Publish And Perish

Whe

n Suthichai Yoon, editor-in-chief of Thailand's Nation Multimedia Group, picked up the phone last Wednesday, the caller wouldn't give his name, but said he was a banker with interesting news. He had received an order to investigate a list of people for possible violations of Thailand's money-laundering laws. According to the mystery banker, Yoon had been named, along with members of his family, editors and columnists of the Nation group and other journalists.

Last week was a notably bad one for Thailand's press, one of the freest in Asia—and it looks like more trouble is on the way. The Nation Group came in for the hardest slam: the transmission of a live interview with a government critic on the company's radio program was abruptly cut off. The Defense Ministry, which owns the radio station, offered a series of unconvincing explanations; taking heed, the Nation Group said it was ending political coverage on its 24-hour cable news channel. The most recent issue of Britain's the Economist was banned because of a special supplement on Thailand. And the government reversed a decision to deport two Bangkok-based correspondents for the Far Eastern Economic Review, who had been accused of endangering national security, only after the publication offered a measured apology. Their sin: to write a tiny article mentioning tensions between the King of Thailand and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire, prides himself on his CEO-style leadership. He's boasted of his own willingness, when necessary, to change the rules to achieve desired results. When elected in 2001, he had the biggest parliamentary majority in Thai history. He ran as a reformer and an ostensible supporter of Thailand's pro-democracy 1997 constitution. But Thaksin's first year in office has been characterized by the sort of top-down management style that might work in the boardroom but seems autocratic almost anywhere else. By absorbing other minority parties, his Thai Rak Thai party now has a two-thirds majority in the assembly, which could allow constitutional changes after a five-year moratorium on amendments expires in October. Thaksin has claimed he had nothing to do with the press crackdowns, but few believe his underlings would be operating without his approval. "He wants total control," says Senator Somkiat Onwimon.

Thaksin has been antagonistic to the press since he entered politics in 1997. Journalists who insisted on probing his business empire got a taste of Thaksin's vaunted temper. While a candidate for Prime Minister, he bought a controlling interest in the country's only independent television station, ITV. Afterward, 23 staffers who had reported on his problems with the National Counter Corruption Commission were fired. When Thaksin was on trial for withholding information about his finances, he requested that reporters refrain from criticizing the government for six months, saying it would boost public spirits. Editors have charged that outlets that didn't comply found themselves deprived of advertising from Thaksin's Shin Corporation, the largest advertiser in the country. (Government officials deny this.)

Thaksin's government has responded quickly to any criticism. In late February, after pollsters at Assumption University released a survey showing that Thaksin's popularity had declined from 72% to 52%, their office was visited by senior officials of the Defense Ministry, the Ministry of University Affairs and the Special Branch police—all on the same day and without warning. When Chulakorn Singhakowin, head of the Thai Bankers Association, said in an interview last August that Thailand could face a 10-year recession, Thaksin exploded in response, telling him to "shut up."

He's also not above pulling populist levers to achieve his political ends. In explaining the planned expulsion of the Far Eastern Economic Review reporters, he suggested publicly they had offended the country's revered monarchy. (They hadn't, and weren't charged with violating Thailand's lèse majesté laws.) One of the ways he came to power was promising to give every Thai village about $23,000. He did—but now most of that money has been spent. In a by-election last month, Thai Rak Thai won only four of the 14 House of Representatives seats contested. Thais knew their leader was adept with carrots. Now they're seeing how he wields a stick.