
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Manchester, north-west England (AFP)
This is a prominent example of how the press is heavily, if not entirely, controlled by its government in East Asia.
The Times online today published an article reporting about the former Thai prime minister being under jail threat for calling for a reform of institutions and for speaking of “information unflattering to the monarchy.”
In the interview with the Times, Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted Thai PM, said: “Thailand needs to have a monarchy but it should not be abused or played by the palace circles.”
The Thai government took his words as offensive.
“I would like to say that Thaksin’s interview violates the monarchy, which is the country’s main institution,” Kasit Piromya, Thailand’s foreign minister, said to reporters in Bangkok.
“I wonder what the hidden agenda was that caused him to make this inappropriate move. In his interview there are several parts referring to His Majesty the King, the Crown Prince and the monarchy, and [they] also refer to His Majesty’s role in politics.”
He said that the country’s justice ministry would consider whether to charge Mr Thaksin with lèse majesté, on top of the two-year prison sentence imposed upon him in absentia for a corrupt land deal transacted during his five years as prime minister.
According to the Times, Mr Thaksin reacted in defence followed an uproar in Thailand by issuing a statement saying that The Times’s report was “distorted” and “untrue”.
However, the Times claimed that “the text of the interview, posted on Times Online, matches the recording of the conversation and was transcribed by a press representative of Mr Thaksin.”
Have your own thoughts on Mr Thaksin’s answers and comments in the full interview transcript.
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
::
:: 
Olympic Games: catalyst of press freedom violations
4 12 2009Fireworks over the National Stadium in the opening ceremony at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Photograph: Tim Wimborne/ Reuters
And it is without a doubt that the press’s role is crucial when it comes to the success of an Olympic Games.
Last year, even though the Chinese government put an admirable effort in the Olympics, they nevertheless received criticisms for the restrictions on the press. The Chinese authorities went back on their promise that “there will be no restrictions on journalists reporting on the Olympic Games” in 2001.
James Doran’s report on the Guardian, “Beijing lays down the law for army of global media”, gave an overview account of how the foreign media was treated during the game, saying: “China has tried to give the impression that it has relaxed many of its despotic media restrictions for the Olympics… but little has changed.”
But this time the headline did not come from a one-party state country. It was a scandal which sparked a debate over the freedom of expression in Vancouver, Canada -
the host of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, as well as the 5th ranking country in America area in the Freedom of the Press report in 2009.
Amy Goodman interviewed on CBC News. Photograph: CBC
Goodman described in her column on rabble.ca how she was treated by the border guards, who questioned her over the content of her speech, and whether she would be talking about the Vancouver Olympic Games. She commented that her detention and interrogation were “not only a violation of freedom of the press but also a violation of the public’s right to know.”
She said:
The incident has brought the issues of press freedom in Canada as the Olympics draws closer into the spotlight. Many have commented that this is an “embarrassment” for the free press status in the country. But similar to the example from the Beijing Olympics, the Canada government would try to shine the public away from anything that could damage the good image in which they spend a lot of money to promote.
Sports journalist Dave Zirin wrote on the Huffington Post :
Will the 2012 Olympic Games in London lead to any speculation regarding press freedom? It is still early to say. However, it is almost certain that the job of journalists are made harder as the Games become increasingly important to a nation’s status.
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: 2010 Vancouver, Amy Goodman, Beijing, border control, Canada, censorship, media, Olympics, press, press freedom, restricted press
Categories : Commentary, News