LETTERS TO EDITOR
Regrettable fall in journalistic standards
Published on August 5, 2010
Re: “Front-page article was pointless”, Letters, August 3.
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http://www.bumrungrad.com/KneeReplacementI sympathise with George Cuppaidge’s outburst against The Nation in the matter of the unfair legal judgements against Thaksin.
He and I are not the only ones to consider them unfair. The report on Thailand by the International Crisis Group (Bridging Thailand’s Deep Divide, July 5, available online), contains a whole section on the subject, gives a list of six recent proceedings against Thaksin, and says “The use of judicial power to influence political changes during this conflict has been unprecedented”.
When I first read about the ICG report, in another newspaper, there was no reference to the legal proceedings or to several other matters a bit close to the bone. On the other hand, I can hardly say I was surprised. It is of course a fact that certain things cannot be said, but all the same they can be communicated.
How different things were for The Nation during the people power uprising against the Suchinda dictatorship of 1991-92. In retrospect this was a simple conflict – the dictator familiar from previous incarnations, a new model of resistance imported from the Philippines, the villains just a few rogues in the Army doing their play for power. The Nation of that situation was quite different from today’s. It reported everything straight down the line. And when things got really tough, its brave response to print censorship was to leave white space where news articles had been taken down.
I cannot help thinking that if the 2006 coup had been by Thaksin not Sonthi, the reporting of The Nation would now be quite different. In other words, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that The Nation, like other newspapers, is to some degree partis-pris, and that its position dictates its reporting.
The Nation used to have a wonderful epigraph that began something like “The Nation will not shrink from…” and was followed by some grand words about truth. I don’t remember seeing it for quite a few years. Perhaps the time has come to dust it down and stick it up again and reclaim some old values.
RICHARD SPROAT
BANGKOK
Press and Politics in Thailand 