The military regime should realise that it’s against the authorities' own benefit to be seen as trying to curb media freedom.
The spotlight this week falls on a complaint by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) against a news report by the public-service channel Thai PBS.
The report in question is a four-minute account of the anti-coup group of students that calls itself the New Democracy Movement.
The report, broadcast on June 25, tells of their activities and features an interview with two lecturers on what the movement means under the present circumstances.
Last Monday, Lt-Gen Peerapong Manakit, chairman of a National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission subcommittee overseeing broadcasting content, asked for a meeting with representatives of Thai PBS after receiving a complaint against the programme from the NCPO’s media monitoring team.
The NCPO said the news programme could cause confusion and misunderstanding among the public while opening up rifts in society.
Thai PBS told the subcommittee it was only doing its duty as a public service medium in publicising news and information to foster a democratic society.
According to news reports, the NBTC subcommittee will place the military’s complaint before a weekly board meeting of its five commissioners on Monday.
The panel might suggest that Thai PBS be issued a warning letter or face a fine under broadcasting regulations.
The NBTC subcommittee’s stance is worrying.
Under the commission’s own broadcasting master plan, it has a duty to promote "the public’s right and liberty to communicate and gain access to diverse and quality information".
NBTC commissioner for consumer rights Supinya Klangnarong was correct when she wrote on her Facebook page on Wednesday that the NBTC should serve as a pillar of media freedom.
The commission should not curb free speech in the name of national security, she said.
She said the spirit behind setting up the NBTC, an independent organisation, is to regulate the media so it can be free from political influence.
She said public rights and freedom have been considerably curtailed under the present circumstances. To restrain them further will backfire on the NBTC, the government and society itself.
The other commissioners should pay attention to Ms Supinya’s words when they make their decisions about the Thai PBS case on Monday.
Another troubling development on the media front is a visit by military officers to the office of the Prachatai news website on Thursday.
The online news outlet, one among few that has consistently reported on the anti-coup student protests, reported that three military officers inquired about the website’s activities.
Although the soldiers did not enter the news outlet’s office and were content with making an observation from outside, they took photos of the office and the website’s staff.
The NCPO may insist the media visit is legitimate under its media-control order, but the act can easily be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate the press in the current atmosphere after 14 students were arrested and sent to prison pending a military court trial for taking part in peaceful protests against the coup.
The NCPO will gain nothing but condemnation if it keeps hounding the media, either in an overt manner as in the Thai PBS case or quietly as in the visit to Prachatai. It is best for the military leaders to put a stop to the practice.