BANGKOK — Thailand’s internet-regulatory body has threatened to punish a Norwegian telecommunications giant for revealing that the Thai junta was behind a brief Facebook shutdown last month.

“It’s inappropriate and disrespectful,” Col. Setthapong Malisuwan, deputy chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC), told  pro-military Thai newspaper Naew Na today.

Col. Setthapong was referring to media reports revealing that the Norway-based company Telenor, which owns the Thai operator DTAC, was instructed by the NBTC to temporarily block Facebook as part of the junta’s ongoing effort to silence dissidents on social media.

Tor Odland, head of communications at Telenor, reportedly told a Norwegian Newspaper that his company received instructions from the NBTC on 28 May to block access to Facebook in Thailand for an hour, affecting over 10 million users of the site.

The NBTC has operated under military orders since the coup d’etat on 22 May.

According to a report by Irrawaddy, Mr. Odland “laments” the measure but said his company was required to comply with the Thai junta’s demand under the conditions of its local telecom license.

The report contradicts the Thai military junta’s claim that it did not block Facebook. Spokesperson of the junta’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) said in nationally-televised address that the problem was caused by a technical failure in the internet gateway. He insisted that the NCPO had no plans to censor social media in Thailand.

Col. Setthapong, the deputy chairman of the NBTC, told Naew Na today that Telenor and its subsidiary company DTAC will be punished for their whistleblowing.

“From now on, the NBC will be more strict and monitor the stock holdings of DTAC company in a more vigilant manner,” said Col. Setthapong said, who is also the chairman of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). “If we discover that the ratio of foreigners’ stocks in DTAC causes suspicion that they might violate the laws on foreigners’ stock holding, the NBC may bar DTAC from auction for 4G signal.”

Col. Setthapong added that the NBTC has already formed a special committee to scruitinise Telenor’s stock holdings. A swift legal prosecution will be undertaken if any violation is found, he told Naew Na.

Since the NCPO seized power from the former government on 22 May, it has shut down more than 200 websites, censored a number of news outlets, and threatened to prosecute those who criticise the NCPO on social media.

The NCPO’s crackdown on Thailand’s vibrant online community comes after anti-coup activists successfully coordinated protests against the military regime via Facebook and Twitter.

Pol. Maj. Gen Amnuay Nimmano, Deputy Commander of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, went as far as warning the public that “liking” Facebook pages that criticise the military coup could be considered a criminal offense.

UPDATE: Suthep Thaugsuban has decided to postpone the fundraiser until "the situation is appropriate."

BANGKOK — While Redshirt activists either flee for their lives or submit to military detainment, former leader of the anti-government protests Suthep Thaugsuban is planning a lavish fundraiser.

Mr. Suthep was the leader of the anti-government People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD), which staged six months of street protests in an effort to oust former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

This Saturday he is hosting a dinner party, titled  "Dinner With Uncle Senior Village Headman [Suthep's Nickname]" to raise money for PCAD supporters who were injured over the the six months of deadly protests.

The fundraiser is being held at Bangkok's Pacific City Club, which describes itself as a "prestigious heritage club for exclusive members" on its website. Each ticket will cost 10,000 baht and only 70 seats will be available, according to Mr. Suthep's announcement.

The announcement comes amid rising criticism that the military regime is overtly favoring Mr. Suthep's political faction over the rival Redshirt movement that supported the former government. The political conflict that culminated with Thailand's 12th military coup d'etat on 22 May pitted mostly rural "Redshirts" from the North and Northeast against Bangkok-based "Yellowshirts" backed by a conservative elite. 

Although the military junta has billed itself as a neutral mediator on a mission to “reconcile" society and "de-colourise" Thai politics, so far its actions have largely benefited supporters of the anti-government movement led by Mr. Suthep.

After seizing power last month, the junta’s National Council For Peace and Order (NCPO) announced it would undertake over year of national reforms before holding elections in Thailand — a platform identical to what the PCAD had been advocating for months. The pro-government Redshirts on the other hand, had consistently demanded that elections be held before any reforms are pursued.

Over the past few weeks, the NCPO has arrested and detained scores of Redshirt activists, compared to only a handful of  “Yellowshirt” PCAD leaders. Many prominent Redshirts have fled the country to avoid persecution at the hands of the junta, and those who have submitted to military detainment have kept a low-profile since their release.

Like other core PCAD  leaders, Mr. Suthep is facing charges of insurrection, inciting unrest, and other offences related to the PCAD's six-month campaign against the former government. He has been granted bail release and will be tried in criminal court, although there is no word on when the trial will take place.

Meanwhile, the military has been quick to organize the trials of several Redshirt activists who have committed the much lighter offense of resisting the military’s summons orders.

After being released from military custody, Mr. Suthep and other PCAD leaders celebrated the coup with a "birthday party" at an upscale restaurant in Bangkok. Photos of the party-goers wearing military fatigues circulated on social media and reinforced Redshirts' suspicions of a tacit alliance between the military and the PCAD. The PCAD leader who posted the photos has since deleted them. 

The dinner party planned for this weekend is bound to anger supporters of the former government as well.

Before he can preside over the fundraiser, Mr. Suthep will undergo an operation at Bangkok Hospital for two days to treat an injury in his right shoulder.

Mr. Suthep said the injury was caused by raising his arm too many times during the six months of prolonged protests. 

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BANGKOK — The host of a popular new talk show and publishers of leftist magazine have announced a sudden end to their operations, citing political tension in the post-coup environment.

Pinyo Trisuriyadhamma said in a Facebook post that he decided to discontinue Amarin Newsnight after its first week on air due to "a change in the situation outside and inside the [Amarin TV] station" following the military coup on 22 May.

"To maintain my stance and ethical principle, I hereby announce the end to Amarin Newsnight," Mr. Pinyo wrote. "My staff and I are proud to have created a new form of nighttime news show to be aired with magnificence.”

He added, "Although today the clouds are covering the sky, I believe that all of my young staff will be shining stars when the sky is clear again."

The nascent talk show, whose guests this week included former Prime Minister and Democrat Party chairman Abhisit Vejjajiva, won praises for its articulate and relatively impartial approach.

Meanwhile, the publishers of a progressive political magazine, Fah Diew Gun (Same Sky), also announced today that they have indefinitely suspended publication until further notice. The statement, posted on Facebook, explained that their operation has come under intense scrutiny by the military after the army imposed martial law on 20 May and staged a coup two days later.

"The coup junta has extensively closed down and monitored the media. Under this condition, Same Sky Publishing has been inevitably affected," the statement reads. "Same Sky Magazine, in particular, has come under scrutiny, causing fears to every involved in its publication."

"Therefore, the editorial team has concluded that, for the safety of everyone involved, we will suspend the production of new magazines for the time being."

Founded in 2003, Same Sky Magazine has served as platform for alternative and left-leaning interpretations of domestic and international politics. 

Same Sky is also well-known for frequently publishing articles critical of the Thai monarchy — a rare feat in Thailand where comments deemed insulting to the Royal Family are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The March 2006 issue, "The Monarchy and Thai Society," received particular attention and was banned from distribution by the police. 

The magazine's editor, Thanapol Eiewsakul, was detained for several days by the military last month for participating in an anti-coup protest. 

Since seizing power in a coup d'etat on 22 May, the military's National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) has outlawed public demonstrations, detained scores of anti-coup protesters and activists, and instructed the media not to air any criticism against the NCPO or its missions. 

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BANGKOK – The Royal Thai Army has a history of using the same counterfeit bomb detectors that were reportedly used by security forces at the Pakistani airport attacked by armed militants on Sunday.

Ten Taliban commandos, armed with suicide vests, grenades, and automatic weapons, made it past checkpoints at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport late Sunday night and waged an extended battle against security forces that left at least 28 people dead.  

According to The Guardian, the security officers who guarded the outer perimeter of the airport used versions of the fake bomb-detecting device sold by a British businessman to Thailand several years ago.

James McCormick and his company sold thousands of the phony detectors at extortionate prices to countries such as Iraq, Pakistan, and Thailand.

Mr. McCormick, who was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 10 years in jail, claimed the devices could detect a wide range of substances, such as explosives or narcotics, by analysing molecular components from a distance. Mr. McCormick's company told customers that the long dials attached to the detectors would swing and point to any suspicious materials.

In reality, the devices were completely ineffectual and based on $20 golf-ball finders that Mr. McCormick had purchased in the United States.

For several years, Thai soldiers used a version of Mr. McCormick's phoney bomb detectors, called GT200, in the southern border provinces where separatist unrest has claimed more than 6,000 lives since the latest wave of violence broke out in 2002. 

According to media reports, the Thai army started buying the detectors in 2008. Similar versions of the detectors, called ALPHA, were also purchased and distributed to the Royal Thai Police for drug searches. 

It is estimated that the GT200s cost Thai taxpayers more than 630 million baht and led Thai security forces to arrest innocent individuals, while letting a number of people with real bombs pass through checkpoints undetected.

Following the news of massive bomb attacks in Baghdad in late 2009, where security forces employed devices similar to the GT200 to search for car bombs, skeptics in Thailand started to question the validity of the detectors.

Jessada Denduangboripant, a scientist at Chulalongkorn University, spearheaded a movement on social media that called for a scientific test of the GT200 devices. After initial resistance, the Thai authorities conceded and conducted the test in early 2010. The result established the GT200's accuracy to be as good as random chance.

Then-Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva eventually ordered the suspension of GT200 devices across the country. However, top army leaders and security officials continued to defend the devices long after the test. 

Among them was Central Institute of Forensic Science director, Pornthip Rojanasunand, who told the press that the scientific test that debunked the GT200 did not matter because the devices "were not scientific tools" in the first place.

“GT200 is not scientific either, it depends on the operators. The officials of the CIFS have used it with great efficiency,” Ms. Pornthip was quoted as saying in February 2010.

Ms. Pornthip, a vocal supporter of the protests against the previous government, is reportedly being considered for the job of Minister of Justice in the future army-appointed interim government. Ms. Pornthip recently told the press she is willing to accept the job, if offered. 

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, army chief and leader of the National Council for Peace and Order, also defended the GT200 as late as 2013.

“So far the army has used it and it works. Maybe it’s confidence,”  Gen. Prayuth told Thai media in July 2012.  

In an interview to the press in 2013, Gen. Prayuth asked the public to stop criticizing the devices, and admitted that some security officers still used GT200 in their field operation "because there is no alternative."

No official has ever been held accountable in court for purchases of GT200 bomb detectors. 

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