Foreign Journalists Alarmed

Source: The Nation
February 29, 2004

Goings-on at 'Post'and 'Siamrath' 'bode ill for

Bangkok-based foreign journalists have expressed alarm over the loss of press freedom in Thailand, following recent censorship rows at the Bangkok Post and Siamrath weekly news magazine.

"It's a tragedy. A free and vibrant press is a cornerstone of any democratic society," said TIME magazine reporter Robert Horn.

"But Thailand has a leader who places no value on democracy. And in the long run, Thai society will suffer for the lack of a free press," he added.

Bangkok Post editor Veera Prateepchaikul was removed on February 20, allegedly because reports in the newspaper had criticised the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Siamrath editor Rungruang Preechakul resigned earlier this month after an issue of the weekly magazine had been censored by its owner to remove a report critical of the government.

"I'm surprised that Veera has not spoken out on the issue, to clarify whether there was any injustice in his removal or not," said the Asia-Pacific correspondent for Inter Press Service, Marwaan Macan-Markar.

"That silence hurts Thai journalism," he said.

A Western journalist who requested anonymity said: "The attempt to pressure and influence the media is in fact very dangerous to Thailand in the long run."

"If newspapers do not feel they can report accurately and honesty this removes a very important information-gathering mechanism.

"It means they [politicians] are increasingly reliant on their officials to give an assessment of what's going on," the journalist said.

This puts Thaksin and his government in a situation where they are making decisions without having all the facts, the journalist added.

"This is one of the crucial weaknesses of authoritarianism. They are increasingly out of touch with reality," the journalist said.

Another foreign correspondent said that if political interference was behind Veera's removal it was "a cause of concern".

"Thailand has been known as a free society with a free press, and that's why we're here," said the correspondent, who also asked not to be named.

Meanwhile, Pitaya Wongkul, vice chairman of the Campaign for Media Reform, said there are now little differences between the Thaksin administration and the dictatorial regime of P Pibulsongkam decades ago -- when it comes to mass media freedom.

"Back then, the elections were corrupt, marked by a lot of vote buying, so Pibulsongkam had to shut down the critical press. Today, the reality is that when certain political and business groups have become all too powerful, they are tempted to threaten the press in various forms, including the acquisition of critical media outlets," he told a seminar organised yesterday by the newspaper reporters association of Thailand.

"I think the (Thaksin) government is wrong in presuming that it could do anything once the mass media are under its control. In the end, the public will know the truth. No politicians could lie to the people forever," he said.

Pravit Rojanaphruk
Sathien Viriyapunpongsa