In Media
After more than three months of anti-government street protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), how does the public view the current political situation? Does the PAD still command the loyalty of like-minded citizens?
The answers must be viewed against the recent conduct of the PAD. In the early morning of Aug 26, a group of armed PAD members broke into the state-run television station NBT and forced journalists to stop working. These attackers were later arrested by police.
A few hours later, a big crowd of PAD supporters marched to the NBT station and seized it. They claimed the TV station had aired negative reports about the group. Their claim was false. Only a few programmes aired by NBT were critical of the PAD.
The attack on NBT may be considered a threat to the media. It was similar to actions taken by military coup-makers, who always seized control of TV stations when they rolled out their tanks.
The PAD had repeatedly claimed that its protest was peaceful. But the NBT incident showed its true colours. Many now wonder what the PAD really stands for.
When it started the street protests in May, the PAD announced that it would bring down the government, alleging that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was a nominee of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The attack on NBT and the takeover of Government House went beyond its peaceful pronouncements. It has yet to be seen how the media and the public will look at the PAD from now on.
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