Thai journalists decry bomb attacks on newspaper office

Thai journalists decry bomb attacks on newspaper office
by -
SEPA
The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) and Thai Broadcast Journalists Association (TBJA) on 17 June 2008 condemned a small bomb attack on The Manager Daily newspaper in Bangkok, calling it a " reckless act aimed at threatening the work of the media." At around 10:15 PM on 15 June 2008, unidentified assailants onboard motorcycles lobbed two small bombs at the property of Manager daily newspaper (Phu Jad Karn ) on Phra Arthit Rd., Bangkok. The bombs caused loud explosions but no injury.  

The Thai Journalists Association (TJA) and Thai Broadcast Journalists Association (TBJA) on 17 June 2008 condemned a small bomb attack on The Manager Daily newspaper in Bangkok, calling it a " reckless act aimed at threatening the work of the media." At around 10:15 PM on 15 June 2008, unidentified assailants onboard motorcycles lobbed two small bombs at the property of Manager daily newspaper (Phu Jad Karn ) on Phra Arthit Rd., Bangkok. The bombs caused loud explosions but no injury.   

The TJA, a member of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA),and the TBJA, viewed the attack as harassment of a critical newspaper, and said the act "constitutes a challenge to the power and authority of police officers in protecting the public and maintaining peace and order. "

SEAPA joins the TJA and the TBJA in urging the Thai police to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice. Absent their accountability, the Thai groups said, the impunity by which the newspaper was attacked could threaten freedom of the media in general. "We also call upon the police to report to the public on the progress in this case soonest. A prompt response will restore the confidence not only of the media  but also of the Thai public and the society in general," the TJA-TBJA statement says. "A threat to media freedom is accordingly a threat to the people. "