The editor of "The Bangkok Post", an influential English language newspaper in Thailand, that has criticized Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been removed from his job. This act has renewed criticism by journalists and the Thai opposition party for governmental interference in the freedom of Thailand's press.
Khun Veera Prateepchaikul, has had been the editor of "The Bangkok Post" for the last 2 years, was moved to another job in the company that owns the "The Bangkok Post" newspaper in Thailand.
Last December, Veera Prateepchaikul wrote an special front-page story based on a statement in King Bhumibol Adulyadej's annual speech in which he warned the PM Thaksin Shinawatra not to be arrogant. Few people disputed what the King of Thailand had said about the Thai Prime Minister, whose aggressive style had unchained similar comments in the past.
But the coverage of Veera Prateepchaikul in the "Bangkok Post" is said to have infuriated Thaksin Shinawatra, who ran the family's "Shin Corporation", a telecommunications and media corporation, before becoming prime minister in 2001.
The main opposition party in Thailand and most Thai journalists have complained that Thaksin tries to interfere and influence the editorial content from the newspapers in Thailand.
"There has been a gradual governmental pressure on Thailand's press since Thaksin became Prime Minister," said Lin Neumann, who until last month was the representative of the "Committee to Protect Journalists" in Thailand. "Every Thai journalist says there are a lot of phone calls from the Thai government."
Soon after news of Khun Veera's removal became public, last week, more than 80 journalists at "The Bangkok Post" signed a protest letter saying they interpreted the move as a challenge to the newspaper's editorial freedom and independence.
The Nation, another influential English language newspaper in Thailand, dedicated it's front page on Saturday to The Bangkok Post's troubles. In their front-page editorial the Nation newspaper wrote that although The Bangkok Post and the Nation newspapers had been challengers for more than 3-decades, they had been competing for the purpose of raising Thailand's public awareness of the prospects and problems in the Thai Kingdom.
The outburst over the dismissal of Veera Prateepchaikul at The Bangkok Post was particularly intense because Thailand's two English language newspapers have taken a far more critical position toward Prime Minister Thaksin than the country's Thai language newspapers have done. The 2 English language newspapers said Thaksin had been clumsy in handling the Bird Flu crisis, where the Thai language newspapers have praised his handling of the crisis.
The Nation newspaper and The Bangkok Post newspaper are important media editions for Thailand, as they are seen by the Thai government as Thailand's face to the outside world, where TV-stations are owned by the Thai military or Thailand's government departments.
The only TV-media that is not owned by the Thai government is ITV, but this station is partly owned by "Shin Corporation", the telecommunications corporation that is owned by the Thaksin family.
Khun Suthikiati Chirathivat, who leads the "Post Publishing", publisher of "The Bangkok Post" said that the removal of Veera Prateepchaikul as editor of the newspaper was a simple structural matter inside the organization of the "Post Publishing" company. But at The Nation newspaper, journalists were not convinced and a Nation's editor said he believed that Suthikiati Chirathivat decided that he should better protect the Post's interests and get rid of Veera Prateepchaikul who dared to write critical articles on the Thai government.
