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By Thaweeporn Kummetha
Since the state of emergency was put in effect on Sunday, more than 60 pro-Thaksin Shinawatra websites have been blocked and the offices of community radio stations in three provinces and that of satellite TV channel D-Station raided.
Police yesterday raided the offices of D-Station on Lat Phrao road and the offices of community radio stations in Udon Thani, Chiang Mai and Lampang as per orders from the Emergency Execution Command (EEC), the agency involved with handling the country under the Emergency Decree.
In following the EEC order, the Information Technology Regulation Office gave Internet service providers a list of 67 websites it deemed as instigating insurrection to block since Monday evening, said Aree Jiwararak, director of the Information Technology Regulation Office.
The websites that have been blocked include Sameskybooks.org, Newskythailand.com and Sericon.com. On some sites only the content was blocked, while some could not be accessed at all.
Asked if the blockades would be cancelled if the emergency were to be lifted, Aree said he had to consult with the prime minister before doing anything.
Supinya Klangnarong, a media rights activist, said people should not be blocked from expressing their opinions online because mainstream media had lost its credibility in providing unbiased reports.
"If the government threatens online liberty, that would boomerang back. The government should allow Internet to be the space where people can freely search for information they want and express what they think. If not, the things could get more severe," Supinya said.
Thanapon Eiwsakul, owner of the blocked Sameskybooks.org, said the government could not really block any websites as such, because people could find ways in anyway. Moreover, censoring might make people believe in fake reports.
"Since people could not use the Internet to verify the truth for themselves, they would be vulnerable to believing rumours that might not be true," Thanapon said.
-The Nation/Asia News Network
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