‘We’ll probably just execute them’

WE are reposting this article originally titled “Thailand’s Gen. Prayut – a new ‘predator of press freedom'” published on the Reporters Without Borders website on April 3, 2015.

Media freedom has declined dramatically in Thailand in the ten months since a military coup in May 2014. What with interrogations of journalists, raids on leading news organizations and plans for draconian legislation, the military government is subjecting the media to constant harassment.

The latest outrage is Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha threat to “execute” journalists who don’t toe the line. Reporters Without Borders condemns the government’s policy of controlling and intimidating the media.

Gen. Prayut, who is both prime minister and head of the National Council for Peace and Order, made this comment at a news conference on 25 March. Asked what the government would do journalists who do not stick to the official line, he replied: “We’ll probably just execute them.”

Click on the photo to read the full article on the RSF website.

PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha | Wikipedia Photo