Award-winning student publication published an article about local police extorting money from students
Bangkok Post
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
By Kultida Samabuddhi
Journalism students and professors at Burapha University in Chon Buri province have cried foul over the warning given by tambon Saen Suk police to their award-winning student newspaper Lan Maprao for operating without proper permission and violating the 1941 Publishing Act.
Kamoltip Hiranprasertsuk, a third-year journalism student and the newspaper's editor, said the editorial staff received the warning shortly after they published an article about alleged misconduct by the local police involving the extortion of money from students.
The newspaper last month won the Thai Journalists Association's award for being the most outstanding student newspaper in the country.
In a letter submitted to the university's rector last month, police urged the university to examine the student newspaper as its operations may have violated the Publishing Act which requires all kinds of commercial printing media to register with the state before the launch of operations.
The rector later asked the Humanities and Social Sciences' mass communication department to follow the police instructions.
"This is unreasonable. None of the 22 student newspapers in the country should be required to register with the state or come under state control.
"We are only doing it for academic purposes and nothing more," said Sukanya Buranadechachai, the department head, who also supervises the Lan Maprao student newspaper.
The department has lodged a complaint with the National Press Council of Thailand over the matter.
Chavarong Limpattamapanee, secretary-general of the National Press Council, said since Lan Maprao was not a commercial newspaper, it should not be subjected to registration under the Publishing Act.
"Moreover, the council's initial investigation found that the newspaper's content was strictly in line with the press code," he said.
Intimidate and humiliate the new breed of journalists in preparation for their future careers.
5 comments:
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This Chicago Sun-Times article seems level-headed and addresses that so many people are wrongly siding with Thailand because they believe that Thailand sides with AIDS patients.
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Thanks for the link.
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Another example of the boys in brown bullying and intimidating instead of upholding the law.
Red & White. Not primarily. they were only doing what they have always done, Trying to protect themselves after being caught with their hands in the till.
They obviously dont know what the word 'commercial' means. Too long I expect.
Carter
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