Bangkok Post,
Online political forums which criticise the government or the Council for National Security will not be closed down unless they are indecent or offensive to the monarchy, Information and Communications Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said yesterday.
He played down mounting concern among internet users and webmasters about the possible closure of websites which host political forums, saying that blocking websites was not his policy.
''I support freedom of expression,'' he said. ''No websites will be banned as long as their contents are not indecent or insulting to the monarchy.''
Fewer than five websites have been closed down since he took the office in October, he said.
The minister came under heavy criticism on Sunday after ordering the temporary closure of ''Ratchadamnoen'', a popular political web board at Pantip.com, less than a week after the ministry blocked YouTube.com's website which contains videos which mock His Majesty the King.
The move was made under the coup makers' Sept 20 order, which empowers the ministry to censor media that contains material that poses a threat to national security.
Mr Sitthichai yesterday defended his decision to suspend the Ratchadamnoen web board, saying that it was made at the request of an owner of Pantip.com.
He said the website operator asked him to invoke the order because he could not prevent improper messages, especially harsh criticism of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda, from flooding the board.
Wanchat Padungrat, founder and owner of Pantip.com, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Webmasters of other popular online political web boards, meanwhile, said they had exercised extra caution to watch for harshly critical posts after it was found that members of the Ratchadamnoen web board had flocked to their websites.
Sombat Boonngamanong, webmaster at Nocoup.org, which hosts a political forum, said the number of users of his web board suddenly skyrocketed from about 1,700 to 4,200.
''Most of them were people who fled Pantip.com in search of a new space to continue their political discussion,'' he said.
More than 10 staff were deployed to delete unseemly messages from the web board, otherwise they feared it could be used by the ICT as a reason to shut down their website, said Mr Sombat, a critic of the Sept 19 coup.
His first anti-coup website, 19Sep.org, was blocked by the ministry, while his new website has also received a number of warnings from ministry officials, he said.
Chuwat Rerksirisuk, editor of Prachathai.com, another popular online political forum, said it was difficult to keep the web board clean of offensive statements against the King and the coup makers.
''What the CNS and the government should do is take legal action against the writers on a case-by-case basis, instead of blocking the whole web board,'' said Mr Chuwat.
He said several Ratchadamnoen web board members were now using Prachathai.com as a new base to criticise the coup makers and the military-appointed government.
''We have to beef up our message screening operation, otherwise we will face the same fate as Pantip,'' Mr Chuwat said.
Meanwhile, some regular users of the Ratchadamnoen board, yesterday shrugged off the forum closure.
''We can post our opinions on other web boards,'' said Panuwat Apiwattanachai, a freelance writer who has used Pantip's web boards for seven years.
He said he did not regret that Ratchadamnoen was blocked because the web board had not been an an ideal online forum for political discussion for some time.
Mr Panuwat said recently the web board has become popular with supporters of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and people who held different opinions were not welcome there.
Censors extend Internet ban
Perfect WL you deserve a eer for that 
These webboards are all Thai - they should really be looked at as a guideline to how young Thais feel in todays political climate - not censored or shut down.
This one is for farangs and nobody really gives a rats arse what farangs think (unless of course we break their laws) - we are insignificant money machines in the eyes of the government.
This one is for farangs and nobody really gives a rats arse what farangs think (unless of course we break their laws) - we are insignificant money machines in the eyes of the government.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson