Thailand - Community radio stations under siege

[dirtydog]

Community radio stations under siege

BangkokPost.com, dpa
Authorities moved on Friday to silence every broadcaster found to be criticising the government, in the biggest censorship blitz since last September's military coup.
The crackdown on the country's hundreds of illegal community radio stations came less than two days after exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra called three of the stations to air his political grievances.

"We will be listening to these illegal radio stations to see whether they are attacking the government and if they do we will send authorities to shut them down," said Borworn Thecha-in, director of the radio and television division at the Public Relations Department.

Mr Borworn said Thailand had more than 1,000 small radio stations that have operating in a legal limbo for years, pending legislation to cover the media sector.

"In the past we've ignored them, partly because they are so difficult to monitor," said Mr Borworn. "Sometimes these stations just play music all day."

On Thursday, the PRD closed down the FM 87.75 station after it aired a live interview with Mr Thaksin from his home in London in which the ousted premier called for speedy elections in Thailand and criticised the current government for not solving the country's problems.

The station has been charged with operating without a licence, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail and/or a 100,000 baht ($2,860) fine.

"We were acting on a complaint," said Mr Borworn, explaining the closure of FM 87.75 - but did not say who complained.

Thailand has been under an military-appointed government since army officers overthrew the Thaksin government and tore up the constitution in a bloodless coup last Sept 19. Mr Thaksin was attending the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

Mr Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon whose family fortune is estimated at $3 billion, has been living in exile since the coup, but he continues to be a thorn in the thigh of the current appointed government.

Thai authorities attempted to block the airing of an interview Mr Thaksin had with CNN on March 20 and weres irked by another Thaksin interview that appeared the same month in Time Magazine.

Mr Thaksin's foray into Thailand's community radio stations on Wednesday was his first interview with the Thai media since his fall from power.

A video version of the interview was also posted on the popular YouTube.Com, already banned by the government last month for hosting images deemed insulting to His Majesty the King.

Thai authorities, however, have not yet attacked YouTube.Com for posting the Thaksin footage.

"Lese majeste is a sensitive issue for our country, but if it is just about politics we won't intervene," said spokesman Visanu Meeyoo of the Information Communciations and Technology Ministry, the official Thai censorship ministry.

Thai Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said on Friday that Mr Thaksin's latest publicity effort was in response to the escalating problems he faces in the country.

Mr Thaksin's family has been charged with tax evasion and abuse of power, and similar charges are pending against the former premier.

It is also likely that his Thai Rak Thai political party will be dissolved by a constitutional tribunal on May 30 for committing fraud during the April 2, 2006, general elections.

[dirtydog]

PTV to "expose" network of those behind coup


The founders of satellite TV PTV vowed Friday to expose a network of people who were behind the September 19 coup during a mass rally at Sanam Luang on May 31.

Jatuporn Promphan, vice president of PTV, said he would expose the links of those behind the coup during the rally on May 31.

He said the network was also related to the finding of explosives linked to a nephew of a leading member of anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy.

He said PTV would go ahead with the May 31 rally despite a warning by Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas that the demonstration could lead to an untoward incident.

Jatuporn said PTV would also hold a rally at Sanam Luang on May 20 and would peacefully march to the Democracy Monument.

The Nation

[kingwilly]

ho hum, will he get enough power to come back in ??

[dirtydog]

Two men arrested for running community radio station without license


Two men were arrested Friday for operating 92.75 MHz community radio station without license.

Police and Public Relations Department officials raided the station of the Taxi Drivers Club at 2:30 pm and arrested the house owner, Shinawat Haboonnak and the station director, Phansak Sabu.

The two were charged with operating the station without license.

Police and the PR Department officials took the action after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra called into the programme to talk to his supporters.

Shinawat said the station had stopped broadcast on air for four days because its transmitter broke down. However, the station broadcast through its website, www.shinawatradio.com.

The Nation

[dirtydog]

Members of anti-coup group detained

(BangkokPost.com) - Police detained three members of the anti-coup group White Dove in Chiang Mai on Friday as the dissidents were handing out leaflets attacking the military junta.

Ritthikrai Chaiwanasart, Sakchai Saelee and Thaweesup (last name unknown) were arrested while passing out documents they printed from the website hi-thaksin to people in the central district of Chiang Mai, the hometown of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

According to reports, they were taken to Kawila military camp for questioning.

Police also arrested the group leader Noparut Worachitwuthikul when he appeared at the Chiang Mai municipality to ask for permission to use the area around Tha Pae to hold a rally.

The group earlier asked for permission to use the venue on Friday, but the municipality refused, claiming it was already booked for another event. Without permission for a rally, the group brought equipment to set up a stage.

Mr Noparut said the group would like to tell people in Chiang Mai what was going on behind the Sept 19 coup.

The attempt to set up a stage and hold a rally came just one day before Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont is scheduled to meet with heads of villages and community leaders in the northern city.

[dirtydog]

FM station raided and shut down
Thaksin interview on air sparks crackdown
YUWADEE TUNYASIRI


Broadcasting regulators yesterday raided and shut down a community radio station which ran an interview with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and threatened to crack down on thousands of illegal community radio stations. The FM 87.75 station was raided and closed down yesterday after the Public Relations Department, the regulator of community radio stations, found that it had no licence to operate.
Department chief Pramoj Rathavinij said yesterday that he ordered drastic measures against the stations which aired comments from Mr Thaksin for national security reasons, adding the department would take this opportunity to deal with around 3,000 illegal community radio stations across the country.
The deposed leader called three radio stations known to be sympathetic to him on Wednesday night.
Besides the FM 87.75 community radio station, he called the FM 92.75 taxi drivers' community radio and the internet radio station run by the Saturday Voice Against Dictatorship website.
''I received a phone call from a woman. She said someone wanted to talk to me. It turned out to be Mr Thaksin. I was surprised,'' said Kraiwan Kasemsilp, host of FM 87.75.
His co-host, Chupong Theetuan, is a leader of the pro-Thaksin Caravan of the Poor whose members laid siege to the Nation Group's headquarters on Bang Na-Trat road in March last year to protest against a story published in the group's Thai-language Kom Chad Luek daily.
In the radio interviews on Wednesday night, Mr Thaksin called for swift elections to restore democracy and confidence and voiced concern for underprivileged students affected by the scrapping of the digit lottery scheme.
''For the poor, you should go to the Thaicom foundation. I have asked them to increase scholarships and speed up consideration. Schools are open but the lottery scheme was scrapped and they are probably now in [financial] difficulties,'' he told the Saturday Voice website.
He also said that he would not return to Thailand soon out of concern that his return would result in a confrontation.
It was the first time Mr Thaksin has spoken to the Thai media at home since he was removed from power in the Sept 19 coup and went to live in London.
But while saying he would not return to politics, Mr Thaksin has never been out of the public eye for long.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday shrugged off Mr Thaksin's move.He said the deposed leader seemed to have little chance of making any political advances given pending corruption investigations.
Gen Surayud also rejected criticism that he was not tough enough to solve the political crisis.
''By saying tough, what exactly do they want me to do? If they want me to arrest [Mr Thaksin] and say he is wrong, I just can't. We must abide by the law and the rule of law,'' he said.
Prasarn Marukhapitak, who works on the government's public relations team, accused Mr Thaksin of being a hypocrite.
He said Mr Thaksin repeatedly claimed to have washed his hands of politics, but the opposite was true.
Council for National Security (CNS) chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said yesterday that he had ordered the Internal Security Operations Command to closely monitor community radio stations.
Narong Boonsuayfan, of Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat, said yesterday that Mr Thaksin's move was timely, calculated and had a political agenda. If the government or the coup makers had reacted by gagging the media, it would have caused repercussions. ''The best thing to do is to sit tight or explain the cases and corruption probes to the public. The government and the CNS have been on the defensive all along,'' Mr Narong said.

Bangkok Post

[stroller]

Right.
Can't have dissident voices on the radio, that would seriously hinder the establishment of democracy.

[dirtydog]

POLITICS / THAKSIN'S RADIO BROADCAST, DEFENCE MINISTER ON PM RUMOURS, ANTI-COUP GROUPS, DEMOCRAT LEADER ON DISSOLUTION
Govt slated for closing FM station

MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) yesterday slammed the government for closing down a community radio station which aired an interview with deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. NHRC commissioner Jaran Ditapichai said the closure order made no sense. The Public Relations Department (PRD) cited national security as the reason for shutting down the FM 87.75 station on Thursday.

If the PRD insists that running an interview endangers national security, it and the Council for National Security should also shut down other community radio stations also accused of instigating political disunity, he said.

The stations in question are FM 92.25 operated by Prachai Leophairatana, the ousted chief executive of Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc, as well as the one owned by the Manager Group. The stations reportedly aired comments critical of the government and the prime minister.

''Why has the PRD not acted against the other two stations?'' said Mr Jaran.

According to Mr Jaran, community radio stations have the right to interview Mr Thaksin who is free to speak.

If FM 87.75 is deemed to have broken the law, the PRD should put the case before the court, he said.

He said the government should accelerate the formation of the National Broadcasting Commission to allow the registration of community radio stations.

Community radio frequencies currently operate with the approval of the PRD.

The PRD on Thursday defended its closure of FM 87.75 by saying that the station was operating without a licence.

Thakerng Somsap, chairman of the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, said his association feared the government may also extend its closure order to silence the remaining 3,000 community radio stations as well.
The association said it would not sit still if the government tried to close down all community radio stations and would call for action to pressure the government to adhere to the democratic principles of free speech.

Bangkok Post

[Dougal]

Government falls for Thaksin's trap

Overreaction to ex-premier's radio phone-ins has diverted public attention, just as he hoped it would

Thaksin Shinawatra was at his manipulative best and the interim leadership their gullible worst this past week. His "surprise" phone-ins to local radio programmes were meant to garner positive publicity, and the government made sure he accomplished that. Hours after the interviews went on air, the Public Relations Department moved to shut down a community radio station responsible for the soft political ambush by the down-but-not-out overthrown leader in exile. Foreign news agencies scrambled to report the "raid", and ever-busy media freedom activists got a fresh case to pursue. A few phone calls by Thaksin, and the image of those who put him out of office suffered fresh blows.


Only this time it was sweeter for the man. He knew exactly what was going to happen, and even mentioned it during one of the calls. "I can't go back home right now, because whatever move I make, it startles those people," he said when asked if he could possibly "pass by" to soothe Thais who miss him. "They get scared all the time, although I make my move as an ordinary citizen. I just want to tell them that they don't need to be paranoid. The best way to win people's trust is to come up with good work. The more they are paranoid, the more they will lose."

Whatever his motive was for saying it, Thaksin was for once spot on. And it's easy to tell how he must have been elevated in many people's eyes after his statements were met by a predictable raid on a radio station. Thaksin set up a very cheap trap, predicted that the interim leadership would walk straight into it - and they did.

The Public Relations Department's director for radio and television, Borworn Thecha-in, and its lawyers filed a complaint with Nonthaburi police accusing the director of the community radio station of broadcasting without permission. Afterwards, Borworn visited the station, located on the third floor of a four-storey commercial building in Nonthaburi's Muang district. The station's director was producing a programme when Borworn inspected the building and soon the station went off the air. The "intimidation" met no resistance. In fact, if the station's staff had really been working for Thaksin as authorities virtually alleged, the authorities' visit must have been greeted with a tacit welcome.

What should have been a two-day story has now got worldwide attention, and will likely dominate headlines and editorials for much longer, not to mention that it will feature in reports by embassies and international media freedom groups. Despite a strong media reaction to Thursday's raid, another radio station involved in the latest Thaksin publicity stunt was visited by authorities yesterday, with similar consequences. Just as stories about the latest corruption investigations were occupying the front page, three phone-ins by Thaksin changed the focus completely.

Now, Thaksin's call for a "swift return" to democracy during the interviews will go nicely with stories of the "clamp-down", and the history of how many community radio stations suffered under him would not be remembered much. During his reign, numerous "illegal" radio stations were sent packing or reeling, but that doesn't matter now. He has managed to exploit the interim leadership's over-sensitivity and gullibility and claim to the world that Thailand now has a poor standard of freedom of speech.

Why the interim leadership keeps losing the mind game is puzzling. Just when it seemed he was being pushed toward the ropes - with key corruption cases beginning to bear some legal evidence - those who ousted him and the interim government have allowed him to play the victimised champion of democracy. At a time when Thaksin was supposed to answer some serious questions, he has managed to turn the table on his opponents and have the world ask them questions instead.
Like it or not, he was right on many things in his interviews. His advice - stop being paranoid, be sincere, do good and the rest will take care of itself - sounded almost noble. It's in fact a real road map to bring Thailand out of this crisis. The thing is, he gave that advice because he apparently was hoping that his opponents would do the opposite. But he cannot be blamed for this possible malice; his naive opponents helped make sure that an ousted politician's normal shout across the ocean has both a deafening and echoing effect.

The Nation Saturday 19th May

[dirtydog]

ICT may block Thaksin web appearance

(BangkokPost.com) - The Information and Communications Technology Ministry will meet with Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont next week to discuss how to handle a scheduled appearance by ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra on a pro-Thaksin website.

The talks were urgently scheduled after the leader of The Saturday Voice group Sudchai Boonchai said Mr Thaksin will appear online at its website ¥¹ÇѹàÊÒÃì äÁèàÍÒ༴稡Òà next week.

ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, who is the official censor of the Internet, said he will talk to Gen Surayud to see if Mr Thaksin going live breaks any law, and to discuss whether the ministry should add the website to the tens of thousands it already blocks.

Mr Thaksin called three radio stations on Wednesday night to talk to listeners from London. It is his first attempt to get through the Thai media since the September 19 coup.

Bangkok Post

[Dougal]

This is becoming a farce.

[dirtydog]

It is his first attempt to get through the Thai media since the September 19 coup.

Not quite true as he used to use his lawyer to make announcements for him to the media, they put a stop to that though.

[keda]

Mr Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon whose family fortune is estimated at $3 billion...

His kids made around £1bn on the Shin deal, wifey hoovered up £1bn give or take a few baht on land surrounding the airport, so unless they've given away $800m and would've been broke without these two lucky breaks, I'd guess they're worth a bit more than $3bn.

[dirtydog]

Two activists wear headband in protest against the shutdown of 87.75 MHz community radio whey they join a demonstration at Sanam Luang held by PTV satellite TV Sunday.

The Nation

[Mid]

Industry says NBTC will be too big and powerful
23/07/2010

The new body that will be set up to regulate telecommunications and broadcasting will be too big, with too much power, and most of its members won't understand the industry, executives complained yesterday.

The comments were made at a hearing to sound out opinion on the Frequency Allocation Act, which calls for the establishment of a powerful 15-member National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

The NBTC will replace the current National Telecommunications Commission, which has been plagued by questions about the scope of its authority in its five-year existence.

The House of Representatives approved the new law in March and the Senate in April before sending it to a 35-member committee for further study. The bill is expected to be returned to Parliament next month for final passage.

The bill passed by the House called for 11 NBTC members but the Senate has recommended 15.

The members would be selected from 44 candidates in two stages.First, various organisations will select 22 candidates. Second, a 15-member panel, comprising academics and representatives from the government, independent organisations, professional and consumer groups, will select another 22 candidates. Altogether, 44 candidates will be nominated to the Senate. It will then have 180 days to name the 15 members.

Significantly, members of the NBTC must not be, or have been executives, employees, consultants or shareholders in telecom or broadcasting businesses for at least one year. The idea is to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.

Advanced Info Service chief executive Wichian Mektrakarn said the bill was drawn up by people who were biased against the industry and the prohibition in his view was inappropriate.

He said the NBTC would have only a handful of people with any industry knowledge, which would impede the growth of telecoms and broadcasting. He also said that 15 members were too many and decision-making would be bogged down as a result.

Thana Thienachariya, DTAC's chief corporate affairs and strategy officer, said the structure of the NBTC had a typical Thai pattern, with a "strong committee but weak secretariat".

bangkokpost.com

[Jools]

Industry says NBTC will be too big and powerful
23/07/2010

The new body that will be set up to regulate telecommunications and broadcasting will be too big, with too much power, and most of its members won't understand the industry, executives complained yesterday.

"Too much power and most of its members won't understand the industry"
Hmmm, that means it will most resemble Merka's FCC and Canada's CRTC.

[Mid]

Community radio still waiting for salvation
23/01/2011

The new government regulatory agency in charge of broadcasting will have its work cut out in bringing community stations in line with laws governing frequency allocation and advertisement

In rural areas throughout Thailand, hands more accustomed to holding hoes, knives and fishing nets are now occupied with communications equipment for community radio stations. The stations are becoming a part of the daily lives of farmers and fishermen who are exercising their right to freedom of expression as never before.


ON THE AIR: Chainarong Wongkasitorn and Jitanun Wongsetsing are among the many local volunteers at Bo Nok Community Radio. The popular deejays receive at least 50 calls a day from their audience.

Chainarong Wongkasitorn (''Uncle Kob'') and Jitanun Wongsetsing (''Na Thip'') are two examples in the Prachuap Khiri Khan's Bo Nok community, which fought against proposed coal-fired power plants in the area for many years. Both villagers are happy to pitch in as volunteers at the local community radio station.

''We don't call ourselves deejays because we don't operate like commercial radio stations do,'' said Uncle Kob.

It seems that almost all villagers in the subdistrict support the project, and many have donated money to buy equipment for the station, which is powered by wind turbines. Residents feel the station belongs to them and that it provides inspiration for the community. It has also helped many people outside the community understand the struggles of the Rak Bo Nok Environmental Group, which led the opposition to the coal-fired power stations. The power plant proposal was officially scrapped in 2002 after a lengthy campaign by the environmental group, but the victory came at a high price. Charoen Wataksorn, the group's leader, was gunned down in June, 2004 after returning from Bangkok, where he had testified before a Senate panel about alleged attempts by powerful local people to grab public land in Bo Nok.


GREEN AT HEART: Above, Suwimon Thepyam still keeps flags from a Prachuap Khiri Khan environmental alliance campaign to make community radio stations comply with the laws.

The station provides a forum for residents who are wary of a possible revival of the power plant proposal or other controversial development projects. The station is also involved with other grass-roots causes.

Somboon Thaisong, who uses the name ''Mr Dream-catcher'' in his frequent calls to radio talk shows, learned from station news broadcasts that a group of displaced people from Ranong province was staying at the local Si Yek Bo Nok temple. The group, on a long march to the parliament building to petition for citizenship and an amendment of the Nationality Act, was given permission by the abbot to stay for a night at the temple and Mr Somboon donated 30kg of sweet potatoes to help feed them.

''I want to help and the only means I have is the produce from my farm. I really like the station and it has provided me with a lot of food for thought,'' he said, adding that he listens even while working his fields.

Mr Somboon used to have a small construction firm, but he returned to farming because he ''loved the land. I want to fight together with the people of Bo Nok.''

The radio station's broadcasts reach as far as Kui Buri district, 15km away. In Sam Kratay village, Suwimon Thepyam is as avid a listener as Mr Dream-catcher.

''I've learned a lot from the station about my rights and other information directly related to my life,''she said while preparing her dinner. She also donated vegetables to the marchers who were staying at the temple. Mrs Suwimon prefers the Bo Nok station to the other two community stations in her area because it has no advertisements. She said one of the stations claims to have a religious format, but it has many advertisements, and the other one is also very commercial.


BIGGEST FAN: Left, Somboon Thaisong feels a part of the Bo Nok community radio station.

''Yet they call themselves community radio,'' she said with obvious disapproval, and added that her entire family identifies with the causes promoted by the station and the Bo Nok Environmental Group. The latest activity her family participated in was a protest at the NTC headquarters in Bangkok last December to ask the agency to regulate community radio stations that don't operate in line with the existing laws.

But Natawuth Choodaeng, a vendor at Kui Buri district market, said he prefers one of the other local community stations because it plays more music and has news he thinks is more relevant, rather than mostly phone-in discussions between the deejays and the home audience. He doesn't mind the advertisements.

''How can they survive if they have no sponsors?'' he asked. He said he wasn't sure if community radio stations should accept advertisements.

According to Section 21 of the 2008 Broadcasting and Television Business Operations Act, as well as the 2000 Frequencies Regulatory Act, the answer is no. This is aimed at assuring independence (see box). The law as stated allows any community to run a radio station providing they have the licence, the equipment and the backing of a local community organisation. Currently issued licences are valid until June, when a new regulatory agency, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC), will be established. The 2010 Frequency Allocation, Radio, Television, and Telecommunication Regulatory Agency Act authorised the new agency and it was announced in the Royal Gazette last December. A major hurdle in getting the NBTC operational is the selection of the committee members.

Anyone who has followed the history of the ill-fated NBTC knows that its implementation has been repeatedly delayed due to conflicts of interest between the proposed candidates and also between their backers. The selection process is quite complicated and involves many different groups, including the National Federation of Community Radio. However, said Pongpipat Wataksorn, who manages the Bo Nok station and is also a federation committee member, said the regulatory agency must be set up within 180 days from Dec 20 last year. If it cannot be set up within this time frame the Senate will select the 11 NBTC members.

Apart from the selection of the commissioners, the new regulatory agency will need to draft the master plan for frequency allocation. This involves ''taking back'', at least temporarily, 524 frequencies allocated to a number of state agencies (see graphic). The Frequencies Regulatory Act says that 20% of these frequencies must be re-allocated for public use.

According to the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), the precursor agency of the NBTC, of the almost 7,000 ''community radio stations'', 158 are operating on a non-commercial basis at the present time, 170 to 190 have a religious format, 6,521 are classified as ''local commercial radio'', and an undetermined number are dedicated to national security.
Although the Frequencies Regulatory Act stipulates that community radio must be commercial-free, in 2006 the Thaksin government allowed six advertising minutes an hour, which led to the mushrooming of community radio in Thailand. However, the fact is that many stations are running much more than six minutes of advertisement an hour.

The 2008 law also stipulates that community radio stations need the backing of a nonprofit community organisation in order to register. In Prachuap Khiri Khan province and elsewhere many stations operate freely without a license, while some have applied for a temporary licence without providing documentation of community backing.


THE LONG MARCH: A group of displaced people on their way to Bangkok to petition for citizenship, after a stopover in Bo Nok.

Surayuth Youngjaiyuth, a Prachuap Khiri Khan deejay who describes himself as the owner of FM 104, formerly leased airtime from a state agency. He didn't like that arrangement because he was not allowed to provide ''controversial'' programming. He is much happier as the operator of a community radio station, and doesn't apologise for its commercial nature. He said he leases weekly hour-long spots to local deejays for 4,000 baht a month. He has no marketing department, but if companies or shop owners want to advertise on his station he will send them a price list.

''I am proud of my programming. I am able to provide songs that listeners like, by artists like Grand X [a favourite old Thai rock group]. The people who have purchasing power are 35 years up, and they are the ones who like to listen to my programmes,'' said Mr Surayuth.

He said FM 104 devotes about 10% of its airtime for news and public service announcements, but he hasn't calculated how much is taken up by advertising.

''I think there are many stations that claim to be community radio which attack others for advertising, but I wonder how they can survive without advertisement,'' he said, adding that he suspects most of these stations are supported by NGOs. ''The reality is that we need to pay for the cost of operations, such as electricity and fuel to travel and so on,'' he said.

The 2008 Broadcasting and Television Business Operations Act says that the NBTC must provide funds for community radio stations to operate independently. The Bo Nok community radio hasn't received any funding from the state. Mr Pongpipat, the manager, said his station could not accept advertisement ''because we want to set an example of what real community radio is all about. If we take the money, it is not the community's radio station, it is somebody else's. This station survives through local donations,'' he said, adding that accurate and transparent accounting records are kept.

However, some people are seeing opportunity in the funding provisions. For example, a private company has set up a website that allows community radio stations to broadcast on the internet. The company has received funding from a state agency.

Critics are pointing out that there is no system in place to monitor the stations to see if they follow the principle of non-commerciality. The NBTC is mandated to support the drafting of rules of ethics and guidelines for self-regulation for stations that receive broadcasting licences (including for television).

NTC Commissioner Pana Thongmee-akhom has come out in favour of a system of self-regulation. ''I think the operators will be able to manage among themselves,'' he said. ''If they do not follow the regulations, they will be pushed out from the group.''



Wicharn Oon-ok, the secretary general of the National Federation of Community Radio Stations, said the federation is now in the act of screening its 158 members, as many of them do appear to take advertising. He said this is not in line with the true spirit of community radio.

''We have already drafted a statement of ethical standards for our radio operators and will present it to our members soon,'' said Mr Wicharn, whose own station is in Kanchanaburi province.

Supinya Klangnarong from Netizen Network wants regulations to be jointly enforced by operators and state agencies. She noted that at the moment anyone can set up a radio station and predicted that if there is no agency to enforce the laws there will be more illegal stations in the future, and the result will be chaos.

Somkiat Tangkitvanich, vice-president of the Thailand Development Research Institute, proposed a system of co-regulation that would limit the job of the government to enforcing regulations decided on by professional organisations, such as those formed by community radio operators and journalists. ''These professional bodies would still set their codes of conduct and accept and consider complaints,'' said Mr Somkiat.

bangkokpost.com