News on Supinya Case-

> Supinya Klangnarong who is being sued by communication empire SHIN Corp
> will be testifying in court on Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th. WACC
> started a petition back this summer to support Supinya and calling on
> SHIN to drop the charges. The petition was endorsed by over 1,000
> activists worldwide including Noam Chomsky, Ariel Dorfman, Antonio
> Pasquali and many more. More on the case is available on:
> www.wacc.org.uk/supinya
>
> Some of us have met Supinya in meetings. We've all referred to her case
> as a concrete examples of what Communication Rights mean. Her case is
> also the first case of this kind in Thailand, but not the last, as since
> the libel case started, more law suits by SHIN or by Thaksin (Prime
> Minister) have been launched (see below).
>
> If you wish to send notes of support to Supinya, her email is:
> Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR) [[log in to unmask]]
>
> Thank you,
>
> Myriam
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR)
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 05 October 2005 14:24
> To: Myriam Horngren
> Subject: STOPPAGE TIME: Sue-till-they-drop strategy smacks of
> desperation
>
> STOPPAGE TIME: Sue-till-they-drop strategy smacks of desperation
>
> Published on October 05, 2005 The Nation
>
>
>
>
>
> Before Thaksin Shinawatra and Co can bankrupt the entire media industry
> with staggering defamation lawsuits, maybe the CEO would like to spare a
> minute and ponder the bad side of the sue-till-they-drop strategy.
>
> Understandably, he must have been infuriated.But if his government
> thinks it's chosen a proper response to the likes of the Suvarnabhumi
> Airport runway cracks story or criticism over the caretaker Supreme
> Patriarch's appointment, it's mocking itself with demands that exist
> only in legal comedies. This is not to mention that business firms
> associated with powerful politicians have also sought slander
> compensation in a combined amount that could feed a small country for
> months.
>
> The figures are simply unreal. Executives of Picnic Corporation Plc, the
> cooking gas company being investigated for stock-related offences, had
> sued Matichon Plc for Bt10 billion. Prachachat Turakij, a business
> weekly owned by Matichon Plc, was also sued for Bt5 billion for
> reporting on the same issue. Thai Post is fighting a Bt200-million suit
> filed by Shin Corp for claiming it benefited from government policies.
>
> Thaksin's former cheerleader, media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul, is the
> latest to join the possible casualty list after the prime minister's
> personal lawyer filed a Bt500-million suit for his harsh attacks on the
> government. And the list goes on and on.
>
> If the politicians and their related businesses want to teach the media
> a lesson, they could have done better with a more reasonable legal
> action. Now they have made it a nice trend for media firms to be sued
> for obscene sums.
>
> This is bad politically, and following are the reasons why:
>
> 1) It's double jeopardy on his part. The Shin Corp lawsuit against
> Supinya Klangnarong, for example, keeps alive a potentially explosive
> issue - the wealth of the prime minister's business empire and state
> policies. The move against media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul has drawn
> more attention to whether or not the government has acted properly in
> its appointment of the caretaker Supreme Patriarch. Last but not least,
> Thaksin's post-election promise early this year that he will support
> press freedom sounds a bigger joke now than it did then, and his
> administration's human rights image will dip a few more notches.
>
> 2) When a government leader's popularity rating plunges, it's a silly
> idea for him to unify the media and turn them against himself. Thaksin
> is doing just that in earnest. All he needs to do to get the big picture
> is check out tomorrow's gathering organised by the Press Council of
> Thailand. In short, suing for bad publicity breeds more bad publicity.
>
> 3) He can easily fall into a trap. Granted, most editors and publishers
> hate going to court, but some shrewd ones may laugh all the way to it.
>
> A defamation lawsuit by government, while terrifying, can also
> "glorify". Thaksin inadvertently has turned several of his critics into
> political stars overnight. When he threatened controversial tycoon
> Ekkayuth Anchanbutr with sweeping legal action last year, people almost
> forgot the latter's past dubious deeds. In other words, Thaksin surely
> doesn't want to make a hero out of his own enemy.
>
> 4) The absurdity of the damages demanded can backfire. It may not affect
> the popular faith in Thaksin's pledge to rid Thailand of poverty -
> although hundreds of reporters will lose jobs if all the ruling
> politicians and their business firms win their cases, whose combined
> worth is approaching Bt20 billion. But what can be portrayed as
> legitimate response to media accusations is being belittled by
> out-of-this-world compensation figures. It reinforces the impression
> that this government has been using legal and financial means to
> intimidate the media.
>
> 5) The threats won't work. On the contrary, they serve to galvanise
> reporters. Thai Post editorial staffers haven't seemed to be worried by
> their uncertain future.
>
> Good journalists will find a way to exercise the freedom of speech no
> matter what. Bad journalists, on the other hand, are normally friends of
> bad politicians anyway.
>
> 6) He'd better return to his divide-and-rule principle for his own good.
> It was bad, but it worked quite well. When he first came to office, the
> Thai media had never been so split. The carrots he gave to friendly
> media organisations and the stick he wielded against critical ones were
> threatening to create a dark age for this country's media.
>
> Now his switch in policy has bred all kinds of press freedom warriors
> and possibly a suicide bomber in Sondhi.
>
> Tulsathit Taptim
>
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