There are not many shades of democracy in Southeast Asia, Kulachada admitted, and media in the region are still struggling hard, citing the examples of conservative issues in Indonesia and death threats to media workers in the Philippines.

“But they still have made some improvements in some aspects,” she said. “They are better compared [with] Thailand, where the government is using non-legal tactics against media.”

She was also concerned that vulnerable press-freedom groups in the Kingdom were contributing to the current weakening of freedom.

Kulachada was speaking at a panel discussion on “How Free Is Thailand’s Media?” hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday.

Her concerns were reiterated by Anuthee Dejthevaporn, Voice TV’s political field reporter, who said the Thai Journalists Association (TJA), one of Thailand’s prominent media organisations, had done little for minor media like his.

“The TJA does not recognise us at all,” Anuthee said. “It’s true that they issued statements on Tuesday to show concerns about media freedom. But they didn’t budge a bit when Voice TV was summoned more than 10 times.”

Voice TV has been called in by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), which Anuthee found ironic since the NBTC was supposed to protect the media’s interests.

“But the NCPO has used it as their tool. When they dislike our content, they submit a complaint to the NBTC, which then launches an inquisition,” he said. “If the inquisition results in punishment, we could be permanently shut down without compensation.”

Once forced to shut down temporarily shortly after the coup in 2014, Voice TV is now censoring itself to avoid repeating history, he said. The tactics range from name changes of popular TV programmes to temporarily taking off some famous reporters “to avoid the spotlight of the authorities”, he said.

Anuthee said his office was often branded as a red-shirt medium and consequently not treated like a news outlet at all. “We work professionally,” he insisted.

Chiranuch Premchaiporn, director of online news outlet Prachatai, said media freedom and responsibility were both crucial but the two should be discussed separately.

“If the two things go together, people may think that if there is interference in the media, it means that they are irresponsible. That’s just not true at all.”

She said the media today could probably feel free “if they agree to work in a certain scope and self-censorship”.

Like Anuthee, Chiranuch viewed the NBTC as the government’s tool over broadcasting media. Print and online media have been watched by the National Council for Peace and Order also, she said.

Nopporn Wong-Anan, deputy editor of the Bangkok Post, said the junta should allow more open discussion if it wants to realise its reform attempts. Nopporn recalled that his office had been called from time to time and told to stay on designated paths.

“They told us not to try to urge people to oppose or overthrow them. They also told us not to worsen the political divide,” he said, adding that the junta also made calls to inform the outlet of what should be reported.

He said the Bangkok Post was lucky to have not seen greater interference from the junta so far.

The FCCT event was also attended by US Ambassador to Thailand Glyn Davies and representatives from the Swedish Embassy, as well as a number of military officers.

The Election Commission has issued guidelines of six dos and eight don’ts. It allows personal opinions and campaigns that are backed academically, but stops short of saying whether they could persuade the public to vote yes or no. There have been conflicting interpretations on whether people can express their acceptance or rejection of the draft.

PM Prayut earlier insisted that any form of campaign on the charter draft must not be allowed in order to prevent possible political conflicts. He stressed the point again yesterday. Prayut refused to answer questions regarding the referendum, saying they should be directed to the EC.

Prayut also said former PM Yingluck Shinawatra’s Facebook post critical of him would be scrutinised under the law.

“She [Yingluck] can post what she wants. But it would be pursued under the law,” he said, adding the eight persons who were arrested last week would have their cases prosecuted under the law.

In the meantime, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) would mobilise its forces and facilities to support the information dissemination and public relations campaigns on the ground to be carried out by the EC and the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), said Sirichan Ngathong, the NCPO’s deputy spokesperson, yesterday. The CDC from this month on would kick off its campaigns, starting with training courses for public relations campaigns in communities nationwide, while the EC has already come up with new laws, including the referendum act and the new announcement regarding public campaigns.

Sirichan said the NCPO would mobilise all of its forces to promote public understanding of the charter draft so that they could go to the poll stations to vote on it freely in the upcoming referendum.

The body would provide support to EC officials upon request to help facilitate their public relations campaigns in regard to the referendum. It would also provide the same facilities to the CDC when they visit people countrywide to educate them about the draft.

The two others summoned were Chiang Mai University lecturer Pinkaew Laungaramsri and schoolteacher Surapong Sriphrom.

Some 11 protesters dressed in white went to Chiang Mai‘s Tha Phrae Gate on April 27 to “stand still” and symbolically protest against recent arrests made by the junta.

Meanwhile, the three insisted that their action was non-violent and maintained their innocence.

However, the military officers stood firm, saying that the country was currently under extraordinary circumstances and hence trio’s action could be considered as being politically motivated.

The military officers asked the three activists to sign a so-called memorandum of understanding and promise not stage any political activities again, Rodjaraeg said. The activists refused to sign the MoU.

Though the military officers said they were OK with the activists not signing the pact, they warned of stronger action if more demonstrations are held, she said.

Lt-Colonel Phitsanupong Jaibuddhi, acting intelligence chief at Military Circle 33, said the military had invited the academics and activist for “talks”.

He also said Pinkaew and Rodjaraeg had been previously invited to meet with the military and sign a pact not to pursue any political activities, hence their latest activity was seen as breaching this agreement. In addition, she said, the activity had been carried out without permission and hence was considered as being in violation of the ban on public gatherings.

The remaining eight persons will be invited later, he added.

Rodjaraeg said Surapong, who is a schoolteacher in Tak province, was being pressured by his supervisor not to engage in any political activities. The order was passed down from the provincial governor to the school Surapong is working at, the activist said.

As for Pinkaew, even though his summonses were sent via the rector of Chiang Mai University, she was undergoing no pressure, she said. Rodjaraeg owns the “Book Re:public” bookstore in Chiang Mai where public seminars on rights and democracy are often held. She also recently received the “International Women of Courage” award from the US State Department after having twice attended the junta’s “attitude adjustment” sessions.

Rodjaraeg did not say whether the activists would hold more political activities, though she did express confidence that their “standing still” protest was peaceful and did not break any laws. The protest was held to demand the release of civilians detained and charged with sedition and computer crimes last week.

She added that they were well aware of the ban on public gatherings, as well as the junta’s orders and announcements. She said they had always tried not to break laws in order to avoid unnecessary problems with the junta.

In the run-up to the referendum, the CDC has to travel up and down the country to fulfill its task, making sure that members of the public understand the charter before they cast their votes. However, concern has arisen that the drafters might face opposition during their trips, as there are active opposition groups – those opposing the charter, as well as those against the current regime.

Meechai said the drafters were not worried, even though they would sometimes have to explain the charter in the strongholds of those opposing the military-led regime under which the CDC was appointed to write a new constitution.

Last month, Meechai himself met with such opponents when he was giving a lecture about the rationale behind the charter draft, soon after its completion and when it was first being publicised.

The security of the drafters has since become a concern.

The CDC chairman also said yesterday that he was not 100 per cent certain about the security measures provided by the officers at each venue, although they have vowed to take immediate action against opponents trying to ruin the stages set aside for explaining the draft.

However, he expressed confidence that the CDC’s network and volunteers would be able to handle any unfavourable situations, as they were local people from each area.

In a related development, CDC spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni, a veteran diplomat, yesterday met with foreign ambassadors and representatives of international organisations to update them on the current situation relating to the charter draft and the planned referendum.

He said he had informed them that the charter, which he stressed to his audience had been crafted to specifically suit the Thai context, had been completed and could be put to the nation in a national plebiscite on August 7.

The CDC took the cue from its chief, Meechai, that comments from the international community were not necessary because the constitution belonged solely to the Thai Kingdom.

Moreover, the National Council for Peace and Order has also given a clear guideline that the CDC should come up with a charter that suits Thailand best, and that is in line with international standards.

Norachit stressed that the CDC had no responsibility to explain the charter to the international community, but since many ambassadors had shown interest, it had agreed to hold yesterday’s forum.

In addition, the CDC spokesman provided three scenarios for the referendum outcome.

“If both the charter and the extra question [empowering the next Senate to have a role in choosing a prime minister] pass, the provisional clauses would be amended accordingly. But, if both fail, the CDC would be dissolved and a new panel should be set up to write a new charter,” he said.

“If only the extra question passes, the new charter drafters would have to consider such a referendum result,” he added.

The international representatives and ambassadors yesterday showed interest in and inquired about the origin of the Senate under the provisional clauses, and they expressed understanding of his explanation, Norachit said.

Forty-seven diplomatic representatives attended the forum, along with representatives from six international organisations.