A murderous agency II

Yesterday, we posted on what the Bangkok Post called a “Blood-curdling message from Isoc alarms public.” It referred to Lt Gen Narathip Phoynork, Commander of the 4th Army Region and also the director of the ISOC Region 4, who made audible off-microphone comments about the 20 March assassination attempt on Kamonsak Leewamoh, a Prachachat Party MP for Narathiwat wjo is also known as a “human rights activist and frequent critic of the armed forces’ actions in the deep South.”

Lt Gen Narathip made comments that implied he’d have made sure the MP was dead: “I’m speaking personally. If it were me, I wouldn’t let him survive. If I were the one doing it.”

In our post, we mentioned Information Operations (IO) by ISOC and the military targeting people they think are opponents.

Little did we know that these agencies had already launched a campaign against the reporter who asked the questions of Lt Gen Narathip that led to his murderous comment.

Prachatai reports that the Thai Journalists’ Association “has condemned the use of Information Operations (IO) to intimidate a reporter after she asked the Commander of the 4th Army Region during a press conference…”. The TJA issued “its statement … on Wednesday (15 April), […and] expressed concerns over intimidation against Thapanee Eadsrichai, founder of The Reporters.”

After Thapanee raised questions she has been “bombarded with hate speech believed to be part of an IO campaign.” The statement stated that “numerous social media pages appeared to act in a coordinated manner by spreading defamatory content against Thapanee. The speed and pattern suggested a deliberate information operation rather than a spontaneous public reaction.”

The statement “added that the use of IO by security units in the Deep South has long been widely criticised. The tactics initially focused on shaping narratives to stigmatise political dissidents, politicians, and journalists.” There have also been efforts “to undermine the credibility of those who question or challenge state power. They also aim to silence the media…”.

The military and ISOC are dominated by officers who are measured and promoted for their loyalty rather than for their intelligence or competence. Hence, that these dunderheads should seek to silence and repress critics is expected.