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THAILAND: Police raid community radio station and confiscate equipment

October 17, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-231-2008

17 October 2008
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THAILAND: Police raid community radio station and confiscate equipment

ISSUES: Freedom of speech; censorship
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed by the Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR), Thailand that another community radio station has been raided and had its equipment taken without warning or explanation, other than that it was allegedly operating without a permit. The matter is currently with the public prosecutor.

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information available to the AHRC, on 22 July 2008 a group of police and government officials raided the community radio station at Sai Yok Noi in Kanchanaburi, west of Bangkok, and seized a variety of equipment. They accused the radio station operator of running the station without a permit under a newly-introduced law. When the staff protested that they were broadcasting legally, they were taken to the police station for inquiries. The matter is now with the public prosecutor, who on October 22 will meet with the accused operator and inform of what charges if any will be laid.

The raid has disturbed the station operator, as the radio station was not broadcasting anything illegal or provocative, and was operating under the terms of the existing regime for community broadcasters in Thailand.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Following the abrogated 1997 Constitution of Thailand there was a flourishing of community radio stations in Thailand, which had previously been restricted. However, under the former government of Thaksin Shinawatra various attempts were taken to obstruct the progress of these stations, including closures and prosecutions on various pretexts, such as that the stations did not have permits to operate even though a regulator had not been established for that purpose. See for instance the conviction of Sathien Janthorn in February 2006, which was spurred by his airing allegations of corruption against provincial officials (AHRC UP-024-2006). Under the military regime that took power in September 2006 also there were further arbitrary restrictions imposed and warnings issued against local stations.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the following persons to ask that the inquiries against the radio station be dropped, that its equipment be returned to it and that it be entitled to broadcast without further interruption.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the regional human rights office for Southeast Asia, calling for interventions into this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

THAILAND: Unfair closure of community radio station and investigation into operator

Name of accused: Wasant Panruang, 60, Chairman, Sai Yok Noi Community Radio Station, Tha Sao Sub-district, Sai Yok District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand
Officials concerned:
1. Pol. Lt. Col. Chaowalit Intharakornudom, Sai Yok Sub-district Police Station
2. Pol. Snr. Sgt. Mjr. Somsak Panyathikawat, Sai Yok Sub-district Police Station
3. Pol. Snr. Sgt. Mjr. Vichan Noonurat, Sai Yok Sub-district Police Station
4. Pol. Snr. Sgt. Mjr. Cheera Kongwong, Sai Yok Sub-district Police Station
5. Pol. Sgt. Charoon Pumthong, Sai Yok Sub-district Police Station
6. Phongsak Sapayakom, National Telecommunications Commission
7. Peerapong Pobpumsuk, National Telecommunications Commission
8. Col. Sommad Samranrat, National Telecommunications Commission
9. Charanwong Kaewsaikum, National Telecommunications Commission
10. Wattana Sinthorn, National Telecommunications Commission
Date of incident: 22 July 2008, around 11:15am
Place of incident: Sai Yok Noi Community Radio Station
Items confiscated: Broadcast radio unit set at frequency of 99.750 MHz, mixer, DVD player, radio receiver, VCD player, microphone and cords, antenna and cords

I am writing to protest the raid and closure of the Sai Yok Noi Community Radio Station in Kanchanaburi Province of Thailand, and to call for the radio station operator to be allowed to resume broadcasting and not face any criminal actions. 

According to the information that I have received, on 22 July 2008 the above ten officials entered the station and confiscated the items listed above on the ground that the radio station was operating without a permit under the new Broadcasting and Public Media Act BE 2551 (2008), together with the Radio Communications Act BE 2498 (1955). The matter is now pending with the public prosecutor.

I am confused by the raid on these premises as I am aware that the radio station was operating in accordance with the Frequency Allocation and Broadcasting of Radio, Television and Telecommunications Act BE 2543 (2000), which allocated not less than 20 per cent of public broadcast time to community groups (section 26), and the Cabinet order of 16 July 2002, which committed the government to protecting the right of community radio stations to broadcast freely. Furthermore, the raid and confiscating of this equipment occurred even though the National Telecommunications Commission has the authority to grant temporary permits under the new Broadcasting Operation Act 2008 which has been in force only since this March.

I am aware that in recent years there have been deliberate attempts to create confusion and uncertainty about the status of laws and institutions for the regulating of public broadcasters in Thailand so that these can be used for political and financial objectives rather than for objective legal purposes. Such confusion has led to needless persecution and convictions of persons like Mr. Wasant who merely believed that they would be doing their society a service by running a local radio station.

I urge that this not be allowed in this case and that the inquiries into the Sai Yok Noi Community Radio Station be closed and the station have its equipment returned and be allowed to reestablish and continue with broadcasting as before. I also take this opportunity to call, at this critical time in Thailand’s history, for freedom of expression through the media to be strongly upheld and protected.

I look forward to your intervention.

Yours sincerely
_____

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Chaikasem Nitisiri
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Lukmuang Building
Nahuppei Road
Prabraromrachawang, Pranakorn
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224 1563/ 222 8121-30
Fax: +662 224 0162/ 1448/ 221 0858
E-mail: ag@ago.go.th or oag@ago.go.th

2. Somsak Kiatsuranont
Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor Software Park Building,
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884
Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223
E-mail: om@moj.go.th

3. Pol. Gen. Kowit Wattana
Minister of Interior
Office of the Ministry of Interior
Atsadang Road, Ratchabophit
Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200THAILAND
Fax: +662 226 4371/ 222 8866
Tel: +662 224 6320/ 6341
E-mail: om@moj.go.th 

4. Somchai Wongsawat
Prime Minister
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +662 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th

5. Pol. Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwan
Commissioner-General
Royal Thai Police
1st Bldg, 7th Floor
Rama I, Patumwan
Bkk 10330
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 251 5956/ 205 3738/ 255 1975-8
E-mail: feedback@police.go.th

6. Suranan Wongvithayakamjorn
Secretary General
National Telecommunications Commission
87 Phaholyotin Rd, Soi 8
Phayatai, Bkk 10400
THAILAND
Tel: +662 271 3511
Fax: +662 290 5240
E-mail: prnews@ntc.or.th

7. Prof. Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathum Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Fax: +66 2 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.or.th or saneh@nhrc.or.th 

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-231-2008
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.