Walls close in on free press
With news reports and commentaries swapping between praising and criticising the ruling regime, most mainstream media staff survive direct state intimidation. But two senior journalists recently ran foul of the junta.
Prominent journalist Vanchai Tantivitayapitak was reportedly pressured to quit his job as senior news director at news station PPTV for scrutinising and criticising the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). Meanwhile, Citylife Chiang Mai magazine editor Pim Kemasingki faced the threat of criminal charges just for posting a satirical painting and was then forced to apologise to the province’s governor.
Both cases demonstrate the unhealthy trend of state intimidation of the media and freedom of expression in general since the 2014 coup. As the country looks forward to a return to democracy with a general election planned for February next year, no one should be at risk of losing their job or feel threatened just because they want to hold the state accountable and the public informed.
The NCPO has proved it has been touchy, thin-skinned and downright allergic to scrutiny and criticism. And it is not reluctant to act when it is unhappy with particular media houses or journalists.
The recent departure of Vanchai was reportedly a product of years of NCPO surveillance work. Prachatai news website reported that the NCPO has kept a close watch on Vanchai’s Facebook posts as well as on PPTV’s news reports. Senior security officers reportedly held meetings with the station’s executives since February and later forced an offer upon them to let Vanchai go. His last working day was on March 31.
News reports along with his own indirect statements on Facebook suggest that security officers were unhappy with his leading role at the station in scrutinising the regime and, more recently, doggedly following up on the luxury watch scandal involving Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
Both Gen Prawit and the regime spokesman have denied the regime had a role in his departure.
Vanchai has been a thorn on the side of the regime since its first day in power. Prior to joining PPTV, he was deputy director at Thai PBS, a publicly funded news agency. On May 22, 2014, he let the station report on the military coup via its YouTube website, against the regime’s orders. He was later held in custody in a military camp for a few hours that day.
He recently hinted on his Facebook page that security officers have been monitoring media personalities critical of the regime. Once their criticisms hit the limit of the regime’s tolerance, the men in green would pay them a visit, he said.
If the claim is true, the NCPO is undermining press freedom, with it only being a matter of time before other journalists and media outlets become fresh targets.
With the other depressing case of press intimidation in the northern city late last week, Chiang Mai governor Pavin Chamniprasart threatened the Citylife Chiang Mai editor with criminal charges for posting on Facebook a student’s painting of ancient kings wearing pollution masks.
The magazine had been critical of the unhealthy air pollution in the region caused by crop burning and traffic. But the governor claimed the posting of the painting was a blasphemous act showing disrespect to historical kings, thereby violating the Computer Crime Act. That prompted the editor to offer a public apology to the governor.
But no media houses should be forced to apologise for publishing such a piece of satirical art. Nor should they be threatened with lawsuits.
What happened to these two journalists could be seen as a sign of worse to come, especially in the run-up to the election next year. The regime must realise that freedom of expression and a free press are critical elements in a democracy. State intimidation of critics will only undermine the legitimacy of the planned election.