TJA condemns “systematic” IO attacks on journalist

The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) issued a statement today protesting the use of Information Operations (IO) to intimidate Thapanee Eadsrichai of The Reporters online news service during her coverage of the attempted assassination of Prachachat Party MP from Narathiwat, Kamonsak Leewamoh, on March 20.

Information Operations are integrated, strategic actions aimed at influencing, disrupting or corrupting an adversary's decision-making process, while protecting one’s own information systems.

Kamonsak was travelling by car with an aide from Hat Yai airport to his home in Narathiwat when unidentified gunmen, armed with M16 assault rifles, opened fire on the vehicle from a pickup truck in front of his house. He narrowly escaped death, but his aide was shot and seriously injured.

The truck used in the attack was later found partially disassembled in a swamp. It was subsequently discovered that the vehicle belongs to the 4th Army’s Forward Command of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC).

Further investigations revealed that the pickup truck had been borrowed for personal use by an army officer, identified as Cpt Wiroj, from a naval officer, Cpt Montri, who is in charge of service vehicles for ISOC.

In the statement, the TJA referred to a remark made by the 4th Army Region commander, Lt Gen Norathip Poynok, in response to a question raised by Thapanee regarding the attack. Norathip reportedly said that, if any ISOC officer had actually been involved in the shooting, the intended target would not have survived.

The TJA said such a remark by a high-ranking army officer has caused public concern, adding that Thapanee herself was subjected to systematic and coordinated accusations on several web pages, which appeared to be the product of IO rather than expressions of individual opinion.

The TJA emphasised that it is the right and duty of reporters to raise questions on issues of public interest, adding: “At issue is not the reporter’s question, but the attitude of those in power, which should not be to counter-attack or express hostility to intimidate the media.”

It further said that the use of IO by the security apparatus in the restive Deep South to stigmatise those who think differently from the military has long been criticised both in parliament and by civil society.

Of late, such operations have escalated into a new form of media intimidation through attempts to undermine the credibility of outlets that dare to question those in authority, the TJA said, adding that this amounts to a gross violation of media freedom.

“The TJA condemns the use of IO to intimidate the media and demands that relevant agencies investigate and end this policy of creating division, simply because the media seek to perform their duty as a check and balance on state authority in the public interest and to protect democratic rule,” the association said.