Thai junta not to breach media's rights

BANGKOK, June 27 (TNA) - The Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has promised that the junta will not violate the right and freedom of expression of the media. An NCPO deputy chief, Police General Adul Saengsingkaew, made the pledge on Friday, explaining that five working panels set up recently by the junta to follow up news broadcast to the public is only aimed to help the information and news committee reduce its workload. Police General Adul, who is a former national police chief, acknowledged that the setting up of the five working panels is also part of the NCPO's policy on integrating the work of relevant state units with clear operational procedures. The NCPO's chief made the remarks after receiving an open letter from the Thai Journalists Association (TJA) and Thai Broadcast Journalists Association (TBJA), expressing their concerns over the junta's setting up of the information and news committee and the five working panels to monitor news contents of all branches of local media. The two journalists bodies, thus, called for clear and regulatory guidelines of the panels so that journalists and media practitioners can follow accordingly.(TNA)