Community Radio Fm 92.25 Raided Again

[george]

Community radio 92.25 raided again

Suranand gives notice of new crackdown

BANGKOK: -- Community radio station FM92.25, whose programmes have been critical of the government, was again raided by Public Relations Department officials yesterday. They searched the premises, but took no further action.

The station operates from TPI Tower in Sathon district but was shut down last year and its signal can currently be heard only over the internet and on some other community stations.

The officials claimed the station violated regulations by using a transmitter rated at 2,000 watts, which is more powerful than the legal 30 watt limit for community radio.

PM's Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva gave notice that action would be taken against operators of any community radio stations which failed to comply with technical regulations such as the height of their transmitting aerial and signal strength and if their programme content was damaging to the country.

Transmission signals of all community radio stations would be checked. Those violating the regulations would be penalised. The imminent crackdown would not zero in on community stations run by government critics or those of the Manager Group, he said.

The Manager media empire is owned by Sondhi Limthongkul, the government's fiercest critic. He hosts the Thailand Weekly talk show which exposes alleged irregularities committed by the government or those close to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Suranand, who oversees the department, said the raid on FM92.25 complied with legal procedures.

''The government welcomes political views from people, be they from political debate or community radio stations. But people expressing their views must respect the democratic system and the law,'' he said.

''The government is willing to act on their comments and inspect alleged irregularities.''

The government would act against those who failed to respect the law by giving false information causing damage to the country.

He vowed to take action against operators of community radio stations if their stations violated regulations on community radio operations that limit the antenna height to 30 metres, the transmission power to 30 watts and the broadcasting range to 15 kilometres.

An initial check found two or three community radio stations in Bangkok breached the regulations, he said.

--Bangkok Post 2006-01-16

[Jai Dee]

PRD AND POLICE SEARCHED TPI TOWER YESTERDAY FOR RADIO STATION SUSPECTED OF VIOLATING REGULATIONS

The Public Relations Department (PRD) led a team of police officials to conduct search on a community radio station in Sathorn (สาธร) area that have violated the designated limit for frequency transmission power.

Deputy Director-General of the PRD, Mrs. Pattareeya Sumano (ภัทรียา สุมะโน), and 10 policemen yesterday searched the TPI tower on Sathorn road, under a court approval. The station under scrutiny was 92.25 megahertz community radio, which have previously been searched and given warnings several times due to its violation of rules. The search found a radio transmitter that had specifications which violated regulations, but officials were not able to locate an airing studio suspected to be within the building.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva (สุรนันท์ เวชชาชีวะ) affirmed that the search was legal with clear court approval. He said the station had broadcasted unfitting content that affected national security.

Source: thaisnews.com ประจำวันจันทร์ที่ 16 มกราคม 2549

[Jai Dee]

DEMOCRAT LEADER REQUESTS GOVERNMENT TO CLARIFY THE MATTER OF COMMUNITY RADIO STATION FM 92.25

Democrat Party Leader ABHISIT VEJJAJIVA (อภิสิทธิ์ เวชชาชีวะ ) referred to the situation where the Public Relations Department (PRD) has led a team of police officials to conduct a search on a community radio station FM 92.25 on Sunday the 15th of January claiming that the station transmitter was over 30 watt.

Mr. ABHISIT has requested the government to clarify which section of the law has been violated and the government should clearly investigate the content broadcasted and the airing process so that the wrongdoer can be prosecuted.

Source: thaisnews.com ประจำวันจันทร์ที่ 16 มกราคม 2549

[Jai Dee]

PRD TO INSPECT COMMUNITY RADIO TRANSMITTER OF FM 92.25

Minister attached the Prime Minister’s Office, Suranan Vejjajiva (สุรนันทน์ เวชชาชีวะ) ordered the Public Relations Department to inspect the imports of community radio transmitter of FM 92.25 and the station’s renting of TPI office, as there are suspicions that many companies may be involved in the case.

Mr. Suranand said that as the earlier raid of the Public Relations Department officials on FM 92.25 station has been charged as illegal, he had ordered the Public Relations Department to follow up on the case to provide justice for both sides. He said that the Department will cooperate with the National Telecommunications Commission and the Customs Department in inspecting the import of the 2000-watt transmitter to see whether it was legal and who purchased it. He added that it is found that the station is linked to other floors in TPI building; it is suspected that other tenants or companies may be involved.

Mr. Suranan said that there are still other community radios which interfere with main stations. About 17 of them are in Bangkok while 231 stations are in the provinces. He said that the inspection is not discriminated against one particular station, adding that the Minister of Information and Communications Technology has been asked to help inspect broadcasting via internet. He said that if those stations have not received approval, they may be considered as violating the law and the Public Relations department can take appropriate legal actions.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 17 January 2006

[Phil Conners]

PM's Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva gave notice that action would be taken against operators of any community radio stations which failed to comply with technical regulations such as the height of their transmitting aerial and signal strength and if their programme content was damaging to the country.

I expect the truth is the content was damaging to the PM.

Instead of looking for 2KW transmitters how about looking for open-air karaokes blasting 2KW of noise out in residential areas during the night.