Deluge Can't Cover Up Government's Press Clampdown: Thai Talk

[webfact]

THAI TALK

Deluge can't cover up government's press clampdown

Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

Almost surreptitiously, the Cabinet on October 18 approved a proposed amendment to a piece of legislation that is unquestionably aimed at imposing new controls on press freedom. Earlier suspicions of a clampdown on the media performing their checks and balances against the new government have now been confirmed, much sooner than expected.

The Pheu Thai Party had campaigned in the election on the platform of "genuine democracy". It has decried "double standards and injustice". The rallying cry was for the grassroots people to have a real say in running the country. The "elite" and "privileged" who were controlling the channels of communications were to be replaced by the "real voice of the people".

If that theme was based on genuine intention and political conviction, the new government should have made it a top priority to demolish all the rules and regulations that stood in the way of the common people expressing their opinion in such a way that they could do away with controls and interference in the people's freedom of expression.

The proposed amendment to the Printing Act of 2007 by the Cabinet sends signals in the opposite direction. If passed by Parliament into law, it will give the national police chief the power to censor, close down and threaten the constitutional rights of any newspaper with impunity.

The proposed change will put Thailand back many decades in terms of promoting the rights of the people to scrutinise the work of the powerful and to unravel the corrupt practices of politicians and bureaucrats.

In some respects, it is even worse than the original notorious Printing Act of 1941, which was the hallmark of press restriction under military dictatorship. No periodical renewal of a newspaper publishing license was mentioned. Under the new amendment, every publisher must apply for permission to have his license renewed every five years.

In other words, the media will have to operate under the frightening threat of non-renewal - in addition to the constant possibility of being censored, suspended or closed down for publishing a story that could be interpreted by the "press officer" as "undermining the monarchy, national security and law and order or the good morals of the country".

In other words, we are in the process of returning to a time when the government could use the police chief to control and threaten any publication that didn't toe the official line - pure and simple.

The Thai media organisations fought long and hard to free themselves from the shackles of political interference and press censorship. It was a hard-fought victory when a democratically elected government and Parliament agreed to end the dark history of censorship by replacing the 1941 Printing Act with the 2007 Act.

The significance of that legislative change in 2007 was that for the first time, the need to seek a permit from the government to publish opinion was abolished. In its place, publishers only had to register with the Fine Arts Department (instead of the Police Bureau) to pursue their profession. Permission was automatic, and since the law came into force there has been a flourishing of publications of a great diversity that has helped lay the foundation of democracy.

Now, the government seems bent on reversing that trend, despite all the public statements made by the powers-that-be on promoting the "poor people's rights" to cultivate what they have termed "real democracy".

Any move to restrict, control and subvert the role of the press to serve as the people's watchdog and gate-keeper runs counter to the Constitution, of course.

That much-feared "tyranny of the majority" may materialise sooner than we thought possible. But if history is any indication, the fight for press freedom, especially in this digital media landscape, will be extremely robust. Politicians can try to control people's dissident voice only at their own peril.

-- The Nation 2011-10-27

[siampolee]

Any move to restrict, control and subvert the role of the press to serve as the people's watchdog and gate-keeper runs counter to the Constitution, of course.

Surely our Prime Minister and her (?) administration are not proposing to curtail the rights of the fourth estate contrary to their campaign comments are they ?

This must be that famed , "Equality for all policy," as espoused by the Red Shirt faction of the P.T.PT (Personal Thaksin Property) faction or possibly the puppet masters strings have become a little tangled in his manipulative exercises.

[AleG]

If passed by Parliament into law, it will give the national police chief the power to censor, close down and threaten the constitutional rights of any newspaper with impunity.

To those not following the plot closely, the current police chief is Thaksin's brother in law. How convenient.

[whybother]

The proposed amendment to the Printing Act of 2007 by the Cabinet sends signals in the opposite direction. If passed by Parliament into law, it will give the national police chief the power to censor, close down and threaten the constitutional rights of any newspaper with impunity.

Did the government decide that suing a newspaper out of business was too tiresome, and give the authority to Thaksin's brother in law instead?

[naughtybadfurrimunki]

Disgusting. It will inevitably result in more 'under the radar' sources of information, even more rumour, more misinformation etc.

[devaram]

There will be a violent civil war before that happens.

[KKvampire]

The Press will be supine and then Thailand can be another failed basket country in the future, The PT fake government and leader get very little criticism from the Thai language media here over the handling of the flood crisis , just making sure it continues for all time, At least governments are now saying DONT TRAVEL TO THAILAND EXCEPT FOR ESSENTIAL REASONS

This from UK Foreign office website today,

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/thailand

Edited October 27, 2011 by KKvampire

[Nisa]

Bangkok and Thailand are on the verge of huge devastation and this is what the paper chooses to print? Makes you wonder if having somebody control the press is a good idea if there idea of news at a critical time like this is to inflame politics. Absolutely no reason in the world to run this story now. After the waters recedes then you can inflame politics but at this point it seems like many people are simply using this natural disaster to put politics before Thailand and its people.

I'm all for seeing an end to Thaksin and his family in politics but this is a time when people need to pull together. If things do get very bad I have a feeling many people are going to die that would not have needed to die if politics were not taking front stage right now. I even think the government is scared to deploy the military for fear of a coup and instead are depending on the police who not only are taking care of themselves and their own families now but have nowhere near the capabilities the army does in handling something like this.

Very very sad and as you can see from the comments on Thaivisa and the English newspapers, this is not just a Thai thing.

And just plane wrong to mislead readers to believing this story has anything to do with flooding. Politicians lie, that is what they do best across the globe and if these newspapers had real reporters then we'd be getting facts instead of nonsense and politicians would be less likely to lie so boldly.

[AleG]

Bangkok and Thailand are on the verge of huge devastation and this is what the paper chooses to print? Makes you wonder if having somebody control the press is a good idea if there idea of news at a critical time like this is to inflame politics. Absolutely no reason in the world to run this story now. After the waters recedes then you can inflame politics but at this point it seems like many people are simply using this natural disaster to put politics before Thailand and its people.

I'm all for seeing an end to Thaksin and his family in politics but this is a time when people need to pull together. If things do get very bad I have a feeling many people are going to die that would not have needed to die if politics were not taking front stage right now. I even think the government is scared to deploy the military for fear of a coup and instead are depending on the police who not only are taking care of themselves and their own families now but have nowhere near the capabilities the army does in handling something like this.

Very very sad and as you can see from the comments on Thaivisa and the English newspapers, this is not just a Thai thing.

And just plane wrong to mislead readers to believing this story has anything to do with flooding. Politicians lie, that is what they do best across the globe and if these newspapers had real reporters then we'd be getting facts instead of nonsense and politicians would be less likely to lie so boldly.

SO the time to speak about it is after they have control over what can be said, right...

Edited October 27, 2011 by AleG

[whybother]

Bangkok and Thailand are on the verge of huge devastation and this is what the paper chooses to print? Makes you wonder if having somebody control the press is a good idea if there idea of news at a critical time like this is to inflame politics. Absolutely no reason in the world to run this story now. After the waters recedes then you can inflame politics but at this point it seems like many people are simply using this natural disaster to put politics before Thailand and its people.

I'm all for seeing an end to Thaksin and his family in politics but this is a time when people need to pull together. If things do get very bad I have a feeling many people are going to die that would not have needed to die if politics were not taking front stage right now. I even think the government is scared to deploy the military for fear of a coup and instead are depending on the police who not only are taking care of themselves and their own families now but have nowhere near the capabilities the army does in handling something like this.

Very very sad and as you can see from the comments on Thaivisa and the English newspapers, this is not just a Thai thing.

And just plane wrong to mislead readers to believing this story has anything to do with flooding. Politicians lie, that is what they do best across the globe and if these newspapers had real reporters then we'd be getting facts instead of nonsense and politicians would be less likely to lie so boldly.

If the government changes the laws during floods, then the newspapers print the details during floods. It stops governments from hiding their law changes during times of "huge devastation".

[KKvampire]

Bangkok and Thailand are on the verge of huge devastation and this is what the paper chooses to print? Makes you wonder if having somebody control the press is a good idea if there idea of news at a critical time like this is to inflame politics. Absolutely no reason in the world to run this story now. After the waters recedes then you can inflame politics but at this point it seems like many people are simply using this natural disaster to put politics before Thailand and its people.

I'm all for seeing an end to Thaksin and his family in politics but this is a time when people need to pull together. If things do get very bad I have a feeling many people are going to die that would not have needed to die if politics were not taking front stage right now. I even think the government is scared to deploy the military for fear of a coup and instead are depending on the police who not only are taking care of themselves and their own families now but have nowhere near the capabilities the army does in handling something like this.

Very very sad and as you can see from the comments on Thaivisa and the English newspapers, this is not just a Thai thing.

And just plane wrong to mislead readers to believing this story has anything to do with flooding. Politicians lie, that is what they do best across the globe and if these newspapers had real reporters then we'd be getting facts instead of nonsense and politicians would be less likely to lie so boldly.

Well what can one say,C**p. The Press have to be allowed to function at ALL times, particularly disasters as is happening now when government bodies don't tell the public the truth. The attack should be on the cabinet for pushing this through in the middle of a crisis, Can only hope the courts will rule this unconstitutional.

Edited October 27, 2011 by KKvampire

[Who, me ?]

Bangkok and Thailand are on the verge of huge devastation and this is what the paper chooses to print? Makes you wonder if having somebody control the press is a good idea if there idea of news at a critical time like this is to inflame politics. Absolutely no reason in the world to run this story now. After the waters recedes then you can inflame politics but at this point it seems like many people are simply using this natural disaster to put politics before Thailand and its people.

I'm all for seeing an end to Thaksin and his family in politics but this is a time when people need to pull together. If things do get very bad I have a feeling many people are going to die that would not have needed to die if politics were not taking front stage right now. I even think the government is scared to deploy the military for fear of a coup and instead are depending on the police who not only are taking care of themselves and their own families now but have nowhere near the capabilities the army does in handling something like this.

Very very sad and as you can see from the comments on Thaivisa and the English newspapers, this is not just a Thai thing.

And just plane wrong to mislead readers to believing this story has anything to do with flooding. Politicians lie, that is what they do best across the globe and if these newspapers had real reporters then we'd be getting facts instead of nonsense and politicians would be less likely to lie so boldly.

No , no and no!!! There can not be any "good" or "bad" time to publish this. It has to be told, period.

Hope that Thai people will see what's going on, and won't let this happen.

[LuckyLew]

Thai people know what is going on

but they do not seem to care

The wool has been pulled over their eyes for so long ... they are immune to it

As long as people vote for who ever gives them the most money ... Thailand will be a banana republic

Thailand is a country where the rich get richer ... and the poor are happy to have rice for dinner

[jayboy]

Any move to restrict, control and subvert the role of the press to serve as the people's watchdog and gate-keeper runs counter to the Constitution, of course.

Surely our Prime Minister and her (?) administration are not proposing to curtail the rights of the fourth estate contrary to their campaign comments are they ?

This must be that famed , "Equality for all policy," as espoused by the Red Shirt faction of the P.T.PT (Personal Thaksin Property) faction or possibly the puppet masters strings have become a little tangled in his manipulative exercises.

It seems like a retrograde step and I sincerely hope it won't happen.

Equally given the source and the long tradition of self censorship, shoddy and lazy journalism, non existent fact checking, metropolitan bias and habit of kowtowing to the prevailing power (yes, I mean the English language press in Thailand) the posture of outrage is rather hard to take seriously.

[Deez]

Bangkok and Thailand are on the verge of huge devastation and this is what the paper chooses to print? Makes you wonder if having somebody control the press is a good idea if there idea of news at a critical time like this is to inflame politics. Absolutely no reason in the world to run this story now. After the waters recedes then you can inflame politics but at this point it seems like many people are simply using this natural disaster to put politics before Thailand and its people.

I'm all for seeing an end to Thaksin and his family in politics but this is a time when people need to pull together. If things do get very bad I have a feeling many people are going to die that would not have needed to die if politics were not taking front stage right now. I even think the government is scared to deploy the military for fear of a coup and instead are depending on the police who not only are taking care of themselves and their own families now but have nowhere near the capabilities the army does in handling something like this.

Very very sad and as you can see from the comments on Thaivisa and the English newspapers, this is not just a Thai thing.

And just plane wrong to mislead readers to believing this story has anything to do with flooding. Politicians lie, that is what they do best across the globe and if these newspapers had real reporters then we'd be getting facts instead of nonsense and politicians would be less likely to lie so boldly.

Well what can one say,C**p. The Press have to be allowed to function at ALL times, particularly disasters as is happening now when government bodies don't tell the public the truth. The attack should be on the cabinet for pushing this through in the middle of a crisis, Can only hope the courts will rule this unconstitutional.

+1

[whybother]

Some more details in Prachatai. http://www.prachatai3.info/english/node/2847

[geriatrickid]

If passed by Parliament into law, it will give the national police chief the power to censor, close down and threaten the constitutional rights of any newspaper with impunity.

To those not following the plot closely, the current police chief is Thaksin's brother in law. How convenient.

Apparently, you are not following the plot closely, since Mr. Thaksin is divorced. As such, the "police chief" is not his brother in law.

It is uncommon for divorced people to remain "close" to their ex inlaws. Based upon the expert opinion of TVFers, it seems to be the norm to put as much distance as possible between the ex inlaws and the divorced spouse.

In respect to the issue at hand, the Nation with its small following has appointed itself as the official opposition to the democratically elected government of Thailand. Perhaps the Nation is worried that its rabid vociferous opinions that denigrate and insult the government are coming back to bite it on its posterior? If the Nation spent as much time on constructive criticism and unbiased reporting as it does on stirring up animosities, and spewing hatred, it might not be in panic mode?

[hearditallbefore]

'The Nation' is a piece of butt wipe. I can't believe ThaiVisa allows their stains to be pasted on this forum. There never has been a 'cover up' or a press outage as the fact is the govt. has no idea what is going to happen from one minute to the next so can not inform you of squat. Next!

[Tiffer]

This will set Thailand back.. ooo about 220 years...

I mean big hair, narcissism, and fawning obsequiousness were all the rage in France up until 1789....

Ah yes! Let them eat rice and umble pie.....

[Who, me ?]

If passed by Parliament into law, it will give the national police chief the power to censor, close down and threaten the constitutional rights of any newspaper with impunity.

To those not following the plot closely, the current police chief is Thaksin's brother in law. How convenient.

Apparently, you are not following the plot closely, since Mr. Thaksin is divorced. As such, the "police chief" is not his brother in law.

It is uncommon for divorced people to remain "close" to their ex inlaws. Based upon the expert opinion of TVFers, it seems to be the norm to put as much distance as possible between the ex inlaws and the divorced spouse.

In respect to the issue at hand, the Nation with its small following has appointed itself as the official opposition to the democratically elected government of Thailand. Perhaps the Nation is worried that its rabid vociferous opinions that denigrate and insult the government are coming back to bite it on its posterior? If the Nation spent as much time on constructive criticism and unbiased reporting as it does on stirring up animosities, and spewing hatred, it might not be in panic mode?

Yes, you are really red to the core, and ONLY YOU and your fellow reds believe that Thaksin divorced his wife for any other reason than to escape massive tax evasion penalties, and other stuffs. ONLY YOU and your fellow reds believe that the ex brother in law has been appointed for other reasons that he is the ex brother in law.

Your never ending red sh*t propaganda is really tiring, and serves no purpose.

By the way, I hope that you will react strongly to the fact that some trucks full of food donated by Thai people are marked on the side with a banner saying that this is a gift from Thaksin.... Or will you give us the same explanation that another of your heroes, namely Natthawut ???

[Crushdepth]

Absolutely disgusting. One more step towards authoritarian rule.

[badgerbailey]

Disgusting. It will inevitably result in more 'under the radar' sources of information, even more rumour, more misinformation etc.

More misinformation than the news sources on this forum, you must be joking right? didn't think that was possible with all the crap that comes out of Sitichai Yoon's mouth and the whole of this sham paper they call the nation.

[whybother]

Apparently, you are not following the plot closely, since Mr. Thaksin is divorced. As such, the "police chief" is not his brother in law.

It is uncommon for divorced people to remain "close" to their ex inlaws. Based upon the expert opinion of TVFers, it seems to be the norm to put as much distance as possible between the ex inlaws and the divorced spouse.

In respect to the issue at hand, the Nation with its small following has appointed itself as the official opposition to the democratically elected government of Thailand. Perhaps the Nation is worried that its rabid vociferous opinions that denigrate and insult the government are coming back to bite it on its posterior? If the Nation spent as much time on constructive criticism and unbiased reporting as it does on stirring up animosities, and spewing hatred, it might not be in panic mode?

Do you really believe that it is more than a "divorce of convenience"?

Do you put Prachatai in the same category as the Nation then? They reported on this too ... 5 days ago. The Nation took a while to catch up.

[wintermute]

The press is already controlled and heavily censored. Will actually making it law be any different?

Thai culture is inherently non egalitarian. If they want to give up all their freedom and what few civil rights that they possess now then that's up to them.

I expect to see more military dictatorships and minor despots ruling over the country down the road. I imagine maybe one day they'll even have their own Myanmar like dictator who will finally run the "end game" scenario.

[whybother]

More misinformation than the news sources on this forum, you must be joking right? didn't think that was possible with all the crap that comes out of Sitichai Yoon's mouth and the whole of this sham paper they call the nation.

What is the "misinformation"?

[scorecard]

Bangkok and Thailand are on the verge of huge devastation and this is what the paper chooses to print? Makes you wonder if having somebody control the press is a good idea if there idea of news at a critical time like this is to inflame politics. Absolutely no reason in the world to run this story now. After the waters recedes then you can inflame politics but at this point it seems like many people are simply using this natural disaster to put politics before Thailand and its people.

I'm all for seeing an end to Thaksin and his family in politics but this is a time when people need to pull together. If things do get very bad I have a feeling many people are going to die that would not have needed to die if politics were not taking front stage right now. I even think the government is scared to deploy the military for fear of a coup and instead are depending on the police who not only are taking care of themselves and their own families now but have nowhere near the capabilities the army does in handling something like this.

Very very sad and as you can see from the comments on Thaivisa and the English newspapers, this is not just a Thai thing.

And just plane wrong to mislead readers to believing this story has anything to do with flooding. Politicians lie, that is what they do best across the globe and if these newspapers had real reporters then we'd be getting facts instead of nonsense and politicians would be less likely to lie so boldly.

SO the time to speak about it is after they have control over what can be said, right...

Agree with alecG, speak up NOW when freedom of speech is threatened in any way.

[MunterHunter]

Apparently, you are not following the plot closely, since Mr. Thaksin is divorced. As such, the "police chief" is not his brother in law.

It is uncommon for divorced people to remain "close" to their ex inlaws. Based upon the expert opinion of TVFers, it seems to be the norm to put as much distance as possible between the ex inlaws and the divorced spouse.

In respect to the issue at hand, the Nation with its small following has appointed itself as the official opposition to the democratically elected government of Thailand. Perhaps the Nation is worried that its rabid vociferous opinions that denigrate and insult the government are coming back to bite it on its posterior? If the Nation spent as much time on constructive criticism and unbiased reporting as it does on stirring up animosities, and spewing hatred, it might not be in panic mode?

Ahh, back to the old brand of coffee this morning GK?

You actually beleive that the divorce was anything more than just 'convenience'? Just a way to try and protect the family fortunes.

More to the point, do you or do you not, support this Media law? Do you agree this is the right time to be pushing through such a proposed law? And do you not think that it is just a little bit suspicious that Yinkluck's team pushed through the act to put Mr Thaksin's ex brother-in-law in charge of the National police (and isnt it a cousin or something now in charge of the army?)

In my opinion, its all very fishy.

[Crushdepth]

If passed by Parliament into law, it will give the national police chief the power to censor, close down and threaten the constitutional rights of any newspaper with impunity.

To those not following the plot closely, the current police chief is Thaksin's brother in law. How convenient.

Apparently, you are not following the plot closely, since Mr. Thaksin is divorced. As such, the "police chief" is not his brother in law.

It is uncommon for divorced people to remain "close" to their ex inlaws. Based upon the expert opinion of TVFers, it seems to be the norm to put as much distance as possible between the ex inlaws and the divorced spouse.

In respect to the issue at hand, the Nation with its small following has appointed itself as the official opposition to the democratically elected government of Thailand. Perhaps the Nation is worried that its rabid vociferous opinions that denigrate and insult the government are coming back to bite it on its posterior? If the Nation spent as much time on constructive criticism and unbiased reporting as it does on stirring up animosities, and spewing hatred, it might not be in panic mode?

Yet again you are supporting nepotism, poor governance and censorship. You are sad man. What's wrong with you?

[scorecard]

If passed by Parliament into law, it will give the national police chief the power to censor, close down and threaten the constitutional rights of any newspaper with impunity.

To those not following the plot closely, the current police chief is Thaksin's brother in law. How convenient.

Apparently, you are not following the plot closely, since Mr. Thaksin is divorced. As such, the "police chief" is not his brother in law.

It is uncommon for divorced people to remain "close" to their ex inlaws. Based upon the expert opinion of TVFers, it seems to be the norm to put as much distance as possible between the ex inlaws and the divorced spouse.

In respect to the issue at hand, the Nation with its small following has appointed itself as the official opposition to the democratically elected government of Thailand. Perhaps the Nation is worried that its rabid vociferous opinions that denigrate and insult the government are coming back to bite it on its posterior? If the Nation spent as much time on constructive criticism and unbiased reporting as it does on stirring up animosities, and spewing hatred, it might not be in panic mode?

Yes, you are really red to the core, and ONLY YOU and your fellow reds believe that Thaksin divorced his wife for any other reason than to escape massive tax evasion penalties, and other stuffs. ONLY YOU and your fellow reds believe that the ex brother in law has been appointed for other reasons that he is the ex brother in law.

Your never ending red sh*t propaganda is really tiring, and serves no purpose.

By the way, I hope that you will react strongly to the fact that some trucks full of food donated by Thai people are marked on the side with a banner saying that this is a gift from Thaksin.... Or will you give us the same explanation that another of your heroes, namely Natthawut ???

Dear G'kid, the heart of the story is about freedom of speech, perhaps you'd like to share your thoughts, specific thoughts please, on that specific subject - freedom of speech.

[scorecard]

If passed by Parliament into law, it will give the national police chief the power to censor, close down and threaten the constitutional rights of any newspaper with impunity.

To those not following the plot closely, the current police chief is Thaksin's brother in law. How convenient.

Apparently, you are not following the plot closely, since Mr. Thaksin is divorced. As such, the "police chief" is not his brother in law.

It is uncommon for divorced people to remain "close" to their ex inlaws. Based upon the expert opinion of TVFers, it seems to be the norm to put as much distance as possible between the ex inlaws and the divorced spouse.

In respect to the issue at hand, the Nation with its small following has appointed itself as the official opposition to the democratically elected government of Thailand. Perhaps the Nation is worried that its rabid vociferous opinions that denigrate and insult the government are coming back to bite it on its posterior? If the Nation spent as much time on constructive criticism and unbiased reporting as it does on stirring up animosities, and spewing hatred, it might not be in panic mode?

Yet again you are supporting nepotism, poor governance and censorship. You are sad man. What's wrong with you?

Well said.