AFP, BANGKOK: Thai authorities have ordered an anti-junta television channel to stop broadcasting as the kingdom’s military rulers tighten the screw on dissent ahead of a controversial referendum vote. The junta has banned campaigning ahead of an August 7 plebiscite on a new draft of a charter in what will be the first public vote of any kind since the military seized power two years ago. The junta says its new charter will end the political upheaval that has rocked the kingdom for a decade.
But critics decry the document as a divisive and naked attempt to cement the power of an army that has staged a dozen coups in the past century.
The junta has instituted an array of restrictions on free speech and, with the referendum looming, has arrested or warned scores of people for airing criticism of the charter draft.
On Thursday broadcasting authorities ordered a 30-day blackout of an anti-junta TV station run by ‘Red Shirt’ supporters of the ousted government of Yingluck Shinawatra.
“Peace TV must stop broadcasting,” said the order by the National Broadcasting, Telecommunication Commission (NBTC).
It accused the channel of violating a junta edict by “reporting information that caused confusion, provocation, incited conflict and caused divisiveness in the kingdom”.