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[Royal Thai Government handout via AFP]
Six leading Thai professional media associations, in a joint statement Wednesday, condemned what they said was an official assault on the public’s right to accurate information as well as free speech during a pandemic.
The associations urged journalists to call on Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha to stop threatening to sue news organizations that disseminate what he described as fake or distorted reports about the government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
“We call upon all professionals in the media and news agencies to stand in unison and oppose the government’s new measures,” the groups said.
New curbs harm press freedom, says group
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published : 16 Jul 2021 at 10:29
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Six local media organisations on Thursday condemned the government s invocation of the 2005 Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situation, which they said introduces measures that affect press freedom.
The joint statement was issued by the National Press Council of Thailand, the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand, the Thai Journalists Association, the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, the Society for Online News Providers and the National Union of Journalists.
The government on Saturday began using the 2005 Emergency Decree, including Section 9, which stipulates a curfew and curbs on public gatherings and the dissemination of misleading information as part of its coronavirus containment measures.
Kavi Chongkittavorn A veteran journalist on regional affairs
published : 6 Jul 2021 at 04:00
5 A forum brainstorms how to regulate the media following unethical news reports on a mass shooting at a shopping complex in Nakhon Ratchasima last year.
Exactly 24 years ago this week, some 40-plus publishers and editors from all over Thailand came together to form the National Press Council to challenge the government of the day, which was trying to control them through regulatory measures. The council has since then used social and peer pressure and its code of ethics to maintain media professionalism. It has also served as a pillar for the Thai media to preserve freedom of expression.