Battle also plays out in courts
 The Nation
November 26 , 2005 - Sondhi Limthongkul’s lawyer yesterday filed an appeal with the Civil Court against the gag order issued on November 17 that stops the media mogul from criticising the prime minister. Suwat Apaipak said the gag order was unconstitutional and restricted the fundamental rights and freedoms of the media.
He said he was confident the court would lift the order, which prevents Sondhi from criticising the means by which the ThaiCom satellite and GSM 900 mobile-phone concessions were obtained. The media deems these to be national properties that the public should be able to monitor, he said.
Suwat also said he would submit an appeal on Monday with the Administrative Court against the actions of PM’s Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva, Public Relations Department deputy chief Dusadee Sinjermsiri, and Suwit Panyamee, acting assistant manager of the Provincial Electricity Authority’s Loei branch. He accuses them of abusing their powers by ordering local cable distributors not to broadcast Sondhi’s “Thailand Weekly” talk shows.
Meanwhile, Maj-General Kittisak Ratprasert gave his brother, Sompote Ratprasert, the power to withdraw a lese majeste complaint he made against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam.
He said he no longer wished to pursue the matter because he misunderstood the circumstances in which they presided over a merit-making ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. |
