Jatuporn fights back as junta makes NBTC shut red TV station
JATUPORN PROMPHAN, a co-leader of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, insisted yesterday that there was no reason for the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commis-sion (NBTC) to close down the movement's Peace TV, sa
The military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) had accused the satellite TV station of inciting unrest and had the NBTC stop it from broadcasting.
Jatuporn, who hosts shows on the channel, expressed his dissatisfaction over the matter on Facebook, saying the broadcaster had done nothing wrong.
He added that shutting down the channel would affect the reconciliation process.
He said he wanted the group monitoring the red-shirt movement to be straightforward, adding that he was ready to discuss matters with them directly.
“Tell me where you want to meet. I’m not begging for [Peace TV] to continue, but I want to preserve the [reconciliatory] atmosphere in society,” he said, adding that closing |down the channel would affect |the morale if several people.
As for the country’s politics, Jatuporn said he wanted Thailand to move forward and urged the general public to exercise restraint so as to avoid tension and conflict.
“Many issues are affecting people. I always say that when you watch a film, you need to watch it until the very end” to determine who is the protagonist or villain, Jatuporn said.
He also said the red shirts had been calm and peaceful since the military took over.
“We have tried our best to find a peaceful solution for the country. I don’t know why they put so much pressure on us. What have we done?”
The charismatic red-shirt leader said he would encourage people with differing political opinions, including those appointed by the military regime and members of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, to air their views on Peace TV.
Meanwhile, another host at Peace TV, who asked not to be named, told The Nation yesterday that the NCPO was closely monitoring content aired by the station and it had problems with some programmes it believed violated a memorandum of understanding between the station and the junta.
“We want to see the country at peace, but we also have to maintain our principles,” the source said, sounding rather upset.
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