Keynote Address

Transcript of Keynote Address
By His Excellency Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
On the 10th Anniversary of Asia News Network
7 March 2009, Peninsula Hotel, Bangkok
Excellencies,
Editors, Chiefs and Representatives of news agencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all let me congratulate the Asia News Network for reaching the 10th Anniversary and I say this because I know that this network was born, in a way, out of a crisis-a crisis in the year 1997 with all the financial and economic damages that have taken toll on the region. In response to that you have set up a network of cooperation and services, and have since grown in strength and numbers, having an additional member this year. So you really should be congratulated on the achievements over the last decade.
Indeed, when I listened to be chairman of the board, I can't help thinking that such optimism is so rare during these times. It does bring a message of optimism and hope, he's actually speaking like a politician. So I hope what I'm going to say now with perhaps some warning and some opinions, you will not accuse me of sounding too much like a journalist. I am actually speaking to an audience here in this room of maybe just over a hundred, but of course, if you communicate what I have to say, I actually will be reaching an audience of 30 million. That's a lot of people, so just as I sent this message to the Thai journalists and newspapers association last night, you, of course, will recognise the importance your publications play in this age of information. So when you write your editorials and your articles with balance and accuracy, that means your readers and your news consumers understand more about the issues that affect their lives. As you update the world with the most current news, you will also be provoking thoughts, instill values and give readers hope for a better future.
But of course, we live in very challenging times. Not just facing yet another round of financial and economic crisis. And this time, it's on a global scale, perhaps unprecedented. But also you live through times where there will be new challenges in the things that you do, particularly with the advance of technology. I heard this message of celebration that the print media continues to do well in Asia, but it's obvious also that the decline in other regions, particularly in the United States and also in Europe, are probably the direct result of technological change. And subsequently, the change in consumer behavior. So that while the internet and the electronic media clearly provides further opportunities, they also bring on some fresh and formidable challenges.
The thought that I would certainly leave with you here, as news professionals, is that, first of all, to continue to retain your importance and influence. It's very important to readership among the young they because they are the first and the quickest to respond to technological changes. Unless we are able to retain their readership, then, of course, the print media industry will also be threatened and also might even face decline as in other regions. Secondly, we are not talking about just consumers in this day and age when we talk about the internet. The line between the producer and consumer has become blurred, and that's also true, as far as news services and perhaps journalism in concerned, with blogs with individual websites, with this technology anybody now can claim to also be a reporter and a journalist. It's a considerable challenge for you to demonstrate that there is still a need for professionalism in the things that you do, and so by keeping up with high standards and ensuring the quality of your news and reports, that is the only way to fend off people who aspire to be journalists and reporters by using the internet without having the necessary qualifications, knowledge or even ethical standards. If you can do that, I too, will share the optimism of your chairman of the board, and I look forward to further growth and strength in this organisation.
In Thailand, I recognise the important duty of the media. But while you have grown in strength, in numbers, let me admit frankly that I have been saddened by the decline, as far as the relationship between state and media is concerned, over the last decade. Khun Pana mentioned that I was born in Newcastle, that which condemns me to be a supporter of the best football club in the world. And what I will say about the problem that Thailand has over the last decade is probably best illustrated by my football club's "progress", if that's the word over the last decade. About ten years ago, Newcastle aspired to be champions of the premier league. At least every year, we think there's a possibility of actually reaching the champion's league. These days, we have to fight relegation. Ten years ago, when Thailand looked at the freedom of media table, we were right up there among the best. We used to claim that we were the region's best in terms of freedom for the media to work. These days, we look at the countries below us, because we have fallen down or slipped down this table of media freedom considerably over the last decade. The first thing I say is that as a Prime Minister, I have every intention of reversing that trend. I think it's important for liberal democratic development here in Thailand that we have to reverse that trend and make sure that you can enjoy working in Thailand, just as many of your predecessors did a decade ago.
The fact of the matter is, despite the fact that we have far better constitutional protection of freedom of expression, they have been compromised and reversed by a number of laws that had enabled the government to make restrictions with the pretext of perhaps preserving national security or other matters. And also over the last decade, we have seen growth in the forms and extent of interference by governments and politicians with some newspapers. The use of libel law, or the abuse of law often used as negotiating instruments by politicians is a case in point. So in the policy statement that I delivered to Parliament last year, I clearly stated that the government will promote media freedom here in Thailand. We do that by doing a number of things. First, as far as the legal structure environment is concerned, we would like to amend the Official Information Law again to make information that is with government agencies and the public sector more accessible to the public. That is, I think, the most important starting point for accurate reporting to the people. Secondly, we will introduce the law on protection of media professionals in order to make sure that members of the media can operate with freedom, non-interference, and also with social responsibility. In fact, there's been a passage of a new Printing Act in 2007, which lifted all the censorship provisions in the 1941 Printing Act. And my government will build on that and amend any law which contravenes the rights and freedoms of the people and the media. And we will also move quickly, to take further steps as far as the electronics media is concerned. Yesterday, the government has pushed through the first reading of the law that will set up the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Committee that will oversee the policy and act as an independent regulator, which will be an important step, not just in terms of regulating the industry, but also making sure that we use our resources, particularly, frequencies, so that we serve the public without government interference and without undue influence as far as business is concerned. So while we work to end interference of the media, in the longer term, we also carry forward reform of the entire media sector in a comprehensive, fair and transparent manner and continue to improve the role of state media agencies to better serve the public interest.
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As far as Thailand is concerned, over the last two and a half months, I hope you would have noticed considerable changes taking place. I know last year, we provided you with no shortage of headlines and photos that can sell your newspaper, but clearly we could not go on the way we were conducting things last year. And the last two and a half months, my priority has been to bring a state of normalcy back to the country and to Thai politics. And of course, while my work is not complete, I think that you can actually sense the change that has taken place. There is now more stability, we now have a fully functioning government and able to push through a number of significant policies, not just through Parliament, but also making it felt among the general public. So in the short space of time of the two months, we have the stimulus package in place to face up to the economic challenges that we face as well as all the other countries. At the same time, we have been able to host the ASEAN Summit as ASEAN Chair just last weekend with all the agreements that needed to be signed again approved by the joint sitting of the Parliament. And I hope that stability will now enable us, not just to face up to the short term challenges of the financial and economic crisis, but also enable us now to get to work on some of the medium and longer term issues, which are equally important to make sure that the Thai economy and Thailand remain competitive in the new global setting.
As far as continuing to build the stability and pursuing this program of reconciliation, we're also making progress on the issue of political reform because I believe that the key to a long lasting stable political system here in Thailand rests on bringing back justice and also inviting participation from more groups of people. As far as justice is concerned, all the cases that arise from the incidents last year are being vigorously pursued and there has been substantial progress, which has been reported almost on a weekly basis now. And as far as the reform program is concerned, the opposition have now agreed that we should refer the matter to a neutral body, the King Prajadhipok's Institute, which is an independent public academic organisation, to come up with a framework and also a time scale for the way we could pursue this political reform program. What I hope to do through political reform is that we will then move forward and have the strength to tackle all the challenges, economic and social, short and long term.
And of course, one of the key priorities for me as a politician is to continue with the agenda on education. In our measures to deal with the short term financial crisis, we have not forgotten to continue to emphasise the importance of education, which is why the 15-year free basic education is the key component of our economic stimulus package. We know that the challenge for us is not just a question of economic opportunities, but also the quality of education. We recognise also that education does not mean just formal education, but it also means informal and non-formal education, where again the media will also play a key role in making sure that Thailand moves up the value added ladder by becoming a creative economy, which rests on the need to become a knowledge society and a learning society.
Let me also just mention that as far as stability is concerned, one of the issues that have captured your interest, or the interest of your readers, has of course been the issue of the unrest in the southern border provinces. Again, we're taking a fresh approach. While we allow the security forces to continue their work which has brought some success, we know this has to be complemented by the need for a comprehensive development program--- education, cultural and economic. At the same time, we have to address some of the past injustices. I will vigorously pursue all the remaining cases so that local people in those provinces feel that they have been accorded justice, that there are opportunities being provided by the government of Thailand, and that they are proud to be a part of Thailand. That is the way we will address the issue of the southern border provinces and I hope to see some changes that will become more concrete as time goes by.
Finally, let me just say that while we are busy with the priorities and the challenges and the problems domestically, we also recognise that these days, an adequate response to a number of challenges to our country and our people will have to be coordinated. We have to see cooperation from our friends. I am pleased to say that last weekend in Cha-Am and Hua Hin when we met for the 14th ASEAN Leaders Summit, the first under the new Charter, we have reaffirmed the commitment to realise the ASEAN Community by the year 2015. We discussed ways and issues to strengthen our regional resilience amidst the global economic disruption. And there have been a number of initiatives by the defense ministers, and by finance ministers that are now pushing our cooperation into fresh terms. For instance, the defense ministers now recognise that our cooperation in ASEAN will also have to seek the participation of civil society, and they will be using military cooperation assets now for humanitarian purposes. Our finance ministers provided an example for the global institutions in trying to multilateralise the Chiang Mai Initiative, which is an arrangement for swaps and reserve pooling---that this is the way forward for various regions to complement the global financial institutions in providing facilities and also in addressing the global financial concerns.
I will of course take some of these messages to the G20 Summit in London in early April where I hope, alongside the President of Indonesia, to reflect the views of ASEAN people and also Asia in general. I will echo your chairman of the board that in Asia, you do have a region that has strong fundamentals and there are a number of things that we can usefully reflect and also communicate to the rest of the world. The G20 will be one such occasion.
But the most importantly, when we met in Cha-Am and Hua Hin, the key theme that we wanted to pursue was that ASEAN cooperation must be for ASEAN peoples and to do that, we need to engage people. For the first time, the leaders met with the representatives from ASEAN youth, parliamentarians, and civil society. Although not everything went smoothly, we have made a very important start and we must continue along that path. For in doing so, your role will be pivotal. There is no way that ASEAN governments and Leaders can truly work for the ASEAN peoples if the ASEAN peoples don't have awareness as ASEAN citizens. While the leaders and the governments can make statements, can make declarations---the information, the news, the perspectives that they will read, that they will have, will come from you. So ASEAN and Asian journalist and newspapers will be pivotal in your role in making sure that the increased awareness as Asian or ASEAN citizens will actually take place. So I hope that in endeavours, in your reports and in your work, you will help us, governments and leaders, in creating this awareness in bringing the Asian or ASEAN people together. In finding a common purpose so that we can truly tap into the strength and potentials of this great region. I ask you for your cooperation on this. And let me reiterate it again that as far as the Thai government in concerned, we recognise the importance and we will respect your freedoms. We look forward to working with you, and hope that in ten years time, not only will you be celebrating your 20th anniversary with increase numbers and strength, but maybe out of this crisis, something new would have been born in your endeavours also.
Thank you very much.