Thailand: Media Reform Seen As Vital

6 May 2010

Media reform is crucial to reuniting the country, but finding ways to prevent it being exploited and reigniting conflicts remains the most difficult problem, commentators say.

Somkiat Tangkitvanich, vice president of the Thailand Development Research Institute, said the media was a powerful tool in creating conflicts. But it could also be crucial to national reconciliation.

At the latest meeting of a special joint parliamentary committee overseeing the draft bill on allocating broadcast frequencies yesterday, Mr Somkiat said whatever form the media reforms take, it was important that every media outlet be included in drawing up plans.

This would help find ways to prevent them from being exploited to spread disinformation that provokes political or social turmoil.

Mr Somkiat, the committee secretary, acknowledged reform would be difficult, especially when it involved private broadcasters like the banned anti-government People's Television satellite channel and the anti-Thaksin Shinawatra ASTV.

Bangkok Senator Rosana Tosikrakul, a committee member, said it was crucial to reform both public and private media, but there would be great difficulty in content screening without violating media freedom. Then there was the question of who would take that role.

"In some countries such as Rwanda, [uncontrolled] community radio stations were blamed for being used to instigate ethnic cleansing," she said.

"Of course we're against media censorship, but the truth is the media have a very substantial power that should be accompanied by a great [sense of] responsibility."

Apart from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, the country would also need mechanisms to balance the power of the media, Ms Rosana said.

According to the broadcast frequencies draft bill, the NBTC would deal only with content that posed a threat to national security or was pornographic, Mr Somkiat said.

Other matters such as media ethics would be handled by professional media bodies including the Press Council of Thailand, he said.

The NBTC will be set up after the draft bill is approved by the parliament. It is waiting on senate approval.

Ms Rosana doubted if the mechanisms stated in the draft bill would be adequate to keep pace with the fast and continous development of mass media technology.

Source: Bangkok Post