Censorship in Thailand

**Mid** · 17-05-2011, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by SteveCM

Thailand upholds the right to freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed by the Constitution. However, the right must also be exercised in accordance with the law.

real good start when the author is too afraid to put a by-line on the article .................

**StrontiumDog** · 17-05-2011, 05:40 PM

^^^ Biggest load of crap I've read in a while...and that's saying something here.

**Hampsha** · 17-05-2011, 06:20 PM

Last weekend Singapore's Channel News Asia was running a pretty good expose' on a Thai figure and others which appeared to be censored. The screen repeatedly went to blue during the shows. I caught the same show a couple of times and there seemed to be something going on each time it was on. The other channels were fine during the same period. I'm not sure what can be done to prevent satellite stuff from airing but it sure seemed like someone was censuring this show. From the little I saw of the show, it really seemed to present a fair view on the Thai situation. Does the government have the ability to play with signals from these cable channels or their satellites? Is it done at each cable network or somehow through the satellite signal?

**SteveCM** · 17-05-2011, 07:17 PM

^
In general, unless you're picking up a signal from a satellite fully outside Thai control, there will nearly always be a Thai-based ground station involved in the downlink/uplink/distribution chain. Immediately post-coup, foreign broadcasts that featured Thaksin were blacked out. BBC, CNN, whatever..... they could all be cut by someone sitting at the ground station.

Channel News Asia almost certainly beam up to their own satellite (or share of one) and Thai outfits like True receive it and then beam it back up to theirs. In my case, I'm on a local cable network - but they also have dishes picking up various signals which they then feed out via cable. Same thing applies.

Channel News Asia also put out a very good series of programmes on Asian royal families. Inconceivable that the makers of the series would somehow exclude Thailand - but I never got to see it......

**Hampsha** · 17-05-2011, 09:56 PM

Steve it probably was part of that series. I googled it but can't seem to find anything on the pages that come up. Seems stuff has disappeared even at ChannelNewsAsia. I'd guess all the nations like Thailand would bond together to put pressure on some news stations or small countries like Singapore. In the middle east, it seems that AlJazeera really isn't very critical of some monarchs out that way. News Agencies true colors show when it comes to coverage in this area. Their truth is unworthy once they fail to cover all the news. Once Thaksin was booted for those who never really saw what those in power can do to shut people up it was an awakening experience. The lie was there and still is right there everyday. When you see the truth, it's hard to listen to their propaganda. Before Thaksin things were quiet in this area for a decade. I guess that's why so many people especially the young believed that there wasn't an ugly monster running the nation. Now that the truth is out, Thaksin wasn't so bad afterall. At least that's the way I see it. He seems the lesser of two evils in this highly corrupt place and we know him much more than we know the Thai version of the illuminati.

**Tom Sawyer** · 17-05-2011, 10:24 PM

^
Could be - or they just have a crap Website (could be either/both in my experience).

**SteveCM** · 17-05-2011, 10:35 PM

^
A lot to agree with there.....

The CNA series certainly dealt with Nepal, Japan and others - and very good it was, too. Easy to do in a republic like Singapore, it was very thorough and pulled no punches - two qualities that aren't exactly entrenched here in Thailand.....

I thought it hadn't gone out in LoS at all - but maybe it was what you (half) saw. Just searched through the CNA website and couldn't find any mention.

**Tom Sawyer** · 17-05-2011, 10:56 PM

^
The Singapore media have done a pretty 'good' job (Nirmal Ghosh) and the cute girl - forget her name - from CNA.

But Singapore media tend to go after everyone but themselves - and more so their competitor neighbours. Just read the Straits Times' Foreign news page and you'll see - then check out the domestic pages - a wasteland of fluff.

So I'd say they are right in their reporting about Thailand - but they seem to enjoy it a little too much!

**SteveCM** · 18-05-2011, 12:50 AM

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

forget her name

Anasuya Sanyal - Thailand correspondent? If so, I agree about her - meaning the quality of her reporting/analysis. On a par with AJ's Aella Callan - shame we get stuck with parish-pump-level dork Wayne Hay most of the time. His sloppy reporting during April/May last year was actually dangerous.

**Mid** · 27-05-2011, 06:54 PM

apologies wrong forum

**sabang** · 01-06-2011, 08:16 PM

The Thai Government’s Attack on New Mandala

New Mandala revealed that the Thai Embassy in Canberra has been involved with forceful representations to the ANU, to leading personalities associated with the university and to senior officials in the Australian government, to pressurise the Web team to refrain from encouraging academic debates on “sensitive issues” concerning Thailand. Some of the lobbying and representations have taken place via the Australia-Thailand Institute (ATI), a state-to-state platform for the promotion of bilateral relations between the two countries, set up in 2005.

Founders of New Mandala said in the interview: “The embassy indicated to some members of the ANU community that they should not expect cooperation from Thai government agencies or officials in Thailand, given that they are from the ANU. Thai students, both at ANU and elsewhere, have been warned not to have contact with New Mandala. Those associated with New Mandala are not welcome in Thailand. It has also been reported that the ANU was offered Thai government funding for a Thai studies centre, on the unstated but obvious condition that New Mandala’s critical activities cease. The ANU declined the offer and, as reported, the financial support went to Melbourne University instead.”
The Thai Government’s Attack on New Mandala | Robert Amsterdam Thailand

**Mid** · 02-06-2011, 06:08 AM

Originally Posted by sabang

The Thai Government’s Attack on New Mandala

Shot yourself in the foot material from the Thai Government ,

perhaps they may have been better served by examining the qualifications of the boffins behind New Mandala prior to opening their mouths .

**sabang** · 09-06-2011, 06:29 AM

Thailand's online community has been buzzing with the news that veteran Reuters journo Andrew Marshall quit his job last week to publish a story about US Embassy cables on Thailand. Reuters has refused to run the story because because of the risks involved..

.... Marshall has said he will probably never be allowed back in Thailand again.

.... Marshall is also going to release into the public domain the cables that make up the bulk of his story. This is obviously going to cause a stir and users of social media platforms like Twitter are put in a peculiar position as they might have to self-censor what they say about potentially one of the biggest Thailand news stories this half of the year. Marshall has warned netizens to be cautious about what they discuss online, so anyone who is in Thailand or who might potentially want to return to the country at some point must now make a decision about how to deal with this situation.

Full article- The Lost Boy

So Andrew Marshall (Reuters) joins Jonathan Head (ex-BBC), Giles Ungaporn (ex-Chula), and the combined staff and contributors of New Mandela (ANU) in self imposed exile from Thailand. I suppose thats better than languishing in a Thai jail like da Torpedo, Joe Gordon etc, whilst waiting for the charges in an LM case that will be conducted behind closed doors, and where even the evidence presented is not available to the public.

What a sad place Thailand has turned into since the military coup. It goes without saying that Andrew Marshalls expose' will not be able to be discussed here. I doubt it will contain anything new- ie not contained in the Wikileak cables already released. But apparently in Thailand you are supposed to exist in a vacuum, and not even know about them. Scoff.

**Octagon** · 09-06-2011, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by sabang

So Andrew Marshall (Reuters) joins Jonathan Head (ex-BBC), Giles Ungaporn (ex-Chula), and the combined staff and contributors of New Mandela (ANU) in self imposed exile from Thailand. I suppose thats better than languishing in a Thai jail like da Torpedo, Joe Gordon etc, whilst waiting for the charges in an LM case that will be conducted behind closed doors, and where even the evidence presented is not available to the public.

What a sad place Thailand has turned into since the military coup. It goes without saying that Andrew Marshalls expose' will not be able to be discussed here. I doubt it will contain anything new- ie not contained in the Wikileak cables already released. But apparently in Thailand you are supposed to exist in a vacuum, and not even know about them. Scoff.

Surely it will contain some new stuff otherwise there wouldn't be any point in him resigning. And he's got all of the Thai cables that Wikileaks had (nearly 3000 of them I think), not just the ones already released. So while a lot of it might already be rumoured, this will definitely be interesting...

But it's worth saying, touching on these controversial issues would almost certainly see you in self-imposed exile pre-coup too (unless you felt like risking jail), because the LM law still existed then and don't forget the whole business with Crispin and Far Eastern Economic Review. Handley also wrote his book pre-coup and knew he wasn't going to be able to return to Thailand. And they'll still be in exile under a PT govt unless amendments are made to the LM law, which is, though still perhaps unlikely, more of a possibility than it is under this govt.

**Rural Surin** · 09-06-2011, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

^
The Singapore media have done a pretty 'good' job (Nirmal Ghosh) and the cute girl - forget her name - from CNA.

But Singapore media tend to go after everyone but themselves - and more so their competitor neighbours. Just read the Straits Times' Foreign news page and you'll see - then check out the domestic pages - a wasteland of fluff.

So I'd say they are right in their reporting about Thailand - but they seem to enjoy it a little too much!

Fuck Singapore media.
It's not the attention that they give, but the attention that goes unattended.
They need to check their own backyard first and foremost.

**SteveCM** · 13-06-2011, 06:45 PM

From the blog world..... Just released US Embassy cable on Thai TV censorship/control (cable dated 22 March 2006)

06BANGKOK1749 TELEVISION IN THAILAND: WHO HOLDS THE LEASH

"57554″,”3/22/2006 7:45″,”06BANGKOK1747″,”Embassy Bangkok”,”UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY”,”",”VZCZCXRO7535
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHBK #1747/01 0810745
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 220745Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7353
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI”,”UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001747
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
PACOM FOR FPA HUSO
STATE FOR EAP/PD, IIP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, KPAO, TH

SUBJECT: TELEVISION IN THAILAND: WHO HOLDS THE LEASH
REF: A. BKK 01549 – SHIN DEAL LEGAL SO WHAT?
B. BKK 00538 – TEMASEK BUYOUT OF SHIN CORP
C. BKK 01537 – OPPOSITION SELLS

1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The RTG has traditionally maintained tight
control over the information presented to the public over the
airwaves. The RTG owns all of the country\’s six television
licenses, although three are licenses to commercial
operators. Reform of broadcast media, though mandated by the
1997 Constitution, has been exceedingly slow in
materializing. Television professionals have practiced
self-censorship under the all-too-real threat of reprisal for
reporting anything overly critical of the government or
powerful pro-government commercial interests. In recent
weeks, we have seen a trend on the part of television news
programs to move beyond self-censorship and present
increasingly balanced coverage of the current political
crisis. Still, it is far too early to tell whether this
newfound freedom is here to stay. END SUMMARY.

WHO OWNS THE AIRWAVES…
————————
2. (SBU) The RTG maintains ownership over all of the
country\’s six free-to-air television licenses. Three of
these licenses are leased out to private companies but, as
the owner, the RTG has the ability to weigh in with the
management to ensure that they are not challenging government
policies or leadership. Below is a list of Thai television
channels and their respective ownership:

LICENSE OWNER Operator
Channel 3 MCOT BEC-Tero
Channel 5 Thai Army Thai Army
Channel 7 Thai Army Bangkok TV
Channel 9 MCOT MCOT
Channel 11 PRD PRD
iTV PM Office Shin

…AND WHO RUNS THEM
——————–
3. (SBU) The two long-standing commercial operators dominate
Thailand\’s prime-time viewership: Bangkok Entertainment
Company (BEC-Tero) operates Channel 3 and can expect five
million viewers most nights; Bangkok TV Company runs Channel
7 which routinely draws over twelve million viewers.
BEC-Tero, in turn, is owned by the Maleenot Family, and one
of the Maleenot\’s is the Minister of Tourism in Prime
Minister Thaksin\’s current Cabinet. Bangkok TV is owned by
the Kanthasut Family, also owners of the Italo-Thai
conglomerate, long-standing Thaksin supporters.

4. (SBU) Thailand\’s other independently-operated station is
iTV, established in 1997, and has around four million
viewers. It is operated by a subsidiary of the now infamous
Shin Corporation (see REFs A and B), owned by the family of
PM Thaksin Shinawatra until March 14 when it was purchased by
Singapore\’s Temasek Holdings. iTV insiders have told PDoff
that Grammy Entertainment, another close ally of the Prime
Minister, is interested in purchasing iTV from Temasek, but
to date there is no clear indication that such a sell-off is
in the works.

5. (SBU) The rest of Thai TV is operated by its respective
owners. Channel 9, which like iTV draws about four million
views, is operated by MCOT (Mass Communication Organization
of Thailand – a state-run enterprise that, although it is now
issuing shares to the public, is still 77 percent owned by
the Ministry of Finance). Channel 11, with about one million
viewers, is directly operated by the Prime Minister\’s Public
Relations Department, and Channel 5, with about two million
viewers, is still very much run by the Army.

CENSORSHIP THAI-STYLE
———————
6. (SBU) PDOFF and POLOFF met with representatives from the
six television stations to discuss a variety of issues
including the role of the RTG in news programming decisions.
Officials at Channel 5 and 11 made no bones about the fact
that programming decisions are made by senior military and
government officials in charge of the station. While
managers at the other four stations maintained that there is
no direct interference from the government in determining
news content, all agreed that an unwritten understanding
exists of what is and is not permissible.
BANGKOK 00001747 002 OF 002

7. (SBU) Producers at all three commercial stations confirmed
that self-imposed censorship is maintained by the tacit
threat of reprisal. TV hosts and producers who dare to cross
over the invisible line have routinely lost their airtime or
faced exile to some forgotten corner of the newsroom. These
producers speculated that powerful commercial interests with
ties to the government influence programming decisions by
threatening to pull advertisements and cut into revenues.

8. (SBU) One producer confirmed that stations occasionally
receive phone calls and even letters from the PM\’s Public
Relations Department suggesting that certain stories be
dropped or treated softly. When the anti-Thaksin movement
was principally led by Sondhi Limthongkul, the producer said
a government official called his station to \”encourage\” them
to play down the story. Several sources said that in the
past they had been told by management to stop investigating a
story that could damage commercial prospects of advertisers,
such as reports of toxic contamination in instant noodles and
shampoo.

REFORM ON THE SLOW TRACK
————————
9. (U) The 1997 Constitution mandated broadcast media reform
by calling for the reallocation of TV (and radio) frequencies
to the public, private, and community sectors. It further
mandated the establishment of an independent National
Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to oversee this distribution
and supervise the broadcast industry.

10. (SBU) Eight years later and implementation of these
reforms is still pending. In September 2005, the Senate put
forward a list of seven nominees for the NBC. Almost
immediately, media advocates and professionals in the field
questioned the nominees\’ independence, noting their close
ties to the government, military or established entertainment
industry. To date, the nominees have not been formally
appointed and, thus, the NBC has yet to be officially formed.

11. (SBU) At the same time, the draft
constitutionally-mandated Radio and Television Broadcasting
Bill continues to be mired in Parliament. An article
stipulating that any technician, announcer or host must
receive a license of operation from the RTG is one of the
principle roadblocks. Critics claim that the article is a
draconian measure designed to provide a governmental
screening process for media professionals.

TESTING, TESTING, 1, 2, 3
————————-
12. (SBU) As the campaign to oust PM Thaksin continues to
gain momentum, the Thai broadcast media has become
increasingly bold in its coverage of the anti-government
movement (see REF C). With the exception of Channel 11
(which is run out of the PM\’s office) all TV stations have
made unprecedented efforts to cover anti-Thaksin activities.
Media observers attribute this shift partly to a drive to
increase ratings, and partly to the fact that the
anti-Thaksin protests have simply gotten too big for the
broadcast media to ignore.

THE TELEVISION MAY NOT BE REVOLUTIONIZED
—————————————-
13. (SBU) COMMENT. Two months ago, we would not have
anticipated the remarkable shift that has occurred in
televised news coverage. Despite the government\’s complete
control of the broadcast media\’s licenses, journalists and
talk show hosts continue to press the boundary — offering
coverage that recently would have been unthinkable. To date,
the TV stations have not moved to crack down. In contrast,
the only talk show hosts to be fired recently were two
virulently pro-government commentators who were canned for
making disparaging remarks about much revered Privy Council
President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda.

15. (SBU) Nevertheless, it is far too early to tell whether
this move away from self-censorship will endure. So far, the
media has been testing the waters on a single issue, the
anti-Thaksin movement and the political crisis that it has
generated. Admittedly, this is a huge story but it will
eventually come to an end. And when it does, whatever
government replaces the current caretaker administration will
still own the airwaves.

BOYCE

[Note: there is no section #14 in the original as posted]

Edit to add: Not 100% clear, but it seems likely that the "thaicables" site either copied or was given this material by ex-Reuters correspondent Andrew M (MacGregor) Marshall. As some will already know, Marshall has been working on the release of material taken from a full set of Bkk Embassy/Chiang Mai consulate cables he has obtained - presumably with an accompanying article for context and analysis. The above cable is one of eight currently available on his site at http://www.zenjournalist.com/category/cables/

He is due to publish further cables in the coming days (particularly on Wednesday). Advance indications are that the subject matter will not allow them to reproduced here. According to his own Twitter comments, he also suspects that after publication he's unlikely to be allowed back into Thailand - or might well face arrest if he tried to return.

**SteveCM** · 13-06-2011, 06:46 PM

^ Not much change since those days, it seems.....

**Rural Surin** · 13-06-2011, 09:41 PM

Originally Posted by SteveCM

^ Not much change since those days, it seems.....

Would you have some sort of dreamy expectations, Steve?
You, I, and everyone with a deeper cognitive sort, will surely know that these things aren't going to change anytime soon. Yet the hopeful and veneered surface remains.

**SteveCM** · 13-06-2011, 10:16 PM

^ Nope - nothing one could call expectations of significant change anytime soon. It takes exceptional forward thinking to recognise the benefits that would come from it - not something that Thailand is a] known for or b] ready/equipped to achieve in the immediate future.

But the "hope" word needs to be there. And, let me tell you, this (my) "veneer" has taken me years to achieve.....

**Hampsha** · 13-06-2011, 10:25 PM

Something about the exile idea doesn't make sense when you are not a citizen of Thailand. And commiting lese majeste doesn't make sense if you are not in Thailand. Thailand is not the world. Reuters business will be safe. Andrew Marshall most likely will not do anything wrong until he steps foot in Thailand unless he lies, but even if he came to Thailand how could they do anything to him but send him back on the same plane he came in on. Thailand is Thai land. If Thais want to go to court over libel(if there is any) in another country that's possible, but they would have to prove the other truths are untrue, too. They will just shoot themselves in the foot again no matter what they do. If this Andrew Marshall story proves true something interesting is on the way.

**DrB0b** · 13-06-2011, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by Hampsha

Something about the exile idea doesn't make sense when you are not a citizen of Thailand. And commiting lese majeste doesn't make sense if you are not in Thailand. Thailand is not the world. Reuters business will be safe. Andrew Marshall most likely will not do anything wrong until he steps foot in Thailand unless he lies, but even if he came to Thailand how could they do anything to him but send him back on the same plane he came in on.

<edit> deleted because i just can't be bothered

**Hampsha** · 13-06-2011, 11:21 PM

All I am saying is Thais can live in their imaginary world. Foreigners aren't at risk of anything until they set foot on Thai soil and the Thais won't let them do that legally. It's the Thais or people living in Thailand that have to worry about big brother. As long as you live outside Thailand you can say what you want if you don't plan on coming back.

But then again, there are Thais who harrass people in other countries. There was an American restaurant owner who had a Thai restaurant which put up a stylish artistic picture of the big man in shades and cool garb who got protestors outside her shop because they didn't appreciate her creativity. Remember that one? I think it took place in Pennsylvania. She gave in and took her art down.

**StrontiumDog** · 13-06-2011, 11:22 PM

Interesting insight into how Thaksin controlled the media...now, who was it that was telling me he didn't again....?

**HermantheGerman** · 14-06-2011, 03:50 AM

No more tattoos for tourists
Thailand's Culture Minister wants to ban foreign tourists from getting Thai religious tattoos.
The tattoos, which generally combine Buddhist images and Pali text and sometimes feature Hindu themes, are popular with both backpackers and celebrities.
According to the Thai national news service, Culture Minister Nipit Intarasombat says he was concerned that the use of religious symbols as body art for non-Buddhists was inappropriate. The minister later clarified his remarks, making it clear that tourists already with tattoos would still be allowed into Thailand.
If the Thai government follows through on the minister's proposal, officials will simply ask tattoo artists to stop using religious iconography.

Departure gate

When Thais make politics...

**FlyFree** · 14-06-2011, 07:01 AM

The never-ending cycle of idiocy in Thai politics. It has lost it's charm and interest because of the depressing predictability of it all.

The only interesting angle left is to see if events in the ME have had any influence on the Thai general populace. (It certainly won't have on the rulers and the wannabe rulers - I'd bet my bottom dollar - they're still living in an unchanging fantasy world, too stupid to realize that at some point all things change - and significantly, if you're not at the leading edge of that change it will crush you.)

We'll see pretty soon. For the rest, the boring, recursive, never ending cycle of predictable rhetoric, posturing, lies and the political/military circus act is excruciatingly tedious. They are like children trying to perform magic acts, believing the audience can't see the blatantly obvious 'slight of hand'.

Is it genetic or in the water.

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