World News: Thai Groups Denounce Website Censorship --- Government Blocks Thousands of Pages Following Clashes

Patrick Barta.  "World News: Thai Groups Denounce Website Censorship --- Government Blocks Thousands of Pages Following Clashes. " Wall Street Journal  18  Aug. 2010, Eastern edition: Wall Street Journal, ProQuest. Web.  12 Oct. 2010.

This article talks about how Thailand has censored and restricted thousands of web pages that criticize Thailand's government. Many citizens of Thailand believe that the country's censorship has reached an unprecedented level.  

BANGKOK -- Criticism over Thailand's efforts to curb political debate online is mounting as the government restricts thousands of websites following deadly protest clashes earlier this year.

Thai authorities say they have blocked at least 40,000 Web pages this year, according to the government's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, which monitors the Internet. Free-speech activists say authorities are blocking at least 110,000 sites, based on government disclosures and spot checks online.

Many of the sites feature criticism of the government or debates about Thailand's revered monarchy, a taboo subject here. As a result, some advocates say Thailand -- long seen as a relative haven of free speech in Asia -- is becoming one of the least-free states in a region that includes China and Myanmar, when it comes to discourse online.

Censorship of the media has reached "an unprecedented level" in Thailand, says Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thailand expert at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

He says his research, which includes discussions with government officials, supports the 110,000 figure for blocked sites. "The government has been using this partly to defend national security but also to protect its own regime," he says.

Human Rights Watch has called Thailand's censorship a "broad-brush clampdown" that "violated Thailand's obligations to respect media freedom and freedom of expression."

Thai officials say the country remains open to public debate and that the curbs are in place to prevent antigovernment groups from inciting violence or threatening the nation's stability.

Political analysts note that previous administrations -- including one supported by Thailand's current crop of antigovernment protesters -- moved to clamp down on the media.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal this month that protesters have their voices heard. "You might be under the impression that somehow the opposition is not getting any space in the media," but the views of antigovernment groups figure prominently in local news reports, he said.

The Internet restrictions are generating new controversy in a country that is only starting to stabilize after clashes between antigovernment protesters and authorities left 91 people dead in April and May. Several multinationals, including Ford Motor Co., have recently announced plans to expand Thai operations.

The government imposed a state of emergency in April that gave it expanded powers, including the ability to block sites quickly. A 2007 Computer Crimes Act imposes penalties for illegal activities online; it was also designed to target fraud. Thai authorities also rely on a strict lse-majest rule that limits discussion of the royal family. Authorities recently expanded a team tracking inappropriate discussion of the monarchy.

Mr. Abhisit says Thailand needs a period of stability before new elections can be held -- a sentiment endorsed by many Bangkokians who view some protesters as terrorists. Several small bombs have exploded in the capital, and the government maintains a state of emergency in Bangkok and other areas.

The demonstrations were led by so-called Red Shirt protesters who say Mr. Abhisit's government is illegitimate because it didn't spring from fresh national elections. Mr. Abhisit became prime minister in a 2008 parliamentary vote with backing from military and royalist groups after rival protesters took over Thailand's main airport, triggering the collapse of a Red Shirt-allied administration.

The government accuses Red Shirt leaders of wanting to dismantle the monarchy, whose official powers are largely ceremonial but which has wielded significant influence over the years, at times helping to mediate political squabbles. Red Shirt leaders deny antiroyal schemes.

Free-speech advocates contend the government is exaggerating threats as an excuse to shut down sites critical of the government. They cite one prominent site called Prachatai that describes itself as an "independent" news source and has included links to articles and reports from other sources questioning government policy.

Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the site's director, says Prachatai is exposing readers to "voices that people can't get from the mainstream media" and that it tries to include views on all sides.

The site was blocked in April, but staff have switched domain names multiple times and taken other steps to keep it operational. "I think they are afraid" of open debate online, Ms. Chiranuch says of the government.

Efforts to get government comment on the case were unsuccessful.

In his interview, Mr. Abhisit said authorities were "mindful" that "there could be abuses" in deciding which sites to block. But the gradual removal of emergency powers should help ease those concerns, he added.

Credit: By Patrick Barta