New draft law spells doom for press freedom, media group says
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The Media Reform Working Group yesterday called on the National Reform Council (NRC) to review the draft law on press-freedom protection, saying the proposed law would place the media completely under state control instead of promoting reform.
The working group is comprised of representatives from four professional media organisations, namely the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), the National Press Council of Thailand, the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand.
The NRC on Monday endorsed the report on media reform prepared by its media and information technology reform committee with a majority vote. The report proposed a new draft law aimed at protecting press freedom, while promoting ethics and media standards by setting up a professional media council to promote self-regulation within the media.
However, this council’s structure, work procedures as well as the source of its finances have been heavily criticised from the very start.
“Many points in the draft law raised by a minority in the NRC were justified. They helped reflect some facts that we should be concerned about,” the group said.
The group also claimed that making the state and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) the main sources of financing for this council could place media under state control. Also, forcing members of media to register and get professional certification would give the council the right to exercise excessive control. Besides, the group said, there were no clear work procedures for the council in place to help ensure transparency and accountability.
Another point of contention is that the new law would make media operators and their staff wholly responsible for violations, which the group said is far too strict.
The group also pointed out that the council would be formed in the same way as a bureaucratic organisation, which will not be transparent or accountable. This could cause the media to lose its independence.
“In other words, the media’s self-regulation ability, which has been evolving over the last two decades, would go backwards,” the group said. “The NRC’s endorsement of this draft law would mean the media will be under complete state control. If the government has ill intentions, then the media will come under its power completely – something that has never happened before and can be very dangerous for society.”
The group said media reform was a sensitive subject and needed thorough consideration. Hence, the NRC should not rush to meet its deadline, but should be open to recommendations and review all flaws.
The group said media reform must be based on reality and social changes as well as the history of media development.
