Govt shuts down critical web forum

Political posts a 'threat to national security'

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry (ICT) has shut down a popular online political forum ''Ratchadamnoen'' on www.pantip.com, saying some opinions posted on the web board were a threat to national security.

ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said the ministry had told the webmasters of the Pantip website to temporarily close down its well-known web board, and warn its members against posting provocative messages on other Pantip web boards.

The web board was taken down completely yesterday evening.

Earlier, webmasters put up a notice saying ''ICT has asked for the temporary closure of [the political forum] 'Ratchadamnoen Room' after it found several topics that might endanger national security.

''The web page is suspended as requested. We would like to ask members to not post [political messages] in other rooms, otherwise the entire site will be closed. Sorry for any inconvenience.''

Mr Sitthichai said a number of opinions posted on the web board were an obvious threat to national security, without elaborating. If such opinions continued to be posted, the website would face complete and immediate closure.

The ministry has also asked for ''cooperation'' from two other websites, www.prachatai.com and www.mthai.com _ to watch out for and remove any messages it deemed were sensitive or contained hints of lese majeste that may offend the royal institution. The action came just days after the popular video-sharing site YouTube was blocked for videos deemed insulting to the monarchy.

The ICT minister said he will meet acting national police chief Seripisuth Temiyavej on Wednesday to discuss how to track down and punish those who posted the comments. He believed their intentions were to sow divisions in society.

Political observers noted the ''Ratchadamnoen Room'' was previously in the spotlight when it sparked heated debate among members about the assets concealment case of then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Many accused the online chatroom of being a pro-Thaksin forum, particularly during anti-Thaksin street protests last year led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), as the board was flooded with messages in support of the embattled prime minister.

Former senator Nirand Pithakvatchara, chairman of the government-appointed media reform committee, said the closure of the web board was tantamount to blocking freedom of expression.

He said the government's decision to close the site would not be able to subdue people's thirst for information and urged the government to tell the public which information on the website was correct and which could instigate social divisions.

Mr Nirand said closing the web board was a mistake and that the government controlled many media outlets but was unable to make constructive use of them.

He said the government was clueless as to how to harness the media to convey facts to the public so they could make sound judgements.

"The government acts like parents who know only how to feed their children but not how to teach them. They just beat their children when they are naughty,'' said the former senator, who is also a founder of Prachatai, a non-profit organisation advocating free media.

Chiranuch Premchaiporn, manager of Prachatai, said the ICT minister recently asked her to remove two messages from the website within five minutes as they were deemed to affect the royal institution.

The minister had said the government had the authority to block any websites considered to have committed lese majeste or were seen as a threat to national security.

Such powers were vested in the ministry by military leaders of the coup that ousted the Thaksin administration last year.

Ms Chiranuch said her website has strictly screened all messages.

Yanpol Yangyuen, director of the Department of Special Investigation's information and technology crime division, defended the closure, saying some people had used the internet as a tool for political gain.

Any websites that contained inappropriate messages that affected national security would cause trouble to both webmasters and agencies tasked with inspecting the websites, he said.

He had closely monitored messages posted on several websites for some time and found there was an unusual surge recently in the number of messages sent to certain web boards.

He had earlier sought cooperation from webmasters to screen what he said was inappropriate content. Provocative messages had an adverse influence on the readers, Pol Col Yanpol said.

Bangkok Post

Monday April 09, 2007