Academics and the Press Council of Thailand (PCT) yesterday condemned the harassment of the media following the besieging of Kom Chad Luek newspaper by the Caravan of the Poor on Thursday and the newspaper's decision to cease publishing for five days.

Members of the media and academics yesterday sent bouquets of flowers to Kom Chad Luek and Nation Multimedia Group after the incident.

Meanwhile the PCT issued a statement opposing any halt in newspaper publishing, voluntarily or not. It also called on authorities to take action against anybody responsible for the action, which it called unlawful.

Nation Group editor Thepchai Yong said the newspaper took responsibility for the incomplete reporting of the remarks made by Sondhi Limthongkul, a People's Alliance for Democracy leader, and would work to resolve the issue despite the problems caused by the protesters.

The paper will try to find a solution before politicians attempt to make political capital from the issue, generating further ill will, he said.

The communication arts faculties of Chulalongkorn and Bangkok universities yesterday held a joint press conference entitled "No to Press Harassment!" on the Chulalongkorn campus, to call on all sides to end intimidation of the press.

Fifty-six faculty members and students of Prince of Songkhla University issued a statement to support Kom Chad Luek during the crisis and call on the authorities and influential people not to abuse their power when dealing with the media.

Assistant Professor Pirongrong Ramasoota Rananand, a media specialist at Chulalongkorn, said press intimidation damaged freedom of speech with television programmes taken off the air, reporters threatened and even assaulted at Chiang Mai University and the Nation Tower besieged.

The statement said the media lecturers called on all parties to remain rational and respect freedom of expression and the media's independence, which was key in a democratic society.

"Media examination is based on the rule of law, not the rule of the mob," the statement said.

The group will also launch a campaign and promote its logo, a foot over a dove in a circle and with a diagonal line in the style of road sign, at Sunday's ballot booths, Pirongrong said.

Assistant Professor Patcharaporn Kesaprakorn, dean of Bangkok's School of Communication Arts, said the media had to have freedom and if they were intimidated their efficiency would be impaired.

Media academics will lobby for the imposition of sections 39 and 41 of the Constitution, which concern press freedom and harassment, because the government has not adequately implemented the laws, she said.

Those who harass the media should be prepared to accept apologies made by journalists, she said.

The Council of Mass Communication Faculty Members of Thailand issued a statement supporting Kom Chad Luek's decision to take responsibility for its reporting and disagreeing with the siege by the Caravan of the Poor, saying it violated human rights.