Freedom of speech or not?
In the posting of April 22, this headline read: “Expats and travelers annoyed about 'new' immigration form. It is not yet known how the further course will be. It almost seems paranoid to want to know as much as possible about expats and travelers. But another target group is now also being scrutinized by “Big Brother”. Namely the foreign journalists who work in Thailand.
To obtain a visa for Thailand as a foreign journalist, the journalist's attitude and attitude towards the monarchy and the vision on political developments in Thailand are carefully examined. Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai called this a necessary measure to counter negative reporting about Thailand.
The government representatives are annoyed with the foreign correspondents, especially how they express themselves in the field of political developments and the role of the monarchy. Now, according to Jonathan Head, BBC's Bangkok correspondent, foreign journalists applying for a visa are first screened about their political affiliation and views on the monarchy.
Some journalists, who have been working in Thailand for many years, have recently been refused the M-visa (Medien-visa). They are advised to obtain a B visa (Business visa). The time frame is very short. The publication was on February 18 and the entry into force of this measure was already on March 21. If the visa had expired just before that date of entry into force, the journalist would still have three months to take measures. The protest submitted by the representatives of the foreign journalists was not heard by the government. These measures were very unclear and confusing, as were the criteria to be met in the future.
It is clear that this measure endangers freedom of expression. According to Don Pramudwinai, the government does not intend to restrict press freedom; Thailand is said to have the greatest freedom of the press in the region! However Nirmal Ghosh, President of Thailand's Foreign Correspondence Club expressed deep concern about the changing guidelines.
From: “Hello Magazine”
Name me one dictator who does NOT try to muzzle press freedom!
And the Thais already have so many problems with criticism. Their worldview is also very limited. Not surprising if you look at the time schedule of, for example, the Thai "journal": 30 minutes for: King, Royal House, Prime Minister, Government, Government Party, Bangkok, Greater Bangkok, the area around Bangkok, the rest of Thailand and .. 1-3 minutes the rest of the world.
Largest press freedom of the area: not such an art: Vietnam + Laos: communist dictatorship; Myanmar, Cambodia: personal dictatorship; Malaysia + Indonesia: Muslim-oriented “steering”
Coincidentally, the 2016 World Press Freedom Index has just been published. Thailand is at 136. The Netherlands at 2.
See rsf.org.
If foreign professional journalists are refused entry to a country, there is only formal freedom of the press for reporting by journalists of that one nationality. Such a restriction, well known to them and other citizens, does not endanger freedom of expression, but guarantees that it is de facto non-existent. Despite all the statements full of beautiful nonsense.
A general in power simply has a different view of the world than many other groups of people. Their performance also differs significantly as a result. You can agree or disapprove of this.
There are thousands of roads leading to Rome and this government's approach is one of them. You can criticize or embrace that. Whether this in turn is conducive to the economic climate, just say so, there will be different views on that too. As far as I am concerned, freedom of expression has gone too far with a group of people and will certainly not contribute to the construction of this country. In a world where you can go far with the right theater play, always wanting to assert one's own right is not always successful. People are and always will be different and you have to take that into account. The so-called democracy in option ma forma (the Western model) is an illusion, because it does not work as it should there either, and it is better to seek more understanding and cooperation in order to move on in life.
I notice, every time I visit Thailand, the enormous sadness among the downcast Thai population! The Thai are apparently seriously burdened by the total lack of freedom of expression.
The average Thai, Dutch, Belgian, etc. is much less concerned with politics than the press tends to conclude. When it comes to politics, unlike the Dutch, the Thai smiles… that shows anything but the back of their tongue.
There are also Thai people with more outspoken political views and I have rarely seen a smile from those I know for quite some time.
If foreign professional journalists are advised to apply for a business visa, not only can access reserved for journalists be denied on certain occasions: the government can even claim that a visa has been obtained under false pretenses as soon as a journalistic activity is committed. In that case, the illegally present person who was guilty of two offenses (false statement made in legal territory of the embassy + carrying out a type of activity for which no permit was granted) can therefore be convicted and imprisoned. Nice prospect and an almost absolute guarantee that such a foreign journalist will only report very kindly to the government, or stay away and help keep the country out of any real international interest.
Well, freedom of the press is usually part of a "democratic" unity.
Unfortunately, there is actually no real democracy anywhere in the world. We like to call it that, but in fact that democracy is not really present anywhere. America > president can only become president with a huge amount of money behind him. Why democracy.
The Netherlands > always a multi-party government. The result: nothing remains of election promises made. Referendum in the Netherlands: Rutte will take his time to find out what to do with it. Health costs in the Netherlands: all parties cheered because the basic premium could be reduced, but in the meantime the deductible was increased by large steps. I could go on and on, but it's too tiring. But don't go off on Thai society with regard to democracy. The Thai themselves know that there is something wrong with it. Prayut knows that too. But I think the man is extremely driven to help his country move forward and he is trying to reduce a number of abuses considerably. Such as eg corruption among civil servants and police. I can understand that he does not want to help too much interference from the press.
Unfortunately a worldwide phenomenon that is getting worse and closer when we think look at countries like Turkey, Russia not to mention the dictatorship in Belarus. And I see very few people taking action to change this 🙁
Turned into a scary country yes. When I am there I do not dare to make any statements about political matters. I dare not mention the name Shinawatra. I also don't dare to wear a red T-shirt anymore. Yellow is still allowed! When I find myself in an endless queue at Suvarnabhum(i) airport (queues for Thai nationals are hardly seen there) I wonder if I didn't post something wrong on some forum years ago! At passport control: Would you like to join us? Some contributors here should watch out! Use VPN! Especially if you post on English-language forums, you should definitely watch out gentlemen! (Ladies hardly publish here, if at all. There are also not that many who go into business with a Thai man. Yes, they go to bed with it, but they don't get married! We men are dumber. We kick in it!) Very unfortunate by the way! Another illusion broken! Once, when I first met my wife, I thought I had found a better world there. Now 15 years later: One experience richer, one illusion poorer! What have I started?