Thailand's Restrictions on Media Difficult to Measure

If you are going to Thailand soon or live there now, you should avoid using your mobile phone to send text messages political in nature, as martial law is still in effect. The online publications Pattaya Daily News and Southeast Asian Press Alliance Friday reported the new restrictions on the media.

While I was unable to pull up the new rules or so much as a news release on the Thai government website (parts of the site might be shut down or under construction), it's clear that freedoms of the press and personal speech, including written, have been curtailed, especially political opinions, though the extent is impossible to measure.

Still, my sources tell me Thailand appears to be a safe, peaceful place, only a few days after a nonviolent military coup. And most people have gone back to their daily routines.