waerth Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Only obeying the law when it suits them :/ http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/red-shirt-radio-station-mae-sod-ordered-closed-licence/ A red-shirt community radio station in Mae Sod district of Tak province has been ordered closed down after it was found out that the station has operated without a licence. The station belonging to Mr Wutthipong Kotethammakhun, aka Ko Tee, a red-shirt leader in Pathum Thani province, came under gun attack earlier this week. Pol Colonel Aekkaraj Intasueb, superintendent of Mae Sod police, said Thursday that he ordered the closure of the radio station after it was discovered that the operator did not have a licence. He also warned that legal action would be taken against the operator and the broadcasting equipments seized if the broadcast does not stop. However, the station operator, Meena Parksae, remains defiant announcing that the station would reopen for normal operations on April 5 to coincide with a mass rally planned by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specialist Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 I was wondering about the licensing situation for those stations. I'm a little surprised the police colonel didn't seize the gear on the first visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huumlaar Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 More than 3000 community radio stations operate without licences, the NBC, and then the NBTC both promised to give licences, and neither did, there was an amnesty, while licence rules supposedly became written, but that didn't happen either. Compare to Africa where most countries recognize the value of community radio,and allow it to operate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 Are African community radio stations allowed to call for violence, dividing the country etc? I haven't heard of the Thai police going after any station other than this one. The station is owned by Koh Tee, who has done both and already has a warrant out against him. Those were his people who attacked the monk in Nonthaburi the other day and also were with the armed men arrested with the M79 and rounds. It was his armed thugs who attacked the protesters at Laksi, where the "popcorn man" and a few others surprised them by appearing and shooting back. (Note that the popcorn man is under arrest, but not a single one of Koh Tee's men who were there.) The Army demanded Koh Tee's arrest after he hung up a banner calling for the independence of the PDR Lanna in Laksi last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 I am seeing more and more confrontations around Thailand over nothing! Just today at the local Makro, some lady went off about some nonsense, WTF Drivers on the highways...the number of idiot, jai lon drivers is going thru the roof, from what I see. I just keep my ol' pick-em-up truck putt putting along and let the road raged idiots do whatever.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 This heat isn't doing anyone any good. Thais agree with me that it wasn't this hot in the past. And our cool season was much longer than usual as well. It isn't global warming, but it certainly is global change. WTF is going on up north? Chiang Mai should be dry and dusty this time of year, but nothing like what it is now. When I first came to LOS, I taught in the lower north in one of the hottest provinces in Thailand - Phitsanulok. The classrooms had no a/c, just ceiling fans and wide doors we could open on each side. Still, I always wore a long-sleeve shirt and a necktie when teaching, and usually when riding my bicycle around town as well. In todays heat, I would have keeled over from sunstroke. I've been getting up a 6am and heading off to work by 7am. By the time I've walked down the soi to the main road to get a taxi, I am already drenched in perspiration. Thank God term break has arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 I wonder how the protesters do it! there is no air con out on the road around MBK!! Their water consumption must be in the millions of liters a day...or something like this!!! Mr. Kee Nok Maak Maak here even turned on the air con last night downstairs while watching TV... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 The news reported that some supporters sprayed water on the marchers to cool them off as they passed by. Sort of an early Songkran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huumlaar Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 I wouldn't expect such a silly obvious reply Flash, heat getting to you? Specialist asked about the licencing, something i know a bit about, These stations are spread all over the country and all of them give out their own version of the "truth", so my remark was purely neutral. I would expect any station in any country promoting violence would suffer the consequences, Note Kenya, when the riots killed many thousands a few years back, part of the came from community and local radio stations. Now here's the interesting part, The people responsible did get charged, in the Hague, as Kenya felt it was unable to give a reasonable trial. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court_investigation_in_Kenya The trial is on going, but interesting similarities. The riots where awful, I could tell some amazing stories about common bravery, especially an old family friend who does amazing things with ophans, in the middle of the riot areas, But I digress, interesting for me is that the case appeared in the Hague, I can never see Thailand doing that for political events. Are African community radio stations allowed to call for violence, dividing the country etc? I haven't heard of the Thai police going after any station other than this one. The station is owned by Koh Tee, who has done both and already has a warrant out against him. Those were his people who attacked the monk in Nonthaburi the other day and also were with the armed men arrested with the M79 and rounds. It was his armed thugs who attacked the protesters at Laksi, where the "popcorn man" and a few others surprised them by appearing and shooting back. (Note that the popcorn man is under arrest, but not a single one of Koh Tee's men who were there.) The Army demanded Koh Tee's arrest after he hung up a banner calling for the independence of the PDR Lanna in Laksi last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 30, 2014 Report Share Posted March 30, 2014 And you missed my point! You said there are more than 3,000 unlicensed stations in LOS. I pointed out that this is the only one the police have closed. Thailand obviously is ignoring the unlicensed stations ... unless they go over the top, which is what this one did. And yes, the heat is doing me in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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