Bangkok - Thailand's military-backed government has
undermined free political debate with its recent crackdown on cyber
critics, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
Since the September 19, 2006 military coup that ousted former
premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai authorities have launched a
censorship campaign of the internet that has blocked half a dozen
websites deemed critical of the current government, said the human
rights groups in a statement out of New York.
'A major complaint about Thaksin was his muzzling of the media and
willingness to limit free speech,' said Brad Adams, Asia director at
Human Rights Watch. 'The military-backed government promised a quick
return to democracy, but it's now attacking freedom of expression and
political pluralism in ways that Thaksin never dared.'
Censorship of the internet is now being carried out by the
Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT) and the
Royal Thai Police, in collaboration with the Communications Authority
of Thailand (CAT) and the Telecommunication Authority (TOT), which
provide Thailand's international internet gateways.
Since the coup, the government has blocked at least five websites
on charges of threatening national security, disrupting public order,
or being obscene, including the September 19 Network (www.19sep.net
and www.19sep.org), the pro-Thaksin PTV television (www.ptvthai.com),
the online broadcast of Saturday Voice (www.saturdaylive.org and
saturdayvoice.no-ip.info) and the online broadcast of FM 87.75 Taxi
Community Radio (www.shinawatradio.com).
While these websites can still be accessed from abroad, local
internet surfers in Thailand will get an 'Access Denied' message, and
the MICT's logo saying that access to such websites has been blocked
due to 'inappropriate content.'
'The ministry has requested Google Thailand (www.google.co.th) and
Google.com to block access to its cached web pages in Thailand by
which blocked pages can be accessed, as well as to block by keyword
search,' added HRW.
The group did not mention Thailand's recent blockage of Google's
YouTube.com website after it aired clips that ridiculed Thai King
Bhumibol Adulyadej, the country's revered monarch who turns 80 this
year.
The site was blocked under the country's lese majeste law that
makes any criticism of the royal family a crime.
Thailand, under the current government, has also drafted a law to
criminalize the generation, possession, storage, dissemination of and
access to prohibited information on the internet and a Bill on
Computer-Related Offenses that empowers the MICT minister to
intercept and seize computer data, and seek court warrants to block
the dissemination of information on the internet if such information
is considered as a threat to national security.
The two laws, which have yet to be passed, include stiff penalties
such as a maximum of five-years imprisonment and fines up to 100,000
baht (2,700 dollar).
'Freedom of expression, including offering opinions on the
internet, is an essential basis of any functioning democracy,' said
Adams. 'Blocking critical websites resembles the behaviour of China
and Vietnam. Is this the company that Thailand's leaders want to
keep?'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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