Press freedom: The Netherlands scores very well, Thailand very badly
In the world ranking of press freedom that the journalist organization Reporters sans Frontières publishes annually, the Netherlands scores very well at second place. Thailand, on the other hand, is doing very poorly and is ranked 130.
Freedom of the press is the freedom of the press, the fundamental right to make feelings and thoughts public or known. A democratic society can only function properly if the freedom of the press – as one of the most important conditions – is properly regulated.
Be free to express your opinion. Can say and write whatever you want. Knowing what is going on in your environment and in the world. In the Netherlands, we sometimes think that freedom of the press and freedom of expression is just as self-evident everywhere in the world as it is here. In fact, only 16 percent of the world's population lives in a country with a free press.
In Finland, journalists can go about their business undisturbed; the country is in first place when it comes to freedom of the press, followed by, as last year, the Netherlands and Norway.
Thailand
The countries that score the worst when it comes to press freedom are Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea. Unfortunately, Thailand also belongs to the rear and scores even worse than Afghanistan.
There is a long history of censorship in Thailand. Intimidation, manipulation and strict control of political news was common under the Thaksin government (2001-2006). This also applied to the period afterwards when the military junta deposed Thaksin after a coup. The government led by Abhisit (2008-2011) brought little improvement, censorship was also commonplace then. Thailand still has a long way to go when it comes to press freedom, one of the most important pillars of a democracy.
See here the complete list of journalists organization Reporters sans Frontière : en.rsf.org
I also like freedom of the press and a free democracy .
And the free right to speak, if only to express your opinion, even if you are not always right.
But that is part of it , that is why it is also a democracy .
Thailand is far away from a real democracy and is becoming increasingly lost in this regard. Too many examples to mention.
That is why this country is currently digging its own grave .
Political stability is hard to find , corruption is certainly easy to find .
Investors are running away, as we saw on TV today, as a large delegation of German businessmen visited Myanmar.
This says enough to me about the future of Thailand, including the warning from Toyota Management last week, with a view to further investments in Thailand.
But real freedom of the press certainly does not exist in Thailand, as long as I have lived here and the time before that.
Before you know it you end up in a cell, even if you write something via the internet. They intercept a message or email that does not suit them.
Before you know it you will be Persona non Grada , and then you may even consider yourself lucky .
Be careful about expressing your own opinions about certain people and certain issues.
At least if you want to enjoy a quiet retirement here.
Money also in your own living environment on Tambon and Tessabaan level, my Ega regularly pulls the handbrake with me.
And that's a good thing.
Old Dutch proverb to survive in Thailand without problems.
Speech is silver, silence is golden
Jan Beute.
Either I'm crazy or messages have been lost: around 1 o'clock someone had posted something about reporting from the NOS, I had also heard this on the radio and posted a link:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/394578/us-under-fire-in-global-press-freedom-report
This news has also reached the Thai media, so that is another plus. 😉 Strangely enough, BP does not mention Thailand's position in the ranking. Thailand is at 130:
1 Finnish
2 Netherlands
3 Norway
4 Luxembourg
5 Andorra
6 Liechtenstein
7Denmark
8Iceland
9 New Zealand
10 Sweden
11 Estonian
12 Austrian
13 Czech Republic
14 Germany
15 Switzerland
(...)
125 Guatemalan
126 Colombia
127 Ukraine
128 Afghanistan
129 Honduras
130 Thailand
131 Cameroon
132 Indonesian
133 Tunisia
134 Omani
135 Zimbabwe
136 Morocco
(...)
175 China
176 Somali
177 Syrian Arab Republic
178 Turkmenistan
179 Democratic People's Republic of Korea
180 Eritrean
Source: http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php