Thailand suspends TV station over protests coverage
A Thai court on Tuesday ordered the suspension of an online TV station critical of the government, which includes accused it of violating emergency measures targeted at ending 90 days of protests. Voice TV had also been found to have breached the Computer Crime Act by uploading "false information," digital ministry spokesman Putchapong Nodthaisong told reporters.
Thailand has drawn criticism from rights groups for banning demonstrations and the publication of news viewed as damaging by the government as it tries to end the protests against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha and the powerful monarchy. Rittikorn Mahakhachabhorn, Editor-in-Chief of Voice TV, said it could continue broadcasting before court order arrived. "We insist that people have been operating predicated on journalistic principles and we will continue our work presently," he said. Thailand said on Monday that three other media organizations are under investigation.
Voice TV is owned partly by the Shinawatra category of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck, who was overthrown by Prayuth in a 2014 coup. Both fled Thailand to flee corruption cases they branded political. Street protests since mid-July are the biggest challenge in decades to the monarchy under King Maha Vajiralongkorn and to Prayuth.
The demonstrations have been largely led by youths and students in contrast with ten years of street violence between supporters of Thaksin and conservative royalists before Prayuth seized power. Protests have only gained momentum because the government announced a ban last Thursday and arrested a large number of protesters, including a lot of the main leaders. A lawyer for just two of these, Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak and Panusaya "Rung" Sithijirawattanakul said they might be arrested again on Tuesday as soon as they had been freed on bail granted by a court over earlier charges linked to the protests.
Their Prime Minister Prayuth has said he'll not quit when confronted with the protests. His cabinet decided on Tuesday to hold a crisis session of parliament next week about the crisis. Prayuth's supporters hold many in the parliament, whose upper house was named totally by his former junta.
