Thailand: Pressure Group Demands TV Channel Released From State Control
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Text of report in English by Thai newspaper The Nation website on 19 February  The Campaign for Popular Media Reform yesterday [18 February] demanded the government free Channel 11 from state control after it permitted media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul to use the station for broadcasts.
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US-based Human Rights Watch warned that a libel suit against critics of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra filed by a corporation he founded, along with increasing government pressure on the media was threatening to stifle press freedom in Thailand.
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Warrant issued for deposed Thai prime minister over alleged share sale violations.
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One of Thailand's new military rulers pleads for international understanding of the reasons behind the coup.
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The Thai military is pushing to regain control of a phone company sold to Singapore by former Thai leader.
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(InfoWorld) - A press advocacy group is "dismayed" about Google's decision to block YouTube videos from viewers in Thailand that are considered inappropriate or illegal by that Asian government. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), calling Google's reported agreement with the Thai government "a censorship deal," said on Wednesday that the move creates "a dangerous precedent, which could have global implications for freedom of expression." "There is a clear potential for abuse of people's right to information, which seems much more likely now [that] Google has demonstrated its willingness to collude with governments to effectively censor information," IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said in a statement. The Thailand Embassy in Washington, D.C., didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. On Friday and during the weekend, various news outlets reported from Bangkok that Thailand had lifted a five-month ban on YouTube for its residents after Google agreed to block videos the government finds objectionable. In an article posted Friday, the International Herald Tribune quoted Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, Thailand's minister of information and communications technology, as saying that YouTube had agreed to block clips deemed offensive to Thai culture or that violate Thai law. People accessing YouTube from outside of Thailand will be able to view the videos blocked in that country, the minister told the International Herald Tribune. Thailand blocked all access to Google's YouTube, the world's most popular video-sharing site, in early April after someone posted a video the government considered insulting to the country's king. YouTube is "pleased to hear" that access to its site has been reinstated in Thailand, a YouTube spokesman said via e-mail Wednesday. "We appreciate the constructive dialogue we have had with the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Ministry.Â YouTube remains committed to removing videos when they violate our content policies, and we will continue to work closely with authorities in Thailand," the YouTube spokesman wrote. YouTube has taken steps to make sure that its users in Thailand will not be able to access videos that have been identified as violating the country's laws, he confirmed. Asked if YouTube's parent company had any reaction to the IFJ's criticism, he said the question should answered by a Google official. At press time, no one from Google had responded to this question. Those found guilty of offending the monarchy face serious penalties in Thailand. Days before the YouTube incident, a Swiss national living in Thailand got slapped with a 10-year jail sentence for defacing images of the king. This is the latest incident in which Google and other providers of Internet services, such as Yahoo and Microsoft, find themselves criticized for censorship by human rights organizations, press advocacy groups, U.S. legislators, and shareholders. For example, several Internet companies have been criticized for agreeing to censor content in their China sites and search engines that the Chinese government finds objectionable. Yahoo in particular has been blasted often for cooperating with the Chinese governmentÂ and providing information that has led to the arrest of dissidents and journalists. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others invariably defend themselves saying that they must comply with the local laws of the countries in which they do business and that governments must collaborate to establish international standards of operation. "We always welcome constructive discussions with local governments around the world on similar issues. We are committed to addressing these questions in ways that both respect relevant laws and cultural concerns and are consistent with our global content policies," the YouTube spokesman wrote. When it comes to content that may break local laws, YouTube works with local authorities to resolve the issues. "We think this approach strikes the right balance betweenÂ freedom of expression and respect for local law," he wrote. Thailand recently introduced the Computer Crime Act, which gives authorities the power to seize the computers of people suspected of accessing or creating content deemed insulting or pornographic, according to the IFJ. Activist, social worker and webmaster Sombat Bun-ngam-anong is currently serving a 12-day detention order for alleged defamation for violating the Act, the IFJ said in Wednesday's statement. Also on Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders, another international press watchdog group, reported that a Thai blogger named Pichai has been reportedly detained for the past 12 days, also for violating the Act, which this group says took effect on July 18. The blogger's arrest "confirms our fears about the dangers of a law that is supposed to combat pornography but turns out to be a way of restricting and controlling press freedom," Reporters Without Borders charged.
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More than 10,000 Thais demonstrated in Bangkok on Saturday to demand an end to the country&#39;s army-backed government, police said, with many calling for a return of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
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Pressure grows on military regime after its threat to crack down on protesters.
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Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra declares a state of emergency in Bangkok amid rumours of a coup.
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BBC Monitoring, via sources in Bangkok, has observed that all Thai terrestrial television stations, namely Channels 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, suspended regular broadcasts at about 1500 gmt (1600 bst, 2200 local time) and instead began carrying music videos featuring scenes of King Phumiphon Adunyadet.
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Thailand&#39;s ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra urged the military government on Friday to press ahead with new elections, in a videotaped address shown to thousands of his supporters at an anti-coup rally.
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Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called a state of emergency Tuesday as coup rumors sweep Bangkok.
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Singapore wants Thailand to clarify remarks made by its junta leader that he plans to take back control of satellites run by a firm sold to the city-state's Temasek Holdings, the foreign ministry said.
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Thailand's PPP party leader claims that a "dirty hand" is working to prevent his party taking power.
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Thailand's junta leader has vowed to take back control of Thai satellites operated by telecom giant Shin Corp, which were sold to a Singapore firm in a politically explosive deal last year.
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Without warning, Myanmar's military junta has ordered a massive 166-fold rise in the annual satellite television levy in an apparent attempt to stop people watching dissident and international news broadcasts.
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Burma imposes a huge rise in fees for satellite TV in a move which critics say restricts access to media.