Try To Be Silenced, The Thai Mass Media Insist On Guarding The Monarchical Reform Demonstrations

Monaric reform demonstration in Thailand (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - The big demonstration in Bangkok, Thailand, is entering its sixth day. The government continues to strive to prevent the expansion of the action. One way this is done is to suppress the mass media.

Reuters launch, Monday, October 19, police have issued an order an investigation against four news agency. The order was issued based on the Emergency Decree to cease protests which was issued last week.

The investigation order sparked outrage in the mass media. They called what Thai authorities were doing under Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha as an attack on press freedom.

The investigation not only targeted news content, but also the demonstrators' group Facebook pages, based on police documents dated October 16, 2020. Prachatai, an independent media outlet that is one of the targets of the investigation said that he will not lose to government intervention.

"It is an honor for us to report accurate information about human rights and political developments in Thailand. We will try our best to continue to do so," wrote Prachathai English, in a post on Twitter, Monday, October 19.

From the government side, National Police spokesperson Kissana Phathanacharoen told a press conference that police "received information from the intelligence unit that distorted content and information had been used and disseminated, causing confusion and triggering public unrest."

Kissana also said what the government is doing is not curbing press freedom. He said broadcasting authorities, together with Thailand's Digital Ministry, would only carry out investigations and "take appropriate action."

The Digital Ministry itself announced that it had asked the court to remove content from the four media and Facebook pages supporting the demonstration. He explained that there were at least more than 300 thousand content deemed to have violated Thai law.

Regarding demonstrations, the masses have not disbanded even though the government has issued a ban on all forms of mass association activities. In essence, their demands are still the same, namely the reform of the monarchy and the resignation of Prayuth Chan-ocha who was elected in 2019.