Thailand: 26 Community Radio Stations Shut Down

15 July 2010

Using the emergency decree, authorities have recently shut down 26 community-radio stations in nine provinces and pressured six others to discontinue their services.

As many as 84 community-radio stations have been blacklisted and their activities closely monitored in the latest round of political unrest. At least 35 people related to these media outlets - like radio hosts, station chiefs and executives - are already facing legal action for allegedly mobilising their listeners to the red-shirt rally in Bangkok, for broadcasting what was going on at the rally site and for distorting information.

"However, there are no clear details to substantiate these charges," Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR) secretary-general Suthep Wilailert said yesterday.

He was speaking at a seminar about the fate of community radio stations under the state of emergency.

CPMR organised the seminar under its Community Radio Watch project, which has received support from the Heinrich Boll Foundation.

Suthep said the authorities had in many cases threatened the community radio stations because sometimes up to 200 soldiers turned up in full force to seize their equipment.

SOURCE: THE NATION