On May 27, junta troops barged into Bangkok’s exclusive Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand and seized a fugitive politician even as journalists were interviewing him.
The soldiers hustled Chaturon Chaisang, the education minister in the deposed elected government, into a white van and drove him away for failing to obey last week's summons to appear at the regime's headquarters for questioning, leaving reporters gaping. Chaturon apparently faces the possibility two years in jail for failing to report in.
However, ignoring the protection offered by the FCCT is the kind of tough action that coup leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha has prescribed against what had once been one of the region’s freest press corps. Unprecedented pressure is being directed against journalists, with foreign journalists singled out for particular intimidation.
Rugged soldiers armed with assault rifles and wearing helmets, green camouflage uniforms and bullet-proof vests have positioned themselves inside the editorial offices of the local Nation newspaper and other media, insisting they can control the flow of published information. Three senior Nation editors were summoned yesterday by the junta and ordered to tone down reporting and commentary.
All local and international media are prohibited from reporting "distorted" information which "could cause social division and unrest," or "widespread fear," Prayuth's newly named Peace and Order Command declared. Prayuth told the media to muzzle themselves because his junta is now inspecting publications, radio and TV broadcasts, and the Internet to find forbidden quotes, analysis and other news considered taboo. Full story...
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The soldiers hustled Chaturon Chaisang, the education minister in the deposed elected government, into a white van and drove him away for failing to obey last week's summons to appear at the regime's headquarters for questioning, leaving reporters gaping. Chaturon apparently faces the possibility two years in jail for failing to report in.
However, ignoring the protection offered by the FCCT is the kind of tough action that coup leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha has prescribed against what had once been one of the region’s freest press corps. Unprecedented pressure is being directed against journalists, with foreign journalists singled out for particular intimidation.
Rugged soldiers armed with assault rifles and wearing helmets, green camouflage uniforms and bullet-proof vests have positioned themselves inside the editorial offices of the local Nation newspaper and other media, insisting they can control the flow of published information. Three senior Nation editors were summoned yesterday by the junta and ordered to tone down reporting and commentary.
All local and international media are prohibited from reporting "distorted" information which "could cause social division and unrest," or "widespread fear," Prayuth's newly named Peace and Order Command declared. Prayuth told the media to muzzle themselves because his junta is now inspecting publications, radio and TV broadcasts, and the Internet to find forbidden quotes, analysis and other news considered taboo. Full story...
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