Prayut slams reporter for damaging news – Bangkok Post, March 25, 2015
…”But you reporters should not elaborate on this. You need to consider the damage to the country, including security issues.
…”This is an ongoing effort. What will happen if we report this in a big way, telling the world about our trafficking and illegal fishing problems? What if they stop buying fish worth 200 billion baht from us? Will you take the responsibility?…”
From 2014: Avoid reporting on Thaksin, PM Pryauth tells media
Remembering Thaksin as PM: Thaksin Clamps Down on the Media
Thaksin’s most famous claim: If You Don’t Like Thaksin, You Don’t Love the Country
At the very height of his powers and hubris, Thaksin made his famous declaration that reporters who criticize him do not love the nation.
Remembering Thaksin as PM: Thaksin surprises reporters with X sign
And from 2013: PM Yingluck gives Thaksin-like speech calling on media to balance free speech with news that creates mutual understanding
From Manager, June 8, 2014
Thaksin Shinawatra: I’ve tried to shut down this TV channel, but never succeeded… Thanks Prayuth! [Gen. Prayuth, head of the junta]
[ASTV is a TV station that began aggressively attacking Thaskin when he was prime minister. This was during a time when reporters who reported negatively about the prime minster found themselves on lists to be investigated for money laundering. Media outlets critical of the PM found advertising revenue drying up and others were the subjects of takeover attempts by Thaksin business cronies. Despite attempts to muzzle ASTV, it was never forced off the air. The coup, ironically, knocked the station off the air since it was designated by the military as a channel that broadcast biased political views. The joke in the cartoon is that Thaksin appreciated this result as ASTV hounded him during and after his time as prime minister.]
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