TV blackout triggers coup fears
Bangkok Post
Published: 22/04/2011
The nationwide television blackout yesterday afternoon caused by a satellite technical glitch sparked rumours of a coup which spread like wildfire.
Media organisations were bombarded with calls from businessmen, heads of local government bodies and leaders of ethnic minority groups along the borders seeking to verify if a coup d'etat had taken place or not.
Red shirt supporters in Chiang Mai who spoke during a radio show yesterday said that the TV blackout might be related to persistent coup rumours.
The show was broadcast on a community radio station run by the Rak Chiang Mai 51 group.
The red shirts said they would be ready to come out in opposition to any military putsch.
Military exercises by soldiers yesterday morning and on Tuesday have also fuelled speculation of a coup.
The exercises were seen as a show of support for army commander-in-chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has shown strong opposition to any acts and remarks deemed offensive to the monarchy.
However, Thaicom Plc issued a statement at 6.10pm yesterday explaining that the Thaicom 5 satellite had suffered some technical problems at about 4.10pm. The company was fixing the problems to ensure the satellite would resume broadcasting shortly.
The company said the satellite had not left its orbit.
Arak Chonlatanon, chief executive of Thaicom, said the root cause of the cable network collapse yesterday was an electrostatic discharge failure on the Thaicom 5 satellite.
This resulted in a signal control system failure for the satellite transmission downlink of both the C and Ku bands.
It took the country's sole satellite service provider about three hours to bring its service back to normal
Mr Arak insisted that the satellite remained located at 78.5 degrees East and had not de-orbited.
The network collapse affected all cable broadcasting stations in the provinces where cable and free TV are popular.
The network disruption also affected broadcasting networks in neighbouring countries in Indochina, Burma and India.
A Thaicom source said the situation showed that Thailand needed a backup satellite system for national security.
Thaicom 5, constructed by a French company, was launched as a substitute for the Thaicom 3 satellite.
However, the Thaicom 3 was retired from service before schedule, resulting in the lack of a backup satellite for Thaicom 5, he said.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday insisted the TV blackout had been caused by technical problems.
Soldiers from 12 battalions of the 2nd Infantry Division, the "Tigers of the East", staged an exercise to show their preparedness for combat yesterday morning, spurring the coup rumours in the wake of the TV blackout.
Around 1,600 soldiers took part in the exercise at Phrom Yothi military camp in Muang district of Prachin Buri province.
An array of military weapons including tanks, artillery and machine guns were also paraded during the exercise.
Maj Gen Pisit Sithisarn, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the exercise was part of the 1st Army's plan to ensure that troops could be assembled in 48 hours for combat and border defence operations.
Maj Gen Pisit said all soldiers were duty-bound to protect the monarchy.
A similar exercise was staged on Tuesday by soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division _ a major force in past coups.
Maj Gen Pisit belongs to the Burapha Phayak brotherhood of soldiers based at the 2nd Infantry Division in Prachin Buri. It is the base that Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and Gen Prayuth served at.
About 1,500 people in Prachin Buri yesterday gathered outside the provincial hall and handed a letter to provincial governor Siripong Hantrakul calling on him to safeguard the monarchy.
Thanit Sorat, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, played down the coup rumours. However, he said if a putsch does take place, then it would definitely hurt the country's image, the economy and tourism.
Satellite glitch to blame, say Thaicom, PM Abhisit
Bangkok Post
Published: 22/04/2011
The nationwide television blackout yesterday afternoon caused by a satellite technical glitch sparked rumours of a coup which spread like wildfire.
Media organisations were bombarded with calls from businessmen, heads of local government bodies and leaders of ethnic minority groups along the borders seeking to verify if a coup d'etat had taken place or not.
Red shirt supporters in Chiang Mai who spoke during a radio show yesterday said that the TV blackout might be related to persistent coup rumours.
The show was broadcast on a community radio station run by the Rak Chiang Mai 51 group.
The red shirts said they would be ready to come out in opposition to any military putsch.
Military exercises by soldiers yesterday morning and on Tuesday have also fuelled speculation of a coup.
The exercises were seen as a show of support for army commander-in-chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has shown strong opposition to any acts and remarks deemed offensive to the monarchy.
However, Thaicom Plc issued a statement at 6.10pm yesterday explaining that the Thaicom 5 satellite had suffered some technical problems at about 4.10pm. The company was fixing the problems to ensure the satellite would resume broadcasting shortly.
The company said the satellite had not left its orbit.
Arak Chonlatanon, chief executive of Thaicom, said the root cause of the cable network collapse yesterday was an electrostatic discharge failure on the Thaicom 5 satellite.
This resulted in a signal control system failure for the satellite transmission downlink of both the C and Ku bands.
It took the country's sole satellite service provider about three hours to bring its service back to normal
Mr Arak insisted that the satellite remained located at 78.5 degrees East and had not de-orbited.
The network collapse affected all cable broadcasting stations in the provinces where cable and free TV are popular.
The network disruption also affected broadcasting networks in neighbouring countries in Indochina, Burma and India.
A Thaicom source said the situation showed that Thailand needed a backup satellite system for national security.
Thaicom 5, constructed by a French company, was launched as a substitute for the Thaicom 3 satellite.
However, the Thaicom 3 was retired from service before schedule, resulting in the lack of a backup satellite for Thaicom 5, he said.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday insisted the TV blackout had been caused by technical problems.
Soldiers from 12 battalions of the 2nd Infantry Division, the "Tigers of the East", staged an exercise to show their preparedness for combat yesterday morning, spurring the coup rumours in the wake of the TV blackout.
Around 1,600 soldiers took part in the exercise at Phrom Yothi military camp in Muang district of Prachin Buri province.
An array of military weapons including tanks, artillery and machine guns were also paraded during the exercise.
Maj Gen Pisit Sithisarn, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the exercise was part of the 1st Army's plan to ensure that troops could be assembled in 48 hours for combat and border defence operations.
Maj Gen Pisit said all soldiers were duty-bound to protect the monarchy.
A similar exercise was staged on Tuesday by soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division _ a major force in past coups.
Maj Gen Pisit belongs to the Burapha Phayak brotherhood of soldiers based at the 2nd Infantry Division in Prachin Buri. It is the base that Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and Gen Prayuth served at.
About 1,500 people in Prachin Buri yesterday gathered outside the provincial hall and handed a letter to provincial governor Siripong Hantrakul calling on him to safeguard the monarchy.
Thanit Sorat, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, played down the coup rumours. However, he said if a putsch does take place, then it would definitely hurt the country's image, the economy and tourism.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/233111/tv-blackout-triggers-coup-fears
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