Thai Newspaper Gets Police Warning

By: Matthew Pennington, Associated Press Writer (AP) A Thai publisher condemned as dictatorial a warning from police his newspaper received after it printed a foreign news agency report deemed critical of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Chakrit Permpoon, the publisher of the Thai business daily Krungthep Turakij, said Tuesday that the action was unconstitutional and called the warning letter "toilet paper."

"Such a warning should come only from a government that gets power from a system of dictatorship," Chakrit said. "We will not take any action regarding the warning letter since there is no law to back up the warning."

The warning was sent Monday four days after the newspaper published a Reuters report that seven of the Constitutional Court's 15 judges had said that Thaksin was likely to be banned from politics for 16 months if the court found him guilty of concealing assets. The court acquitted Thaksin 8-7 on Friday.

The letter from Maj. Gen. Treethos Ronritthiwichai, commander of the special branch police subdivision 2, called the daily's decision to publish the report "irresponsible" and said it could have affected international confidence in Thaksin.

"Such a report could also create disorder in the nation which breaches a clause in 1941 printing act," he said. The special branch handles matters such as politics, foreigners and the media.

Chakrit, the publisher, said the 1941 printing law had been superseded by a 1997 constitution that guarantees the rights of a free and independent media.

The warning came amid growing concern from journalists and the opposition that the government is stifling dissent in the Thai media, one of the freest in Southeast Asia. The opposition Democrat Party has criticized Thaksin for not giving them equal say in the state media.

The party has filed a complaint with the state ombudsman charging that programs not considered "government friendly" have been pulled from state Radio Thailand, said party deputy leader Abhisit Vejjajiva. "It's a significant step backward because people had earlier fought for and expected a neutral state media," he said.

Most radio stations and all but one of Thailand's six broadcast television channels are state-owned. The lone private television station, ITV, is partially owned by Shin Corp., a holding company controlled by Thaksin's family. The company has been accused of editorial interference in the station's news coverage.

On Monday, government spokesman Yongyuth Tiyapairat announced that journalists must henceforth make formal appointments to speak to government ministers, including Thaksin, and that their interviews would be taped to ensure the accuracy of reports.

Thaksin was reportedly annoyed when newspapers published comments he made over the weekend complaining that the government's anti-corruption body had sought his ouster despite the overwhelming mandate his party received in a January general election.