What the mainstream media won't report III
PPT posted on the Bangkok Post's selection of 5 under-reported stories in the mainstream media. We then listed 4 different but under-reported stories, and now list another 4 stories the mainstream media shied away from, deliberately downplayed or neglected for political reasons:
Lese majeste – we know that the law on lese majeste is so draconian, its implementation somewhat fickle, and its repressive weight overpowering, making reporting lese majeste stories difficult for all media. However, one of the ways that the mainstream media deals with lese majeste is to essentially ignore cases where people are charged and again when they are sentenced. Lese majeste stories tend to be brief and "neutral," reporting very little about controversy or anything about the legal proceedings. When the reports are not bland, they can essentially amount to attacks on the accused. Readers can look through our lists of the accused and the convicted and will find that it has really only been Prachatai taking an consistent interest in lese majeste stories and issues.
Huge support to the red shirts in Bangkok – for PPT, this was one of the really big stories that was deliberately downplayed by the mainstream media. PPT was made most aware of this when the massive red shirt caravan circumnavigated Bangkok. The day after that caravan back in March, PPT stated: "Given the huge government effort to discredit the red shirt caravan of 20 March 2010, it is difficult to know where to begin…. PPT must express incredulity regarding the mainstream media. To watch news readers saying again and again that 25,000 people participated is like watching Alice in Wonderland and 1984 in 3-D at the same time." In another post, we said: "The most noticeable thing … was the exuberant solidarity. All … were in a festive mood, with emotions running high, not in any negative way, but in a joyous way. This was … an opportunity to be heard … following the rejection of their votes…. PPT has never seen anything like this event anywhere. It was huge." And, we added: "Those who hate and fear the red shirts will not agree…. Where there was joy and exuberance, they'll see the hand of Thaksin. Already they are claiming that these people were paid. As PPT has been saying…, this now makes for dangerous times." In hindsight, PPT thinks that this huge demonstration of Bangkok-based support for the red shirts probably determined that the establishment had to crush them. Such shows of solidarity could not be allowed.
Military and government corruption – PPT has posted numerous times on corruption in the military and in the government. Yes, the mainstream media harps on corruption, but tends to blame politicians. And, yes, politicians are involved. But where are the investigative reports of absolutely obvious corruption in, say, the military? Our posts have had a fondness for the army's non-flying, probably totally useless zeppelin. Why is that these things get reported but there is no follow-up on the broader issues of corruption? This is yet another example of avoiding any attack on the institutions that run the country.
Forced repatriation – the under-reporting of the Abhisit Vejjajiva government's repeated forcible repatriation of border crossers is scandalous. This under-reporting is related to the fact that the military is always involved, and as noted above, criticism of it has to be muted because of its power and centrality. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of Rohinga, Hmong and Burmese have all been thrown out, forcibly in recent years, and inhumanely. Where's the outrage in the mainstream media?
That will do us. If readers have things they want us to add, email us with the details: thaipoliticalprisoners@gmail.com
Best wishes to our readers for the New Year.
What the mainstream media won't report II
In an earlier post, PPT reported on the Bangkok Post's selection of 5 under-reported stories in the mainstream media. Now what about the stories that really haven't been reported by the mainstream media. Here's our list, in no particular order, of stories the mainstream media shied away from, deliberately downplayed or neglected for political reasons:
Wikileaks ignored – PPT already posted on this, noting comments that Thailand has become a "secretive authoritarian society where censorship is the norm, where people are too afraid to speak publicly about certain issues and where paranoia about the state listening in is widespread, " and adding that Wikileaks news only got out "beyond the realm of the mainstream media, Thai Red News, a red-shirt mobile-phone SMS service" and so on, and they too were being careful to avoid the repression of the ever-threatening and draconian lese majeste laws. PPT has posted all of the Wikileaks cables about Thailand.
King's health and succession – a couple of days ago the Bangkok Postreported that when asked, 78.37% of "people agreed they were made most happy by the King's recovery…". One wonders what else they could have said when specifically asked to agree with a statement that refers to the king's health when people have been hounded and threatened with prosecution for even daring to mention his illness. Of course, the unspoken element in this is the fear that if the succession doesn't get bent out of shape then the next king might be difficult. Aside from that really big story, nothing at all has been said about why the king has such an inordinately long period in hospital. It's over 15 months now and there has to be something newsworthy in that. See our post here. But every editor shakes in his or her boots under the threat that is lese majeste.
DSI leaks – okay, we admit that this has been reported, but what kind of reporting has it been?! Apart from posts like this one, there has been precious little critical reporting of the leaks that began with a Reuters report. PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and DSI responded to the Reuters reports apparently admitting the leaks were "part of a report" (see two articles at MCOT News, here and here), and Abhisit quickly raised the possibility that security forces not being charged and the DSI claimed that the details of investigations will never be made available in full. Then the DSI chief Tharit Pengdit began denying the leaked reports were the same as DSI reports. Japanese Embassy said the reports it received from red shirts appeared genuine. Next the military appeared to deny any killing and the regime got back on script denying everything. Finally, the regime sought to silence critics of DSI and those leaking its reports. Now you'd think that someone could make a story out of this series of events.
Constitutional Court crimes/Democrat Party decisions – again, like the DSI leaks, these stories were reported, but with little attempt to analyze what was going on. The mainstream media was apparently reluctant to criticize the courts as they are an essential element of the regime. Indeed, the media seemed to largely go along with the government account. PPT doesn't need to spell out all the details, but following the leaked videos, where has been the attempt to investigate corruption in the courts? PPT covered the way that the regime came together to support its elite buddies in the court, blocked access to the leaked videos and attacked those leaking the videos, then got off two cases of its own on technicalities, while burying the corruption in the Constitutional Court. Surely a "watchdog" media would examine these issues in some detail. It seems there is a lapdog media.
Part III will follow with a listing of 4 more stories that were bent, under-reported or neglected in 2010.
What the mainstream media won't report I
The Bangkok Post makes a pretty good effort at listing several local stories that simply didn't get enough coverage this past year.
Triumph workers protest
Their first pick is a good one, and is one that PPT posted on several times (here and here), but not in 2010 and is headlined: Struggle not over. It refers to the long struggle by garment workers laid off by Body Fashion Thailand, the production arm of swimwear giant Triumph International.
The workers … took the case to court. They also staged a rally in front of the Labour Ministry…. Body Fashion Thailand (BFT) later agreed to give the workers 400 sewing machines to help them make an independent living. The donation was made through the Paitoon Kaewthong Foundation to avoid red tape. Mr Paitoon is a former labour minister and Democrat MP for Phichit.
The second unreported story is of lantern fire balls for a king's birthday government-hosted celebration that almost caused the incineration of the National Museum and fell on Wat Phra Kaew, the National Theatre and Thammasat University. Burning down the symbolic center of royal power might not be meritorious at all.
The third story is of a villagers' protest that involves growing rice on a 10-rai site in Prachuap Khiri Khan as a symbolic protest against the planned construction of a 500 million baht smelting plant by the giant Sahaviriya Group.
A fourth story carries the headline Unsung reds.
The red shirt protests from March to May have inevitably been listed as the top news story for 2010 by every Thai media outlet, and Time magazine included the uprising in its top 10 world news stories of the year. But most of the news coverage has focused on the key figures heading the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship and the government's handling of the situation. The fate of lesser-known red shirts in the aftermath of the May 19 dispersal has been under-reported….
Stories about red shirts detained or killed during the riots can usually only be found on alternative media such as the Prachatai online newspaper or the pro-red shirt Voice TV network.
Abhisit flip-flops
The stories under-reported in the mainstream media include Amornwan Charoenkij who sold flip-flops at red shirt rallies and was arrested and charged with violating the emergency decree by selling products with "provocative messages." The fact that the emergency decree wasn't in effect in Ayudhya where she was arrested continues unreported, even in this story…. This story of an authoritarian farce was the subject of several posts by PPT. A related red shirt story mentioned by the Post involves red shirts imprisoned in Mukdahan, many of them on groundless charges. Some became suicidal. PPT has covered some of these reports, often drawing on the brave but always threatened Prachatai.
The fifth story is headlined Eviction fight and involves the Thong Lor slum community "fighting against eviction despite its occupation of the area for 50 years." They face big money and the corrupt police who make a fortune "regulating" crime and entertainment in the area.
In a post later today, PPT will post its own list of stories the mainstream media shied away from, deliberately downplayed or neglected for political reasons.
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