More than ever, Thais really need their press

Roby Alampay, Bangkok

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's ruling coalition is on pace to win up to three quarters of the 500 seats up for grabs in the country's recently concluded parliamentary elections.

The victory is so overwhelming that the opposition's rallying point now is its potential insignificance.

Ostensibly, their dismal showing represents the upending of the young Thai democracy's built-in checks and balances. They shudder in the face of a looming one-party political system, and warn against the possibility that Thaksin's incoming Cabinet and the Prime Minister himself will be protected from any censure, and practically be guaranteed immunity from impeachment, should there be any reason to come to that.

The fact is, after all, that over his first four years as prime minister, Thaksin has indeed been hounded by accusations of corruption, conflict of interest, human rights abuse and wanton disregard for the rights of the press.

Against populist economic programs that have clearly scored with Thailand's masses, Thaksin's heavy-handedness (more than 2,000 suspected drug dealers were killed in a reckless drive against the narcotics trade last year) and notorious intolerance of criticism are creating disdain and distrust among the Thai middle class.

But with no opposition standing in the ruling party's way, the Thai media is asking: who will check all that power?

One obvious answer, of course, is the Thai media itself. The kingdom's press is as free as it gets in Southeast Asia. That's not saying much in the neighborhood of Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohammad and the junta of Burma, but by anybody's standards, the country's journalists do in fact enjoy a level of freedom and independence -- and power and professionalism -- that make them an important force in Thai society.

But, alas, Thais will find in the coming months that it is in the arena of the press and public scrutiny -- even much more than Parliament -- where Thaksin's reflex may yet be most telling.

To be fair, after all, the formal political opposition was simply (if brutally) beaten.

In comparison, the anxiety pervading the Thai press nowadays stems from a belief that Thaksin is gearing up for an outright assault on its influence, independence and freedom.

More to the point, they believe that the Thai Rak Thai's unprecedented mandate may merely embolden Thaksin in a campaign that is perceived to have been progressing long before the elections.

Ever since he became prime minister, Thaksin's intolerance for criticism has been out in the open. At the very least, the moods of the leader -- as Prime Minister and simultaneously as one of Thailand's richest and most well-connected tycoons -- are speculated to have influenced everything from ad placements to editorial board shakeups in major newspapers, including the influential Bangkok Post.

His family has cornered control of the only television station not owned by the government or the military.

When a media researcher noted a spike in profits in a telecommunications and media company owned by Thaksin's family coinciding with the business leader's rise to power, that researcher and the paper that published her comments were quickly sued, threatened with imprisonment and a staggering US$10 million penalty.

Meanwhile, there is persistent talk that Thaksin's friends in the business community are raising their stakes and influence in other media companies.

Consequently, throughout the industry, Thai editors acknowledge a trend for self-censorship, and they admit that their part of the problem may yet worsen with a stronger Thai Rak Thai.

All too often, the Prime Minister has dismissed critics and opponents as enemies of the state.

The Thai press, he has often said, should be less critical of his programs and more sympathetic to the nation-building efforts of the government.

This was his rebuke to journalists when they questioned the military's violent and bloody handling of a protest in Thailand's troubled south late last year, and it was one of the first messages the Prime Minister reiterated as his party strolled to victory in the recent elections.

For all the alarm they have sounded, Thai journalists and media advocates worldwide note that Thaksin has never bothered to even offer any rhetorical commitment to freedom of the press.

To the opposition and the need to "consult" the minority, he has at least had kind, magnanimous words (albeit sometimes delivered with a sneer).

With the press, Thaksin's coldness and silence have been more unequivocal. This should trouble Thais as much as the weakness of the formal opposition.

Absent checks and balances in their Parliament, the nation more than ever needs a strong and independent press to push for reform, guard against excesses, keep government officials on their heels and keep dialog and consultation viable between the ruling party and the opposition.

The limits by which the media will be allowed to enjoy independence and play a role in Thai democracy will also define the legacy of the most powerful government to rule Thailand in decades.

The writer is executive director of the Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA).