So now this blog is attracting ever more intriguing responses. Have a look at this one below - it reads like an official press release from the Junta. It came in without a signature, so we don’t know who sent it…

Dear Mr. Dan Rivers,
On our part, may we be allowed to put the following on the record:-
Thailand's policy on press freedom remains the same as expressed by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont during his speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) on 7 November 2006, after assuming the position of Prime Minister. You yourself were present then.

(Well, actually I wasn’t, because the 7th of November is my birthday and I distinctly remember being at Angkor Wat, but anyway, let’s not let the facts get in the way of this fascinating contribution)

The Council of National Security (CNS) has requested for and received good cooperation from television and radio broadcasters in Thailand in being discreet when broadcasting programmes that might affect the process of political reform or national reconciliation in this country.

The Thai Government and the CNS by no means have any intention of controlling nor influencing the work of the media, both domestic and international.

Yes, the fact is that the recent broadcasts of the excerpt of Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra’s interview with CNN’s “Talk Asia” on Monday, 15 January and its full programme on Saturday, 20 January 2007 were not aired in Thailand. But it is also the fact that the blockade of signal was voluntarily done by the UBC, the carrier of the CNN broadcast in Thailand. Neither the Government nor the CNS has ever issued instructions or request for the broadcaster to prevent the programme from being on air.

It is also the fact that the said programme was broadcast in its entirety on the following day. After UBC’s consultations with the authorities concerned, UBC has broadcast it in full on Sunday, 21 January 2007 between 08.30-09.00 hours (Thailand time).

Well apparently UBC are now telling us that they didn’t in fact block our broadcast at all. It begs the question : who did???? Anyway, it’s all getting a bit “inside baseball” this, so for those of you who aren’t interested in Thai politics, skip this bit and read about Cambodia, below!

For those that are interested: our broadcast was blocked right up until this last weekend, when mysteriously the full interview was suddenly allowed to be shown. Someone was responsible for that decision. I have no proof who that was, or who actually pushed the button, but it was widely reported the Junta asked the local media to cooperate and not to broadcast or publish messaages from Thaksin. A request by a military junta is a bit like a polite question from a 700 kilo gorilla - it doesn’t matter how politely the question is put, you’re going to acquiesce and say yes, unless you want to be bashed on the head with a banana. It might not be an “order” or a “ban”, but the message was clear - if you want to stay on-side with the army in Thailand, you’d be advised to do what it asks and don’t cause any trouble. And as the army now runs the country, keeping the generals on-side obviously seems sensible to some media here.

Anyway, let’s park that issue there.

I’m in Cambodia at the moment, looking at the issue of sex-slaves and child prostitution. It’s harrowing, desperate stuff. Some of the interviews were difficult to listen to - I can’t imagine how the victims of this awful industry feel. I wonder how much of the violence, perversion and down-right evil we’ve encountered while talking to victims of the sex trade here, is down to Cambodia’s shattered past and the genocide committed during the Khmer Rouge years in the 70’s. I guess, sadly it’s probably much the same in many other countries the world over, but it doesn’t stop me grasping for a rationale or cause, which can explain how parents could possibly sell their own five year old girl to a brothel.