Thai red-shirts to launch new TV station to replace blocked one

Source: Xinhua | 05-11-2009 19:56

BANGKOK, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Thai anti-government United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), or red-shirts, will launch a new satellite TV station next Monday after their previous one, D-Station, was shut down by the government under emergency decree.

Bangkok Post's website Monday quoted UDD senior member Adisorn Piengket as saying that the new station would either be named "News DStation" or "DStation 2" and is expected to be on air on May18.

The original D-Station, whose role had been a mouthpiece for the red-shirts during their rallies from late March to mid April, was closed by government, citing emergency decree, after the rallies escalated into clashes that disrupted then-ongoing ASEAN summits and led to more than 100 people injured and two dead.

After the state of emergency in Bangkok was lifted on April 24, UDD has been urging the government to resume the D-Station, only to find the station and other pro-UDD radio stations were still blocked.

UDD, a political group that supports the ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, complained that the closure of D-Station is unlawful and unfair because authorities did not take any action against ASTV, the mouthpiece of an anti-Thaksin group, People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), when the latter seized Government House last year.

According to Adisorn, who was also an executive of the old D-Station, the new station will inherit all programs and features from the blocked station and operate just like ASTV.

Editor:Xiong Qu