After a cabinet meeting on 18 Oct, Thai Minister of Culture, Sukumol Kunplome, told reporters that the cabinet had approved amendments to the 2007 Print Registration Act as proposed by the Ministry.
The amendments include:
- Any print media, excluding newspapers, printed in the kingdom must identify itself by category according to criteria set by ministerial regulation;
- The National Police Chief is authorized to ban the printing, distribution or
import of any printed media which affects the monarchy, national security or public order and morals;
- Those who violate a banning order by the National Police Chief will be punished with a jail term of up to three years or a fine of
up to 100,000 baht, or both.
Under the new amendment, every publisher must apply for permission to have his license renewed every five years. In other words, the media will have to operate under the frightening threat of non-renewal - in addition to the constant possibility of
being censored, suspended or closed down for publishing a story that could be interpreted by the press officer as undermining the monarchy, national security and law and order or the good morals of the country .
An age rating system
for printed media will also be introduced in the law because currently newspapers, magazines and journals are found to have content and pictures which are not 'appropriate' for young readers.
The Ministry of Culture will work out the details of
the rating system 'appropriate' to Thai society.
The amendments will be vetted by the Council of State before being forwarded to Parliament, the Minister said.
Update: Unconstitutional
6th November 2011.
See article from prachatai.com
A Spokesperson of the PM's Office told
reporters that the Office of the Council of State had rejected amendments to the 2007 Print Registration Act as proposed by the Ministry of Culture and approved by the Cabinet on 18 Oct.
The agency, which is the government's advisory body on legal
matters, told the government that certain parts of the proposed amendments might go against Section 45 of the Constitution which guarantees the people's rights to freedom of expression.
The Cabinet then asked the Ministry of Culture to reconsider
the amendments, he said.
Update: From the Frying Pan into the Fire
12th November 2011. See
article from bangkokpost.com
See also
Editorial: Abolish the Printing Act from bangkokpost.com
After the Council of State advised that the bill would be illegal, the government claimed that all it wanted to do was to change the authority to close down printing shops and newspapers during a time of national emergency - giving it police
and taking it away from army generals.
The Printing Act of 2007 was enacted by the military-installed interim government, following the Sept 2006 coup that toppled the Thaksin Shinawatra administration. The law was presented as an update to the
1941 Printing and Publishing Act, which was used to suppress the Thai media in the past.