US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK3522

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 003522 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV, USPACOM FOR FPA HUSO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KPAO, TH, Media/Freedom of the Press 
SUBJECT: COMMUNITY RADIO IN THAILAND: CRACKDOWN OR CROSSED 
SIGNALS? 
 
REF: 02 BANGKOK 7237 
 
 1. (U) SUMMARY: An estimated 2,000 (maybe 3,000) 
unregistered community radio stations continue to broadcast 
popular news and "call in" talk shows without a legal 
regulatory framework.  Appointment of a National Broadcasting 
Commission (NBC) remains stalled in the Thai Senate. 
Although the Royal Thai Government (RTG) air traffic control 
agency has complained that some community radios are 
interfering with aviation safety, recent government attempts 
to enforce interim regulations on community radio stations 
are regarded as intimidation by popular radio personalities 
and Thai media freedom watchdogs.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
BACKGROUND ON COMMUNITY RADIO IN THAILAND 
 
2. (U) The current legal basis for community radio in 
Thailand is the 1997 reformist Constitution, which, under 
Section 40, states, "Transmission frequencies for radio or 
television broadcasting and radio telecommunication are 
national communication resources for public interest."  The 
Constitution calls for the establishment of an "independent 
regulatory body" to distribute these frequencies for "utmost 
public benefit".  In late 2004, the Thaksin administration 
submitted a list of 14 nominees for a proposed National 
Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to the appropriate Thai Senate 
subcommittee for vetting.  That subcommittee is tasked with 
selecting 7 committee members from the 14 nominees for 
further processing, but its consideration of the list is 
still pending.  The Thaksin government previously submitted a 
nominee list for the NBC in 2003.  That list was rejected on 
appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court due to a lack of 
transparency in the selection process and claims of conflicts 
of interest between nominees and members of the selection 
committee which came up with the names.  Senator Chirmsak 
Pinthong recently told journalists that the selection process 
for the names submitted by the Thaksin government was 
tainted.  He claimed that many of the nominees submitted both 
times were not qualified to sit on a NBC regulatory body; he 
reiterated claims of conflicts of interest amongst selection 
panel members and NBC nominees. 
 
A REGULATORY VACUUM 
 
3. (U) Under interim regulations established by the Public 
Relations Department (PRD) in March 2003, community radio 
stations are allowed to continue "extra-legal" operations 
until the proposed NBC enacts regulations.  These interim 
rules limit stations to 30 watts of power, a 30-meter antenna 
and range of 15 to 18 kilometers.  In January 2005, the PRD 
issued an additional regulation allowing the stations to air 
6 minutes of commercials a day.  PRD officials have told 
Embassy officers that there are approximately 1,793 
registered community radio stations. This number includes 500 
stations in the Community Radio Network, an alliance of 
station managers formed to defend the rights of community 
radio operators nationwide.  But privately both the PRD and 
NGOs admitted that the true total number of stations is 
unknown.  Estimates range from 2,000 to 3,000.  (Note: The 
RTG owns and controls 524 officially registered "regular" AM 
and FM radio stations in the country.  The military and 
police services control 230 radio stations, PRD and the Mass 
Communications Organization of Thailand (MCOT) control over 
170 stations combined.  Nearly all of these stations are 
leased to commercial companies. End Note.) 
 
BUT MONEY TO BE MADE? 
 
4. (U) Uajit Virojtrairatt, of the media watchdog group, 
Civil Media Development Institute, stated in The Nation 
newspaper on May 24 that some stations are making handsome 
profits on untaxed commercial air time, claiming that one 
station made up to 200,000 baht ($5,128) per month. 
Meanwhile, Uajit noted, registered commercial radio stations 
are complaining of declining advertising revenue as 
businesses turned to cheaper airtime on community radio. 
Because only government operated broadcast entities are 
allowed to transmit paid advertising in Thailand, this newly 
granted authority allowing community radio stations to sell 
advertising time may have accelerated the rapid growth of the 
medium in recent months, and prompted operators to stretch 
the envelope of allowable frequencies and transmission power. 
 
5. (U) Suranand Vejajiva, the media savvy Minister to the 
Prime Minister's Office and former spokesman for the Thai Rak 
Thai (TRT) party, has been assigned the public relations 
portfolio in Thaksin's office.  He reportedly  ordered the 
PRD to review all community radio stations operations to 
ensure they are following the interim guidelines.  Press 
reports indicated that the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand 
(Aerothai), the RTG-run air traffic control agency, 
complained to Suranand that some community radio stations 
broadcasts interfered with air traffic communications.  On 
May 25, the chairman of the Thai Parliament's House 
Telecommunication Subcommittee and TRT party list Member of 
Parliament Suphap Khlikhachai confirmed to Embassy officers 
that Aerothai had contacted his committee with similar 
complaints.  Suphap said Aerothai had provided him with a 
letter stating that over 80 incidents of radio interference 
had occurred since January, all in Northeast Thailand.  Most 
incidents occurred near an airport in Buriram province.  No 
claims of interference in Bangkok were stated in the letter. 
 
POLICE PAY A VISIT TO COMMUNITY RADIO ICON 
 
6. (SBU) Controversy over RTG regulation of an estimated 
2,000 FM community radio stations came to public light the 
week of May 18 when Royal Thai Police (RTP) "visited" the 
broadcasting studio of a popular Bangkok radio host, Anchalee 
Paireerak.  Anchalee's political programs, though not 
virulently anti-government, are noted for their critical 
analysis of the Thaksin administration.  Anchalee confirmed 
that police came to her station on May 18 and requested to 
see the tower.  They were turned away since they did not 
possess a search warrant, and the owners of the building 
decided not to let the police into the studio or to inspect 
the tower on the rooftop.  Poloff contacted Anchalee who 
stated that the PRD has now ordered her station to lower its 
broadcast antenna from atop the Thai Petrochemical Industry 
(TPI) tower and to place it no more than 30 meters above the 
ground by May 25.  She reported that this would effectively 
shut down the station on May 25 until technical arrangements 
can be made.  She said that the signal strength of the 
station is no more than 30 watts and that the antenna itself 
is not more than 30 meters long.  However, since the 
transmission tower sits atop a multi-story modern office 
building, it is more than 30 meters above the ground. 
Anchalee stated that she had attempted to confirm with 
Aerothai if her station or other community radio stations 
were interfering with air traffic signals but no one at 
Aerothai would confirm such claims directly to her.  She said 
the response of most community radio operators was that the 
RTG's claim of radio interference with aviation was just a 
ruse for a crackdown on radio stations critical of the 
Thaksin government. 
 
7. (SBU) Poloff also spoke with Supinya Klangnarong of the 
NGO Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR).  Supinya is the 
defendant in a criminal and multimillion-dollar civil libel 
lawsuit filed by Shinawatra Corporation (Shincorp), founded 
by PM Thaksin and currently owned by members of his immediate 
family.  In 2003, Supinya had published a study claiming that 
the PM's net worth increased exponentially as a result of 
Thaksin's increased hold on power in the Thai Parliament 
increased.  Supinya stated she had spoken out recently in 
public in support of Anchalee and others as she "could not 
stand by and watch the government make excuses" to suppress 
other critical voices.  She said that even though her libel 
trial is set to begin in 2 months time, she has a 
responsibility to support others who face interference from 
the RTG.  She noted how surprised she was at the growth of 
community radio, reflecting upon a time only 4 years ago when 
one of the first stations opened in Kanchanaburi province. 
By 2002, there were several hundred and now she stated that 
no one knows for sure the real number nationwide but that it 
could be up to 3,000.  She dismissed claims of radio 
interference with air traffic as baseless, noting that if 
there were a real safety issue with aircraft communication, 
especially with Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok, 
the RTG, especially the military, would not wait so long to 
shut down stations. 
 
8. (SBU) COMMENT: The regulatory void that has allowed 
community radio to flourish in the last few years has been a 
mixed blessing.  Industrious Thais have taken advantage of 
the relatively "free market" of airwaves to fill them up with 
hundreds of small locally run stations.  They continue to 
operate "under the radar" of the Government to some degree, 
while offering a critical alternative to the voice of 
RTG-controlled stations.  The current spat over reported 
interference with air traffic communications is part of a 
larger battle to come over the establishment of the NBC. 
Once that independent body is up and running and clearly in 
charge, its directives will set the tone for the Thaksin II 
administration's commitment to freedom of the press for 
community radio and all broadcast media.  END COMMENT. 
ARVIZU