(SEAPA/IFEX) – On 7 March 2007, the military-installed government reversed its earlier decision to suspend broadcast of Thailand’s sole private station, which was declared bankrupt and due to be taken over by the state, allowing it to continue on-air pending legal settlement of the takeover and liquidation of the station’s assets. Bowing to mounting public […]
(SEAPA/IFEX) – On 7 March 2007, the military-installed government reversed its earlier decision to suspend broadcast of Thailand’s sole private station, which was declared bankrupt and due to be taken over by the state, allowing it to continue on-air pending legal settlement of the takeover and liquidation of the station’s assets.
Bowing to mounting public pressure orchestrated by a defiant iTV following the government’s 6 March suspension of its broadcast for failing to pay licence fees, Premier Gen Surayuth Chulanont instructed the Prime Minister’s Office, which awarded iTV its concession, not to take the station off-air while it is going through an ownership transition and to let the state Public Relations Department (PRD) run it meanwhile.
The reversal of the decision came on the same day as the urgent ruling of the Council of State, an advisory body to the government on legal matters, suggested that the PRD takeover of the station does not contravene the current law regulating the airwaves and is thus legal.
SEAPA welcomes the decision to allow iTV’s continued operation, in the interest of the public, whose right to information should be safeguarded. Beyond upholding the rule of law that is essential to settle the fate of this long-embattled station once and for all, the government should act with reasonableness and observe due process to ensure that the public interest is not undermined.
SEAPA also urges the government to quickly restore the status of the station back to its original intent as a free and independent television by calling for a transparent and fair bidding process for the station’s new operator.
Former senator Jon Ungpakorn, one of the leading advocates of public broadcast television, cautioned that the temporary state takeover would not provide a lasting solution to settle the question of the station’s status.
In an interview with iTV on 7 March, Jon said he neither advocated the closure of iTV nor the temporary takeover of the station by the PRD. “To me, it means nothing if the station is allowed to continue on air but remains under state control,” he said.
He suggested an independent body be set up to manage iTV before its future ownership is to be decided.
BACKGROUND:
ITV once prided itself as Thailand’s independent and professional news station, but later descended into the ignominious position of a government mouthpiece under former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. When Thaksin assumed office in 2001, Shin Corp, the country’s giant telecom operator – then owned by his family, but now under Singapore’s state-owned Temasek following a controversial deal – bought a majority 53 percent stake of iTV.
Thaksin had sought a court ruling to waive iTV’s concession fee and allow it to increase its entertainment content at the expense of news values.
In May 2006, a court retracted iTV’s benefits enjoyed under Thaksin’s rule, and ordered the station to pay the concession fees and accumulated fines by 6 March.
On 27 February 2007, the cabinet decided to sue iTV for bankruptcy should it fail to pay concession fees and accumulated fines and interest worth over 100 billion baht (approx. US$2.9 billion) by 6 March. The cabinet also warned that failure to do so would lead to a government takeover.
On 6 March, the government decided to put the station off-air pending the legal interpretation by the Council of the State on the takeover of the station. The temporary blackout was supposed to have been imposed at 12:00 a.m. (local time) on 7 March when iTV’s 30-year operating licence was due to be terminated. However, the station defied the order and continued broadcasting the next day, featuring programmes supporting its case and cause, until the government announced its change of heart and gave official assurance for its continued broadcast.
iTV is also seeking temporary protection of its status from the Administrative Court.
The station was perceived as being sympathetic to Thaksin, who was deposed by the military in a September 2006 coup.
