Anti-corruption Website Will Be Closed

[frodo]

Anti-corruption website will be closed

Published on Jan 27 , 2006

A respective anti-corruption website, www.corruptionwatch.net will be closed down next Wednesday at the order of CAT Telecom that oversees Thai internet service provider, a website founding member said yesterday.

"Our webmaster has received a letter from CAT Telecom's webmaster yesterday, saying that corruptionwatch.net will be shut down, starting from February 1. The letter did not say the reasons," said Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka, auditor general, told reporters.

The website team will have an urgent meeting to discuss the matters. "We think it is very strange because no reasons of the closing were mentioned. I think somebody is not happy that many people have visited our website which present solid corruption information," she said.

Jaruvan is among leading public figures who have joined hands to launch the Corruption Watch group and the website to monitor graft in the country. The others are Totrakul Yomanak, president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand; Democrat Party deputy leader Alongkorn Pollabutr; Veera Somkwamkid, secretary-general of the People's Network Against Corruption.

A source from the corruption watch online said if the website is closed down, the team will appeal to CAT Telecom.

Somebody sure didn't like what they've been reading on thie website. Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka has really done exceptionally well. What a shame that others in this current admin refuse to uphold their duties as well as she. Thailand could use more people like her.

Source: Website Closure

[Pattayaman]

Maybe Toxin Shitwatra was behind this.......So bloody predictable

[daleyboy]

Maybe its being closed down due to corruption

[rishi]

... closed down ???

A dot net domain name can be hosted about anywhere in the world --- so a site merely dealing with corruption in Thailand cannot be closed, merely be put in a situation where it has to move.

[dvk1951]

CORRUPTION WATCH: Website launched as a rallying point on graft

Published on January 10, 2006

Influential new group aims to get people to participate by sending in tip-offs

Corruption Watch yesterday launched its website, opening a channel in cyberspace where ordinary citizens can expose corruption.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/01/10...l_19614277.html

That didn't take the 'authorities' long to dismantle.

[penzman]

- Closing www.corruptionwatch.net .

- Kicking Chuwit out of parliamant.

- Sondhi's setup for a show was stopped last evening by police even though he had all the permits from city hall. Electricity was cut off, he brought in a generator afterwards, they were yhen ordered to tear down the stage as well.

-...and more

Thai Rak Thais new formula : anti-anti-corruption

[penzman]

The site has been closed down.

The page opens but shows as being "Under Construction"

http://www.corruptionwatch.net/

Plug pulled on website tracking graft

Government thought to be behind move

Corruption Watch, a website created to track corruption and scrutinise the government's use of power, has apparently been closed down, less than a day after the team was informed of the site's termination of service.

Visitors to corruptionwatch.net yesterday were met with an ''under construction'' notice.

The webmaster of the site only received a letter on Friday from internet hosting services provider Thaidreamhost, informing the site operators that service would be terminated on Feb1 for reasons that would seem unclear.

Website co-founder Veera Somkwamkid, said the notice came as a surprise to the founders because the website was relatively new and had not caused the service provider any legal problems.

Mr Veera said this would suggest that the hosting company had received an order to close the site down by withdrawing its hosting services.

''We had rented the space for over a month and caused no problems. We pay for the service. The information on the website had not generated any lawsuits,'' he said. ''They haven't given us any reason for halting services so we can only assume that the company has been ordered to terminate our services.'' Formed by respected persons involved in fighting graft, including Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka and Klanarong Chantik, former secretary-general of the National Counter Corruption Commission, the website was launched on Jan 9.

Its launch was hailed as providing an alternative tool for scrutinising alleged abuses of power by the government.

Mr Veera said the government ought to brace itself, since closing down the website would be tantamount to censorship, and the move would backfire. ''The government can't deny us our rights. You should be warned that this kind of pressure won't break us,'' he said.

Mr Klanarong said yesterday that he would rather not make any assumptions and that the founders [of the website] would soon meet to discuss the matter.

''I don't know what's wrong with this country _ it's in chaos,'' he said.

Sungsidh Piriyarangsan, another co-founder, also accused the government of being behind the withdrawal of services to the site. ''This just proves the government lacks sincerity in tackling graft and allowing public participation in the process, he said.

http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/29Jan2006_news03.php

[roamer]

Sad, for those of us who remember pre "democratic "Thailand and hoped for a new dawn. Seems to me that this govt has presided over a record amount of extra judicial killings, (lot of Thai visa members applauded that...only drug dealing scum after all) introduced some of the most socially repressive legislation seen in decades and has managed to use Thailand as their own personal piggy bank... oh.and I forgot the burgeoning civil war, then again the best thieves know you need a distraction to pull of a decent heist.