Thailand: ‘Red Shirt’ Radio Raided

8 June 2010

A joint task force made up of 300 officers yesterday raided a red shirt community radio station in Chiang Mai.

The 300 police, soldiers and civilian officers raided the community radio sta tion run by the Rak Chiang Mai 51 Group at the Waroros Grand Palace Hotel in Muang district.

The task force was led by Chiang Mai police chief Yutthachai Phuaprasert and Col Suepsakul Buarawong of the Kawila army camp. They seized broadcasting equipment and removed the station's 30-metre transmission mast.

A group of 20 red shirt supporters gathered at the station during the raid to express their anger, but no clashes took place between the task force and the red shirts.

A police officer told the red shirts that the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation had ordered the task force to seize broadcasting devices and remove the signal masts of radio stations that air content interpreted as instigating violence.

The officer said the task force earlier ordered the closure of 89.0 MHz ''Wihok Radio'', operated by the yellow shirts, the red shirts' rival, and the 105.5 MHz radio station run by the red shirt Nok Seri (Free Bird).

The task force also plans to seize the broadcasting equipment of three other red shirt radio stations in Chiang Mai.

Source: Bangkok Post