Website Staff, Froc Clash

[Flashermac]

 

 

 

Staff of the website thaiflood.com have withdrawn from the Don Muang flood relief centre amid conflicts with the government's Flood Relief Operations Command (Froc).

 

Thaiflood.com staff yesterday packed their belongings and moved out from Don Muang airport, where they had been based for two weeks.

 

Poramate Minsiri, founder of the website and the #thaiflood Twitter hash tag, said it was pointless for his group to continue working with Froc, as the government limited the group's access to vital information.

 

He accused the government's flood command of "not welcoming participation by civil groups".

 

Mr Poramate claimed Froc had tried to censor information on Thaiflood.com before it went live.

 

The command was not happy with a recent flood warning relayed by the website and so issued a requirement for Thaiflood.com to submit any information to Froc before making it public.

 

"I told them I can't do it that way. In a crisis, people are waiting for information for their own survival," said Mr Poramate.

 

He said he had noticed a lack of unity within Froc's management and accused the command of not providing the public with adequate information so that they could prepare to deal with the flood situation.

 

Thaiflood has now moved to a new office at the Cyber World building on Ratchadaphisek Road.

 

"Once the natural flooding was coupled with non-systematic management, it resulted in a national disaster," Mr Poramate said.

 

He said Thaiflood.com set up in Don Mueang airport after receiving an invitation from the government. It had received good cooperation from relevant agencies during its first week of operations, he said.

 

Thaiflood.com then proposed a group representative to help the government map out its flood response operation, but Froc rejected the offer. He claimed Froc only wanted the website to serve as its public relations arm rather than as a practical ally.

 

Froc spokesman Wim Rungwattanajinda yesterday insisted the government welcomed participation from civil groups.

 

However, Froc also had to make sure announcements would not panic the public.

 

 

 

 

A typical Froc up