[ad_1]
Bangkok, Thailand – Thai authorities are facing allegations of using lawsuits and new emergency decree to resist public anger over their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country’s infection rate and death toll continue to be hit A record high.
Officials insist that these measures are strictly aimed at those who spread false and misleading information, but their latest decree may allow the authorities to block online reports that may “incite fear” even if these reports are true, lawyers and human rights organizations said.
Matthew Bugher, the head of the Article 19 Asian project in Bangkok, said: “The government is currently fragile because they have received a lot of anger and criticism for responding to the pandemic.” Free speech.
“So they seem to be wary of the anger and criticism against their government and so much anxiety, and they are trying to combat dissent.”
Strict social distancing rules and strict border controls will help keep Thailand’s COVID-19 cases at a low level throughout 2020, winning the country’s international praise.
But since April, the more contagious delta virus has caused the outbreak again, with confirmed cases on Thursday reaching a record 20,920 cases and 160 deaths-slightly lower than the record number of 188 deaths in a single day on Wednesday.
As of Thursday, only about 6.31% of Thailand’s 70 million people have been vaccinated against the virus, and the latest wave of outbreaks has pushed the country’s public medical system to the edge.
With hospitals in the capital Bangkok overcrowded, authorities have been scrambling to set up temporary isolation wards in airport terminals, warehouses and decommissioned railway carriages.
A hospital had to rent freight containers to store the dead bodies after the morgue was used up.
Public dissatisfaction
The public’s dissatisfaction with the government has grown simultaneously with infections, reviving the year-long protest movement, calling for Prime Minister Prayut Chan Ouchi steps down.
Even the allies of Thailand’s conservative right-wing government joined the call for Prayut to leave, accusing his government of doing a poor job in promoting vaccines. Nittitorn Lamlua, a veteran activist supporting the prime minister’s royalist “yellow shirts” movement, led several rallies in late June to urge him to resign.
A poll conducted by the State-funded National Development Administration at the end of May found that more than half of Thais disagree with the government’s handling of the pandemic.
“Intermediaries never criticize the government, now they… criticize the way the government handles the situation, whether it’s vaccines or handling [of] Infected people, how do they get to the hospital, how do they connect to the healthcare system, all this,” said Chawarong Limpattamapanee, Chairman of the National Press Council of Thailand.
Since the pandemic, Thailand has recorded approximately 672,000 cases and more than 5,600 deaths [Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP]A series of lawsuits, police investigations and decree ensued.
At the end of last month, the police accused the teenage rapper Danupa “Milli” Kanateerakul of defamation because she posted a tweet in June accusing the government of slow response to the epidemic.
The police told reporters at the time that more than two dozen celebrities were also under investigation, and most of them had posted similar posts.
Government officials also sued the veteran politician Sudarat Keyuraphan for defamation and incitement of riots in order to collect signatures for a proposed lawsuit against her political party, Thai Sang Thai, for claiming that it handled the COVID-19 crisis as a “cruel government”.
Government bullying
Sudarat told Al Jazeera that she is advancing the petition, which has more than 800,000 signatures so far, and will file a lawsuit in the criminal court next week.
She said that the petition was in full compliance with her constitutional rights, and the government’s counterclaim was not only to bully her, but also to silence other potential critics.
She said: “The government will not only prosecute us, but also all the people who now blame the mismanagement that occurred during COVID-19.”
“They deliberately used the law to intimidate the people and violated the constitutional rights and the basic rights of the people.”
Vaccine Tracker in Thailand (August 5, 2021)
Approximately 6.31% of the population was vaccinated. 14,783,001 (+290,616) people received the first dose, and 4,178,702 (+92,991) people were fully vaccinated. #2019 Coronavirus Disease Vaccine #Coronavirus disease #blockade #KE pic.twitter.com/FHdW7qdxVD
-Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) August 5, 2021
Advocates of freedom of the press and digital rights are particularly concerned about a sub-decree issued by the Prime Minister’s Office late last month that uses the government’s emergency powers exercised in March 2020 in the name of fighting the virus.
They said that it not only prohibits any false or misleading communication about the pandemic, but also quotes from the order, which may “inflame fear”, regardless of whether the information is true or not.
Offenders may spend up to two years in prison.
Police Digital Communications
If this communication is conducted online, the sub-decree also orders the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to tell the Internet Service Provider to identify IP or Internet Protocol and block its source address, and then hand the information to the police.
Human rights organizations warn that the order may stifle real news that may really benefit the public interest in a rapidly evolving health crisis.
“It is absolutely broad enough to capture a lot of speech, including true speech, and speech in the public interest,” said Bouguer of Article 19.
“During a pandemic, when people suspect that the authorities are failing to perform their duties, it is very important to raise their concerns, express their fears or concerns and speak out. We hope that people will report corruption when they witness corruption and alert them when it breaks out,” He added.
Chawarong of the National Press Council stated that the news media will be cautious in publishing true stories to avoid conflicts with the new order.
“It damages the public… the right to be informed,” he said.
“It prevents the media from reporting facts and what is happening in society, especially during the pandemic.”
Article 19 of the group, the National Press Council and several other rights organizations and media associations issued a joint statement urging the government to repeal the order.
In July, a pro-democracy protester waved the Thai flag in front of tear gas near the government building, demanding the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan Oucha [Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP]The Union of Human Rights Lawyers of Thailand and 11 online media have filed a lawsuit in the civil court for the order to be revoked. Infringe on their freedom of speech and freedom of the pressAccording to reports, the court is scheduled to rule on the complaint on Friday.
The prime minister’s office did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
The spokesperson of the National Police and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, who is responsible for implementing the latest sub-decree, could not be reached.
In a local TV news program, the Minister of Digital Economy and Society Chaivut Tanakamanuso insisted that officials would use the order to combat fake news, but he also complained that when reports share incomplete information At times, they may mislead and cause panic.
According to the Bangkok Post, the Acting Secretary-General Trairat Viriyasirikul of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission stated that critics of the sub-decree need not worry.
“We insist that NBTC has no intention of restricting people’s rights. We only monitor issues that may cause public panic,” he said.
[ad_2]
Source link