Thousands of pro-government demonstrators yesterday surrounded Nation Tower, headquarters of Kom Chad Luek, to demand the newspaper turn over to the mob a reporter whom they allege wrote a story offensive to the monarchy.
Composed of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers as well as members of Caravan of the Poor, a pro-Thaksin organization made up of rural farmers, the mob was dispersed after nearly eight hours when the paper’s management confirmed the article was based on an interview with Sondhi Limthongkul and agreed to suspend publication for another two days on April 8 and 9.
Prior to yesterday’s demonstration, the paper’s publisher, Nation Multimedia Group, had already agreed to suspend publishing from March 31 to April 2 and its editor, Korkhet Chantalertlak, resigned.
On March 29 the daily apologized and took sole responsibility for an article it published on March 24. That article, which demonstrators allege constituted l?se-majest?, included comments by Sondhi, a leader of the anti-Thaksin People’s Alliance for Democracy, regarding the Supreme Administrative Court’s verdict nullifying a government-proposed royal decree on EGAT’s stockmarket listing.
The management of Nation Multimedia Group admitted that it had been negligent in not publishing Sondhi’s comments in full and is seeking a royal pardon through the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary.
However, Chinawat Haboonphad, a leader of the group protesting at Nation Tower yesterday, said his group will continue protesting if the paper does not reveal the name of the reporter who wrote the article and allow him to be questioned by the demonstrators.
"We now want that reporter as a witness to get Sondhi. Sondhi is certainly the wrong doer and Kom Chad Luek is definitely protecting him," Chinawat said.
He said his group wants to question the reporter only in its effort to bring Sondhi to justice.
"If our demands are not met, we will continue to camp here. We have already brought cooking utensils with us and many more of us from the provinces are coming here too."
Chinawat accused Kom Chad Luek of trying to protect Sondhi and said he wanted the paper to stop publishing until it obtained a royal pardon. "We came here today for a witness. But, Kom Chad Luek management are still willing to cooperate with us. We will see how long their efforts to protect Sondhi will last," he said.
Protesters blocked traffic on Bang Na-Trat Road and barred the building’s exits. Workers could not leave the office building until the police intervened.
Meanwhile, Thanachai Theerapatvong, chairman of Nation Multimedia Group, said he had already submitted a letter seeking a royal pardon to the Office of His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary.
Sondhi yesterday accused the protestors of using the paper as a tool to get to him and said Kom Chad Luek had taken responsibility enough by suspending publication for three days. "Caravan of the Poor should deal with me directly rather than pressuring Kom Chad Luek. If the group continues such action, I may invite the People’s Alliance for Democracy to give Kom Chad Luek our support at Nation Tower, too," he said.
The Thai Journalists Association and the Thai Broadcast Journalist Association responded to the protests by calling on the government to intervene. They characterized the demonstrator’s threats of violence as one of the worst affronts on media freedom in Thai history.
