Hundreds have signed the Midnight University's online petition to oppose the junta's ban of its intellectual website and other channels of free communication.

The university launched the campaign after its website www.midnightuniv.org was blocked by the Information and Communications Technology Ministry on Friday night, soon after the university's scholars held a press conference to oppose the political reforms proposed by the coup leaders.

The closure of the website led to the loss of 1,500 scholarly articles provided for free public education as well as a lively web board with thought-provoking debates.

"As a scholar who has been engaged in research in and about Thailand for over 40 years, I am deeply disturbed by the decision to close the website. The fundamental characteristic of a democracy is the ability of diverse voices to take part in public forums," said Charles Keyes, a professor of anthropology and international studies at the University of Washington in the US.

He said the silencing of exchanges on such websites did not serve the military rulers' goal of restoring democracy in Thailand.

Michael Medley, of the University of Bristol in England, said non-elected regimes were dangerous, especially when they closed down discussion.

Professor H Ruediger Korff, of Germany's University of Passau, said the Internet allowed new forms of public debate crucial for any democratic society. The blockage of websites would not facilitate a fast return towards democracy and limited the awareness of Thai people.

The petition stated that the military council had thoughtlessly closed down websites that expressed dissenting views on the coup, showing that it was incapable of leading political reform that was free and open to all.

"By guaranteeing the equal rights and liberties of the people to information, the coup council will be able to tap into a real source of power far greater than whatever it can get from its illegitimate coup," it read.

Signatories to the petition in-

clude well-known scholars in Southeast Asian Studies, such as Ben Anderson of Cornell University, Craig Reynolds of the Australian National University, Rachel Harrison of The School of Oriental and African Studies, Michael Connors of La Trobe University in Melbourne, Graeme Lang of City University of Hong Kong, Professor Garry Rodan of Murdoch University and Eduardo Tadem of the Asian Studies University of the Philippines.

Journalists and international organisations have also joined the campaign. They include the Inter-national Federation of Journalists, Human Rights Watch and Article 19.

The Midnight University is considering taking its case to the National Human Rights Commission and the Administrative Court.

Its petition is at http://www.petitiononline.com/freeweb/petition.html

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

 The Nation