Press freedom in Thailand

Thailand can afford to bask for a moment in praise for its inexorable and apparently unstoppable progress on press freedom. Indeed, 1997 was a landmark year in the long and difficult challenge of establishing a trustworthy press that is truly free. The Committee to Protect Journalists, in its annual survey of the world, said the new constitution contains the most sweeping free- press provisions in Asia.

World Press Freedom Day praise is welcome, particularly since it recognizes the huge national effort that went into writing and passing our new constitution. The framers of the charter deserve special commendation for their attention to press freedom. No country with a shackled or government-controlled media can be truly free.

Newspaper censorship has ended in Thailand, and authorities can no longer close publications on a whim. Legal disputes including criminal charges against newspapers and other media will be fought in the court, not in the offices of a bureaucrat or police chief. Much remains to be done, however, before we can take a bow as the world's most free press. The new Press Council is still forming, but it should provide an effective ombudsman to prevent media excesses.

If our authorities have largely stopped intimidating or threatening reporters and editors, local mafia and godfathers have not. This is not simply a problem for the Thai press, of course. Old-style gangster politics still prevail in many places. They are the chief reason for political corruption. We can take some solace that the godfathers and mafia leaders are slowly losing their influence, but much remains to be done to make members of the media feel safe about honest reporting.

-- The Bangkok Post