy...

You mean a continuance of yellow / dems. policy??

Nothing to the fervor Chalerm is proposing with his "War Room" to deal with unwanted ideals.

.

At least he's not wearing a green uniform in this war....

[pisico]

Freedom of speech as long as you agree with the TV politburo. After this posting, the usual rabid suspects will make you feel like a salmon going up stream. They do not take kindly anyone who does not judge, convict and hang Thaksin. Furthermore, anyone voicing an opinion contrary to their view will get all kinds of epithets and insults. They do not debate the issues, they attack the person. They make it an "ad hominem" crusade. They fully justify that a reporter with an agenda has more rights than a Red Shirt alerting others in their group.The opponents of the Reds are more equal than the rest of us. They truly believe that they own the truth, not the rest of us. Then again, their interpretation of freedom of speech is only fully available to them. Could it be that Soren Kierkegaard was right? "The ones demanding freedom of speech do so to make up for their lack of freedom of thought".

Now, that's funny with a OP related to threats to people that disagree with the Red Shirts and yesterday's case of Red Shirts beating and abusing people for peacefully and non confrontationally protesting at parliament.

Any comments about that?

A non sequitur.

We are discussing freedom of the press and threats. There is nothing funny about the thread.

You are slipping a different discussion into the thread. It is not on topic.

First the true, unadulterated facts, then the discussion. No agendas, please!

Any comments as to why The Nation did not include in the OP the entire text of the email?

Edited August 27, 2011 by pisico

[Buchholz]

So much for press freedom with red democracy...

You mean a continuance of yellow / dems. policy??

Nothing to the fervor Chalerm is proposing with his "War Room" to deal with unwanted ideals.

.

At least he's not wearing a green uniform in this war....

Police Captain Chalerm leaves that to his son and former murder suspect, Army Major Duangchalerm.

.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Buchholz

[monkfish]

Freedom of press is important but the press also has responsibility not to misinform the Publi

Just take the Title of this story as an example!

Thai Govt Urged To End Press Intimidation

[rixalex]

And, the one thing that Thaksin might have a legitimate argument about is the seeming fact that he was taken out in a military coup, which then the military setup the gov't that convicted him.

Governments don't convict. Courts do. For your information though, PPP was in power.

[rubl]

Nothing to the fervor Chalerm is proposing with his "War Room" to deal with unwanted ideals.

Chalerm as odious as always, but let's not forget Abhisit spent B500m on his 'war room' to suppress the media and in particular the internet.

When you claim one side is worse than the other, you inevitably fail to realise they are all just as nasty, evil, greedy and as toady as each other.

But, Thailand deserves the government it gets and politicians are fair representatives of the Thai people IMO.

Some truth there. With both Pheu THai and UDD fiercely protesting against the previous government's censureship and especially misuse of the LM laws, it's a bit peculiar the current government with mainly Pheu Thai MPs and even UDD/Pheu Thai MPs may see fit to continue the situation and even 'improve' on some aspects

Edited August 27, 2011 by rubl

[Crushdepth]

Nothing to the fervor Chalerm is proposing with his "War Room" to deal with unwanted ideals.

Chalerm as odious as always, but let's not forget Abhisit spent B500m on his 'war room' to suppress the media and in particular the internet.

When you claim one side is worse than the other, you inevitably fail to realise they are all just as nasty, evil, greedy and as toady as each other.

But, Thailand deserves the government it gets and politicians are fair representatives of the Thai people IMO.

Some truth there. With both Pheu THai and UDD fiercely protesting against the previous government's censureship and especially misuse of the LM laws, it's a bit peculiar the current government with mainly Pheu Thai MPs and even UDD/Pheu Thai MPs may see fit to continue the situation and even 'improve' on some aspects

Yes they have said they will crack down on websites engaged in Lese Majeste.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Crushdepth

[animatic]

How about a

"...end to intimidation designed to gag..."

EVERYONE, whether they agree or not.

Freedoms of speech and opinion.

[Lite Beer]

An Off topic Post has been deleted along with the reply to it.

Apologies to the poster who replied.

[SabaiBKK]

Posts with quoted content from Bangkok Post have been removed.

31) Members are not allowed to quote news articles or material from Bangkokpost.com or Phuketwan inside topics on Thaivisa.com. Posts from members containing quotes will be deleted from the forum. Members posting links referring back to the sites is also not allowed and will be deleted.

here goes the freedom of speech .... just joking i know its a copyright issue .... :jap:

[gregb]

I think so many foreigner's and Thai alike miss a critical point about this whole red shirt - yellow shirt, Thaksin thing. It's not about Thaksin, its not about red-shirts or any other shirt. It is about democracy, first and last. Thailand has had 18 coups and as many constitutions since first becoming a constitutional monarchy. Democracy has yet to take hold and it will take decades. It is like the Israeli - Palestinian situation, who through the first stone. Both sides have to give up on their uncompromising position in order to function in a democratic way. As long as the yellow shirts stay focused on one man and the reds hold hatred for having their rights yanked away every time they try to have them, then the same drama will continue.

As far as this email goes, the media is criticizing the gov't for the very thing it stands for - freedom of speech. Since I have not seen anything that states a deliberate threat in that email, then isn't the lady that started it exercising here right to free speech? Don't the red-shirts have a legitimate right to be angry over having their vote and rights taken away or suppressed for as many years as it has been?

And it seems that all of this fighting always ends up back to Thaksin's. I don't have all the facts, nor does most anyone else. However, I can certainly make a free-speech observation and say that I don't doubt that Thaksin used his power to gain something while in office, but let's be truthful here, is there a single Thai politician that doesn't do the same. The only difference between Thakin and the rest is maybe the scale, but not the act, they all do it. And, the one thing that Thaksin might have a legitimate argument about is the seeming fact that he was taken out in a military coup, which then the military setup the gov't that convicted him. This doesn't seem to follow the "rule of law", it seems more like an African Junta style railroading of an opponent. If Thaksin was guilty, then the democractic process based on a constitution that provides a mechanism for this (US impeachment style if you will) is the only way to maintain a "rule of law" and properly handle such situations. It is also the mechanism to discourage leaders from abusing power since they can't hide behind a majority party protection.

Here's another thought about Thaksin, lets say that Thaksin abused his power and made tax-free profits, had he then turned around and gave, let's say, 25% of it to charity (schools, medical, environmental protection, scholarships, small business grants, etc), he would have never been taken out in a coup and convicted of a crime. This is due to my belief that he would have become a national hero (Mandela type) and any miss-propriety would have been overlooked. He would have had not only the support and love of the red-shirts, but many of the middle-class who are neither red or yellow. This much broader base of support would have made it much more difficult, if not impossible, to have taken him out. Unfortunately, Asian culture, particularly Chinese, do not have a concept of philanthropy as does western cultures (i.e., Buffet and Gates). IMHO, Thaksin really missed a world-class status by being greedy, not being a crook.

Freedom of speech as long as you agree with the TV politburo. After this posting, the usual rabid suspects will make you feel like a salmon going up stream. They do not take kindly anyone who does not judge, convict and hang Thaksin. Furthermore, anyone voicing an opinion contrary to their view will get all kinds of epithets and insults. They do not debate the issues, they attack the person. They make it an "ad hominem" crusade. They fully justify that a reporter with an agenda has more rights than a Red Shirt alerting others in their group.The opponents of the Reds are more equal than the rest of us. They truly believe that they own the truth, not the rest of us. Then again, their interpretation of freedom of speech is only fully available to them. Could it be that Soren Kierkegaard was right? "The ones demanding freedom of speech do so to make up for their lack of freedom of thought".

Nobody is against freedom of speech. Everyone here supports it. What people don't support is hypocrisy and spreading incorrect information.

This is not a struggle for democracy. If you think it is, you are simply naive. This is all about a struggle for power between Thaksin and the conventional power elite. That is all. Neither side in aggregate gives one whiff about democracy, and this struggle has nothing to do with democracy. I find it insulting to continually have to listen to these hypocritical tirades about democracy, when neither side wants anything of the sort. What both sides want is power. They want their corrupt politicians installed to give them advantages at the expense of everyone else in the country.

The only thing you need to decide is which side you think is worse. I know what Thaksin is. He is a truly dangerous demagogue, and probably a sociopath as well. He can not be allowed to assume control of the country, no matter what the cost.

Thailand will never be a democracy. The people don't want it. If they did, they would actually care about the rule of law and find corruption unacceptable. They don't care. The vast majority believes corruption and theft is fine as long as they are the beneficiaries. How can you have a democracy in that environment?

Let's stop pretending otherwise and be honest about what is happening. This is a struggle for power between elite groups. The people are irrelevant. Press freedom is irrelevant. Do you want Thaksin as a tyrant, or would you rather an oligarchy of conventional elites? Those are your only choices.

I choose the latter. Of course, it isn't up to me. It will be decided by those with the biggest gun.