Thai group petitions for end to Internet censorship
A new group advocating freedom on the Internet filed a petition with the Thai Human Rights Commission asking for an end to online censorship.
The petition was signed by 30 people, including many academics, and Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) which said 70 international organisations have expressed their support.
"I think this is a major issue for the future of Thailand," said CJ Hinke, the originator of the petition.
"If people don't have all the information, they are not fully informed and without a fully informed public, you can't expect people to make the right decisions."
FACT, which was formed earlier this month, is the first organisation of its kind in Thailand seeking to end the censorship of more than 35,000 websites in the country.
The group said the government blocks 2,500 web pages, including some from the BBC, CNN, Yahoo News and articles from Yale University Press about Thailand's King Bhumibhol Adulyadej.
At least 11 percent of the websites blocked contained criticism of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra or his Thai Rak Thai party, the government's handling of the violence in southern Thailand, and the September 19 coup that overthrew Thaksin, the group said.
When users in Thailand try to access the pages, they receive a green screen saying the site was blocked.
Hinke said that the government has insisted the sites needed to be blocked "to preserve Thai social harmony".
Hinke says censorship of websites has increased since the coup, when the junta imposed martial law and curbed civil liberties.
"I see freedom of the Internet as a way to develop a democratic society," he said.
Hinke said if the government refuses to comply with the request, he will sue the ministry. He said the group is also planning to put another petition online and to circulate software that would allow Internet users to access blocked sites.
Source: AFP - November 16, 2006
Thai group petitions for end to Internet censorship
Thai group petitions for end to Internet censorship
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