Censorship a futile tacticThe embattled Prayut Chan-o-cha government seems set to ignore calls by several sectors of society to compromise and hold out the olive branch of a seat at the negotiating table for the young protest leaders. Instead, it looks increasingly prepared to up the ante by censoring the news reports of media outlets sympathetic to the cause of the pro-democracy movement. Deputy police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen branded the content "distorted information" with the potential to cause confusion and unease. "Bona fide journalists should be allowed to report important developments without the threat of bans, suspensions, censorship or prosecution hanging over them," the club said in a statement. Its efforts at censorship may ultimately be a bigger blight on its reputation than the already disseminated content it futilely hopes to redact.

Source: Bangkok Post October 19, 2020 23:15 UTC