THAILAND: Web board shutdown indicates shut down of free speech 09.07.

10 17:46

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Print This Article THAILAND: Web board shutdown

indicates shut down of free speech
(Hong Kong, July 8, 2010) The decision of an
independent online news site to shut down its web
board is indicative of the shut down of free speech in
Thailand under the ongoing state of emergency, the
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said on
Thursday.

In an announcement posted on its website,

www.prachatai.com, Prachatai said that as the
government was hunting for people making comments
online, it had decided to close the web board for the
safety of users.

"The media and posters alike face the threat of

sweeping accusations that they are a 'threat to national
security' through the use of the 2007 Computer Crimes
Act, the Emergency Decree and Section 112 of the
Criminal Code," the Bangkok-based news group said.

"The tracking and hunting down of people who post

comments in the webboard seems to be no problem at
all for the authorities who do not even have to obtain
any information from Prachatai," it added.

"With limited protection and no guarantee of safety for

anyone who uses the webboard, the Prachatai team has
to come to this conclusion" to close the board, it
announced.

AHRC director, Basil Fernando, said that the closure of

the webboard spoke to the extent to which nobody in
Thailand had the right to speak freely any longer.

"Under the former government of Thaksin Shinawatra,

people speaking out about human rights and politics
were intimidated, and there was a degree of self-
censorship in the mainstream media, but nothing like
what we have seen since the 2006 coup," Fernando
said.

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THAILAND: Web board shutdown indicates shut down of free speech 09.07.10 17:46

"The latest round of outright repression under the

emergency decree, which has just been reimposed
across much of the country, is akin to that of a military
dictatorship," he said.

"Internet chat boards are among the few places that

people feel that they can still get things off their
chests, so if Prachatai has decided to pull the plug on
comment because it's afraid of the consequences, then
the situation in Thailand is very grim indeed," the Hong
Kong-based rights group director added.

Prachatai's director, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, is already

facing a raft of charges under the 2007 Computer
Crime Act for failing to remove quickly enough
comments from the web board that the police allege
were offensive to the monarchy. Section 112 of the
Criminal Code also punishes insults to the royal family
with up to 15 years in prison.

In recent months the site has had to shift its online

addresses and take other steps to get around Internet
censorship. The authorities named it on a list of
websites to be targeted under the emergency
regulations imposed in response to anti-government
protests.

Aside from websites, anti-government broadcasters and

publications have also been shut down in recent
months, including a television station, five serials and
some 20 radio stations.

On July 6, the prime minister and cabinet decided to

renew the Emergency Decree in 19 provinces, including
Bangkok, for a further 90 days.

"The state of emergency has been extended even

though there are no more conditions in Thailand to
warrant it, in clear violation of international law," AHRC
director Fernando said.

"Obviously, the purpose of the continued use of this

emergency law is nothing other than to repress
government opponents from outside of a rule-of-law
framework," he added.

"The consequences will be very bad for Thailand, as

there will only be an increase in legitimate anger at the
unelected government and a further decline in
legitimacy for the country's key institutions, including
its courts," he noted.

Full text of the Prachatai announcement follows.

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THAILAND: Web board shutdown indicates shut down of free speech 09.07.10 17:46

Announcement of Prachatai on closure of

webboard

Prachatai webboard to be closed at end of July

Thu, 08/07/2010 - 12:36

Chiranuch Premchaiporn has informed readers that the

Prachatai webboard will be closed on 31 July. The
announcement should have been made a month
earlier, but she has been too speechless, she says. She
apologizes to readers.

The Prachatai webboard was created when the

Prachatai website first began, and was meant to be a
space for free discussion.

Back when there was no yellow vs. red scene, it was a

small forum for those who either liked or hated
Thaksin, or supported the PAD, but not its Section 7
proposal. As moderator, she also communicated with
members in a bid to make the space open for all
voices, and received both flowers and brickbats in the
process. The discussions in the forum went on with no
hiccups, up until the coup on 19 Sept 2006.

Due to the very limited and restricted space available

for those who were against the coup and liked Thaksin,
the Prachatai webboard, which holds firm its belief in
the freedom of expression, was greatly expanded, to
the point that the Prachatai team has had to make this
decision.

The Prachatai webboard, whose URL had to be changed

from www.prachataiwebboard.com to
www.prachataiboard1.info due to government blocking,
has been truly shaped by the hands of the posters.

However, during this time when rights and freedoms

are under serious threat, legal troubles have arisen
which have to be fought through the judicial process.
Posters of comments have been incessantly arrested,
some reported and some not.

The media and posters alike face the threat of sweeping

accusations that they are a ‘threat to national security’
through the use of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act, the
Emergency Decree and Section 112 of the Criminal
Code.

The tracking and hunting down of people who post

comments in the webboard seems to be no problem at
all for the authorities who do not even have to obtain

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THAILAND: Web board shutdown indicates shut down of free speech 09.07.10 17:46

any information from Prachatai.

With limited protection and no guarantee of safety for

anyone who uses the webboard, the Prachatai team has
to come to this conclusion.

###

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is

a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring
and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong
Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Posted on 2010-07-08
Back to [2010 AHRC Press Releases]

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