Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06CHIANGMAI169
2006-10-03 09:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Chiang Mai
Cable title:  

COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS RE-OPEN TO SELF-CENSORSHIP

Tags:  PGOV PHUM ECPS KPAO TH 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHCHI #0169/01 2760958
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 030958Z OCT 06
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0290
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0562
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 0328
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000169 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECPS KPAO TH
SUBJECT: COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS RE-OPEN TO SELF-CENSORSHIP
GUIDELINES

REF: A) CHIANG MAI 159, B) BANGKOK 5848, C) BANGKOK 5937

CHIANG MAI 00000169 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000169

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECPS KPAO TH
SUBJECT: COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS RE-OPEN TO SELF-CENSORSHIP
GUIDELINES

REF: A) CHIANG MAI 159, B) BANGKOK 5848, C) BANGKOK 5937

CHIANG MAI 00000169 001.2 OF 002



1. Summary. Community radio stations have returned to the
airwaves nearly two weeks after Third Army leaders ordered local
stations to close. The temporary closure was aimed at stifling
potential counter-coup organizers in former Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra's northern power base. Station owners
eventually pushed back against the strict closure rules, but
exchanged permission to re-open this week for strict
self-censorship guidelines. End Summary.

The CDR Killed the (Community) Radio Star
--------------


2. The morning after the Sept. 19 coup, Third Army commander Lt.
Gen. Saprang Kalayanamitr moved quickly to control the northern
region, requiring officials and media representatives to "report
themselves" to military offices (ref A). Army officials also
ordered nearly 600 community radio stations in northern Thailand
off the air, claiming the move was necessary to maintain social
order. In contrast, print media and television stations in the
north did not attract the attention received by their
counterparts in Bangkok (ref B, C).


3. The closure order reportedly stemmed from Sept. 20 broadcasts
by two community stations airing call-in segments that voiced
anti-coup sentiments - the low wattage stations had the morning
free to discuss the previous night's events while bigger
broadcasters were disrupted from the outset. Fearing that
community radio could foment anti-coup meetings and
demonstrations, 3rd Army officials ordered them off the air. For
the next 10 days, Chiang Mai radios picked up little more than
static across all frequencies except for a few local larger
stations, such as Chiang Mai University's FM 100, and those
broadcasting news and entertainment feeds originating in
Bangkok.


4. In the largely unregulated world of Thai community radio,
many of these small stations were considered Thai Rak Thai party
(TRT) affiliates, with some allegedly instigating opposition to
local rallies by anti-Thaksin groups over the past year. Based
on this legacy, army officials feared these local radio stations
could be used by TRT operatives to promulgate anti-coup

sentiments.


5. With many of these community stations dependant on
advertising revenue for their operations and now facing
significant business losses, station owners and managers
complained to the 3rd Army over the shutdown. While some were
supportive of the coup (one station owner told PolOff he was
happy to suspend his operations),economic concerns led many
owners to push 3rd Army officials and provincial public
relations officers to allow them to re-open. Following a Sept.
30 meeting, army officials agreed to lift the closure order in
exchange for promises from station owners and employees to avoid
political discussions that reflect negatively on the coup's
Council for Democratic Reform.


6. Under the Sept. 30 agreement, stations will be allowed back
on the air after owners submit their biographical details and
addresses to the military. Owners are also required to monitor
their stations' content and ban employees from discussing
political issues on the air, including during listener call-in
segments. Responsibility for monitoring the broadcasts has been
turned over to Provincial Public Relations Department offices.
As of Oct. 3, only a few dozen stations remained off the air,
but a 3rd Army representative attributed their continued closure
to histories of broadcasting on non-standardized frequencies
rather than to politics.


7. Whether the military's ban on political discussions covers
all discourse or is a targeted measure to counter TRT influence
remains unclear. Based on conversations with station owners,
many are interpreting the guidelines on their own. One
well-known Thaksin opponent said he looked forward to "educating
the audience" about Thaksin's alleged corruption. On the other
hand, a pro-Thaksin station operator said he would leave
political discussions behind and now focus only on entertainment
programs.

All We Heard Was Radio Ga Ga
--------------


8. Drafters of the 1997 constitution that opened the airwaves to
public use envisioned villages, temples, schools, and other
institutions taking advantage of the opportunity to build
communities and social networks via radio. With support from
district-level funding, local radio developed into a diverse
patchwork of stations. Earlier this year, Embassy Bangkok's
public affairs section recognized the democracy-building
potential of these small operators and awarded small grants to

CHIANG MAI 00000169 002.2 OF 002


NGOs working with community radio. Businesspeople, local
political bosses, and other "persons of influence" also saw
opportunities and began operating their own stations. By 2006,
more than 150 community stations were broadcasting from Chiang
Mai province, and another 70 from Chiang Rai.


9. Weaknesses and contradictions in the government's regulation
of these new stations led to significant confusion across the
airwaves with some station owners taking advantage of the lack
of oversight. Many stations failed to register or pay for
licenses, while others broadcast at higher wattages or put up
higher antennas than allowed. The result was often a jumble of
stations competing for limited bandwidth - a drive across town
in Chiang Mai could find three or more stations fighting through
the static on one frequency. This proliferation of community
radio stations over the past few years magnified the perception
of the post-coup clampdown on radio broadcasts in the north as
the closure brought a temporary silence to what had been an
unruly, overlapping melange of voices and music on the northern
radio dial.


10. The unregulated nature of community radio likely
contributed to station owners' willingness to close down on the
military's orders. With fewer stations on the air, the ones that
remained were more likely to get noticed and possibly hit up on
violating any number of regulations rather than on more overt
censorship grounds. Even some larger and medium-sized stations,
such as Chiang Mai's all-English language station TITS 106.5,
are known to skirt broadcast rules and took themselves off the
air or reduced their programming hours in an effort to avoid
attention during this time of increased scrutiny.


11. COMMENT: The 3rd Army's move to suppress pro-Thaksin
sentiment over the community radio airwaves seems to have
achieved its goal, as pro-TRT station operators accept that
their opinions should, for now, be kept to themselves. Economic
pressures on those stations most reliant on advertising revenue,
more than freedom of speech concerns, eventually mobilized
owners to ask that the ban be lifted. The military's guidelines
for self-censorship, while a sign of reduced independence of the
media in the north, have not been a cause of much protest. Based
on initial conversations, many station owners believe the
guidelines are not intended to limit all political discussions,
but only those in support of the former government. Many Thaksin
foes see this temporary shut-down as the beginning of a renewed
effort to pursue the now-defunct 1997 constitution's promise of
greater community involvement in radio by weakening TRT
influence over the media. End Comment.
CAMP