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Thailand: Senate Committee Critical of Closure of Internet Radio Stations

Posted on: Friday, 1 July 2005, 06:00 CDT

Text of report in English by Thai newspaper Bangkok Post website on 28 June

A Senate committee examining the government's abrupt blackout of internet radio stations run by its critics has agreed it infringes on the right to free expression.

The social development and human sustainability panel will invite Information and Communications Minister (ICT) Suvit Khukitti to explain the government's actions. It will also ask internet inspector Surachai Nilsang and the president of the Thai Webmasters' Association to testify, committee chairman Senator Nirand Pitakwatchara said yesterday.

The invitation comes after committee members unanimously agreed that the move by the ICT Ministry was below the belt. "The government is now trying to close off that awkward peephole into independent opinion - the internet - after it has muzzled most of the conventional media," said Senator Jon Ungpakorn, the secretary- general.

Mr Jon compared the government's "power cut" to that practised in countries like China where internet access was still supervised by the state. "If Thailand was to continue in this fashion it would be heading down the same road", he said.

"Being critical of the government cannot be classified as an attack on statehood and national security, they are two different things," the Bangkok senator said. "Besides, there are no laws which permit the ICT's internet inspector to close down websites, not even pornographic sites. The government can only sue the owners."

Mr Jon accused the state of blackmailing the web radio's internet provider into shutting down the gateway, which instantly cut off the transmission, because it had no legal grounds to pull the plug itself.

The two internet radio stations, run by businessman Ekkayuth Anchanbut and managed by Anchalee Paireerak, were closed down last Tuesday [21 June] by an order issued by the ICT Ministry dated 18 June.

The order was forwarded to the internet providers last Monday and the gateway was then terminated. Mr Surachai said the two reasons for stopping the transmissions from cyberspace were violent content that could trigger social disorder and the absence of evidence of who their real owners were.

Mr Suvit on Thursday denied threatening media freedom saying the stations were only temporarily taken off the air. Mr Suvit told the House that [it] was suspended because the registered owner of the website was not identified and no licence had been produced to operate the site. Once the problems were cleared up, the website could resume business.

Miss Anchalee, a popular radio host known to be critical of the government, said last week that the internet radio station was broadcasting from FM92.25 community radio station and the pictures and names of the DJs were posted on the site for everyone to see.

Miss Anchalee, who met the panel members yesterday, said the internet radio station was up and running again but now the domain name had been blocked instead. She also said she had decided to quit the job indefinitely because she could not stand the harassment by strangers calling on her mobile phone.

Source: BBC Monitoring Media

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