Thai govt orders German NGO to cancel press freedom briefing

[MikeOboe57]

If the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung knew that much about freedom of the press in Thailand that it was worth scheduling a "press briefing" about this topic, they would also have known that such an enterprise might be slightly cocky at the moment and considered postponing it.

And don´t hope for a massive outcry in Germany. Thailand is flying well below the radar there, especially now that IS and the civil war in Ukraine are making the headlines.

[MZurf]

For all those who think the Junta and the General have done a great job are you now prepared to see the truth?

The very pillar of freedom is the right to express your opinions freely and this is clearly being oppressed. It's time the UN stated with some heavy sanctions, tourists stopping coming, foreign expats left and foreign investment pulled out ... any such involvement only fuels the military's ability to hold on to power.

I can see that you really love Thailand.........but if you are not satisfied with what you got and you feel so oppressed, just book a ticket back to your country.......I believe you will be happier there.

Wow! What a totally original reply; love it or leave it!

FYI a number of us have lived here for many years, with families and dependents. Not so easy to up and leave when basically your whole life is here. I will never have the right to vote in this country but after having spent 10s of millions of Baht here over the years I claim the right to have an opinion, and to express it.

I crossed out the last few words because very soon I will dare to express my opinions only to my immediate family for fear of having "the man" knock on my door.

Edited January 29, 2015 by MZurf

[englishoak]

For all those who think the Junta and the General have done a great job are you now prepared to see the truth?

The very pillar of freedom is the right to express your opinions freely and this is clearly being oppressed. It's time the UN stated with some heavy sanctions, tourists stopping coming, foreign expats left and foreign investment pulled out ... any such involvement only fuels the military's ability to hold on to power.

I can see that you really love Thailand.........but if you are not satisfied with what you got and you feel so oppressed, just book a ticket back to your country.......I believe you will be happier there.

Jesus stop spamming threads with "if you dont like it go home" trash

How about you stop telling people here what they should do if they dont like a fascist military Junta sending the country they adopted backwards even further.

If you cant deal with free thinking opinions I think youd be a lot happier if you stopped reading Thai visa

Edited January 29, 2015 by englishoak

[tullynagardy]

I can see that you really love Thailand.........but if you are not satisfied with what you got and you feel so oppressed, just book a ticket back to your country.......I believe you will be happier there.

This time last year, when you were spamming every thread with "PTP are oppressive and corrupt" why didn`t you go back to Greece?

[Kooweerup]

Reading some of the thai forums, facebook etc yesterday and many Thais are saying that they are happy and foreign intrusion is not welcome. Hey ho... Crack on!

Are we allowed to say anything else?

You just over stepped the mark, questioning is forbidden.

[candide]

If the Junta was as popular as propaganda polls try to convince people, would they need to do this? Hmm...

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Well that just confirms that there is no press freedom in Thailand.

It confirms that Germans like to talk too much. This reminds me of the meddling in the Ukraine by Insane McCain and friends. Look at how that turned out.

It confirms that Germans like to talk too much. ?????? By the way is that a brown shirt you are wearing?

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Well that just confirms that there is no press freedom in Thailand.

Not true at all. I have just read this article and it is not complimentary to the government. But if there was no press freedom, how could I have read it?

So why can't we access Dailymail without using Zenmate in Thailand? Read this again: https://freedomhouse...nd#.VMnopJ2keM9

[Beng]

This country is on its way to being like China 15 years ago.

[tbthailand]

Between that and this http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/NHRC-wants-protesters-to-be-compensated-30252894.html the junta really do seem to be upping its game in the repression stakes.

well, the NHRC is hardly a qualified Human Rights organization. Is it a surprise they are a puppet as well?

Students recently pointed out how the NHRC was mute about human rights as martial law was declared, an elected government overthrown, and arbitrary detentions in undisclosed locations occurred.

And the NHRC became set to be downgraded as the year ended... for many reasons including :

The committee also criticises the NHRC for delaying its report on the 2010 political unrest until three years have elapsed, despite the fact that more than 90 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the clashes between Redshirt demonstrators and the security force, and numerous human right abuses were reported throughout the turbulent period of April-May 2010.

The independence of the NHRC is similarly questioned in the ICC report, with the committee expressing concern that 'staff members of the NHRC were displaying publicly their political affiliations whilst undertaking official functions."

[Benmart]

More image tarnishing.

[thaiguzzi]

The Greeks love their fascist Juntas and Dictatorships. Well they used to... Greece and Spain were very similar in the 60's - 70's. Piss poor and led by, yep, a military dictatorship.

[German Viking]

Where were all the NGOs when Thaksin complete destroyed the freedom of press?

Thaksin certainly did not stop the Friedrich Ebert Foundation from making their annual reports, "We have released these reports every year for many years and have not had a problem until now".

Nothing stopping them now. Just not a press conference in Bkk as it's against the current rules! At least they are consistent!

They are not even consistent. Political activists "miraculously appeared" in front of the US embassy today and held a protest .....but no one was arrested, nor dispersed nor warned. Therefore,

Only some political protests are illegal. Only some corrupt police officers are targeted. Only some land encroachment is being enforced. Only some sidewalk vendors downtown are being displaced. Only some illegal LED signs are being removed. Only some gatherings are being forced to cancel. Only some voices are being heard. Only some beach vendors are being shut down. Only some people are being indicted. Only some gambling operations have been stopped. Only some human trafficking has stopped. Only some rice has been marked inedible. Only some words are being said. Only some lies are being told.

Only some truth is being put to death.

Here come the tourists!!!

I feel real sorry for all these unfortunate sacrificial pawns.

[geriatrickid]

Where were all the NGOs when Thaksin complete destroyed the freedom of press?

Let's deal with this well respected and influential NGO shall we?

The position of this organization has remained constant. They have been active in Thailand since 1970.

Do you have a problem with this organization?

The issue isn't other NGOs, but this one.

If you had any knowledge of the organization or of their work in Thailand, you would know that they have been consulted often, and, wait for it, never supported Thaksin.

Please take the time to learn about the organization. If you believe that they are secret sleeper agents on the payroll of Thaksin, I suggest you contact Dr. Langer the Thai unit head, or better yet complain to the German government as this organization has a solid reputation and several former foreign ministers of Germany will want to know that the policies Germany espoused and supported on human rights were all wrong. You can provide some "attitude adjustment".

Edited January 31, 2015 by geriatrickid

[geriatrickid]

Looks like they got the wrong guys this time. That was a costly move and one they failed to calculated properly. The foundation is government funded and associated to one of the two parties that form the German government. No doubt, the Thai ambassador will feel it soon and discrete steps will be taken.

Discrete? When you lash out at a group some of the former foreign ministers supported and encouraged, you might as well wave a red flag at the EU foreign affairs committee and taunt them. The EU has already issued some tough statements that made the US department of state look benign in comparison. Wrong group to bully.