Enemy of the State #12 - Media Censorship
"Though I disagree with everything you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it." ~Voltaire
This was an interview from April 2006 with Thai scholar and activist, Ubonrat Siriyuvasak. Dr. Ubonrat is associate professor and deputy dean of research and International affairs in the faculty of communication arts at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
http://www.archive.org/download/041206_thai_com_radio/041206_thai_com_radio_wsiu_bigmuddy_24k_22.mp3
It’s quite long but very informative and interesting and will set the stage for what we are about to talk about here. Government censorship of the media in Thailand.
In March 2009, all existing Community radio stations had to register before the end of that month. The stations of the North had to do so at a big meeting in Chiang Mai. Already registered stations received a temporary licence for the next 300 days. The government announced it hoped to be able to prepare a new law regarding radio stations in Thailand and issue proper licences to the ones which meet the (to be defined) criteria. Since the meeting the government has announced that only stations that broadcast “government approved” content would be licensed. This law will restrict the power of the sender, advertisements, the height of the antenna, the range, etc... However, all existing stations can still operate until the new law appears. So far this new law is not in effect in the 300 day time frame of the temporary licences.
What was made very clear at the meeting is that radio stations operating without the temporary licence are considered as illegal. In other words, from April 2009, any new station is illegal as it is not possible to register a new radio station. Many operators not care about this and operate illegally.
"You have not converted a man because you have silenced him." ~John Morley
Directly after the Coup, 2000 community radio stations in the North and Northeast were closed by the Military. Most of those stations have again taken to the airwaves mostly illegally. A fair portion of those stations were anti coup and since anti Democrat. Some of those stations have defiantly pushed the envelope, if not outright broken the law. There is a rule in the broadcast industry, if you do not appeal to your audience you will not survive for long. These stations, although radical, command a huge audience. Unlike the Police, Government and Military which have huge budgets to broadcast, listeners or not, community stations are dependent almost entirely on donations from their listeners. At this point the Government of Abhisit is pressuring stations to self censor and if they do not conform to the government model they have been closed.
The Government or Military also controls almost all of the TV channels available in Thailand. Of the 2 big non government channels ASTV, which supports the government, has never been censured while PTV and the subsequent channels for the UDD have all been closed. The UDD was very successful during their protest at getting around the government’s attempts to get it off the air. They managed to keep broadcasting live until the final minutes of their protest when troops overran their encampment.
"Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime". ~Potter Stewart
It’s not just community radio it’s also the print media. Any organization that comes out against the government or its policies instantly finds the government on the offensive to close it down. The government has asked the print media to self censor. Some newspapers like the Post and the Nation have taken the request to heart and now never print anything opposing the Government. This attitude is no longer news reporting, they have now become just an outlet for government propaganda.
“The first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.” ~George Bernard Shaw
The internet in Thailand is so heavily censored that it resembles North Korea or China in it’s gusto to stifle any dissenting voice.
The government just yesterday extended censorship to stifle communications through four publications related to the UDD. Reuters reports, the outlawed publications include the twice-weekly Truth Today newspaper, the weekly Thai Red News and Vivatha, and bi-monthly Voice of Taksin, which mimics the U.S. news magazine, Time.
"These media outlets are not real newspapers. They are tools for groups to create chaos in the country," Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban.
This is the line we continually hear from the government. It’s always the same line by the government it’s for “national unity” or “national security” or “causing chaos”. I’ll bring you back to an earlier point, “if you do not appeal to your audience you will not survive”. For the government to be so concerned to ban these publications these publications must have mass grassroots support.
"The test of democracy is freedom of criticism". ~David Ben-Gurion
These actions by the government go directly contrary to one of the five key elements of the Prime minister’s roadmap to reconciliation. It says that is to form an independent body to monitor all media, including state-controlled outlets, to ensure unbiased and balanced reporting. If you censor all dissenting media how can you have “Fair and balanced reporting”. It’s not only impossible but it’s hypocritical.
For Thailand to reconcile all sides from ASTV to the People’s channel have to be allowed to voice their opinions otherwise Thailand is just Myanmar in the mask of Democracy.
“The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.” ~Henry Steele Commager
AND just maybe, that is exactly what the Abhisit government and the Military are trying to achieve as they guide Thailand from 65 in the world in 2002 for press freedom to 130 in 2009, according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
Labels: community radio, politics, thailand
3 Comments:
While I agree that govt media censorship in this country at this point in time is appalling, you do have to point out that it's the consequence of circumstance and this is a point missed by most critics. Let's face it, this govt is under serious threat of being toppled, and it is not appropriate in any stable country for a group to lay siege to a capital city and refuse to go home until the govt resigns - that's akin to a coup (forcing the govt out of power through unlawful means). Therefore the State of Emergency is appropriate to bring stability back to the country and that grants the govt some draconian privileges. I'm not saying they are right to censor, and the whys and wherefores of the protest (illegitimacy and all) are for a separate argument.
But, it should be said that many community stations have abused their remit to incite an insurgency, there is recorded evidence of presenters using hate-speech, encouraging people to 'overthrow' this govt, and in many cases sheer libel. Now, the correct thing to do is censor and sue the individuals using libel laws etc but we all know that takes forever and won't stop them in the meantime continuing, so there are also broadcasting laws to discipline and control these stations, which are of an international standard. Unfortunately there is no competent regulatory body and a 'free for all' has resulted on the airwaves.
The govt has been heavy handed in trying to clamp down on all these, but there can be no doubt that these stations and some magazines have greatly contributed to the confrontation in a negative, inciting and libellous way, so there needs to be some collective self-regulation otherwise risk all community stations being taken off air.
While I hate to even respond to anyone called Anonymous Here goes.
I Think I said quite succinctly about stations that were closed, "Some of those stations have defiantly pushed the envelope, if not outright broken the law."
AND I could go with your "They helped the UDD take over Bangkok" argument except a lot of these stations were taken off the air originally four years ago when they complained about the Coup, long before the UDD existed.
I could also buy your argument if the government was equal in it's rulings both now and prior to the SOE but it has not been. While it's arguable that the UDD TV channel was radical so is ASTV which is the other side of the spectrum. ASTV is a purveyor of vitriol from the opposite side. ASTV has never been warned of it's programing nor has any of the Pro PAD stations nationwide that broadcast exactly the same type, as you put it, hate-speech and sheer libel, against the UDD, Thaksin and Reds.
The government is more than "Heavy Handed" it's trying to crush all opposing viewpoints and as I said somewhere else that's going to eventually be like "trying to hide an elephant under a lotus leaf."
actually I challenge the statement that the reds were trying to topple the government
they were demanding that the government submit itself to a free and fair election by the people
their excuse and reason was not that they believed they has evidence that the government was appointed as result of the military and judicial coups
when Thaksin was challenged, even though he could already claim a democratic mandate from 2005 he still called an election 2006 to resolve the protests
on that occasion troops were used to over-ride the election, and this occasion the same has occurred
just like 2006, the use of troops is the wrong remedy now
a key point here is the use of military force instead of police
the real issue in Thailand is that the right wing elites and governments have boosted the power of the military so they can call on them to solve their problems instead of relying on normal crime and crowd control thats appropriate when dealing with citizens rather than external enemies.
control the military ban them from any involvement in business and
politics in the country and all Thais will be better off.
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