The Information and Communications Technology Ministry has ordered an investigation of how and why Shin Satellite Pcl allowed Al-Manar TV, a terrorist-designated group backed by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, even to "test signals" from its Thaicom satellite.
Deputy Prime Minister Kosit Panpiemras said an MICT committee under the ministry's permanent secretary would investigate broadcasts by the Lebanese television channel. Mr Kosit is acting minister of Information and Communications Technology.
Mr Kosit has received no report on the incident from the ministry. He said said it was too soon to say whether the concession contract given to SATTEL, previously owned by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the majority of whose shares were later sold to Singapore's Temasek Holdings, should be terminated.
A careful study must be made carefully first, said Mr Kosit.
Senior executives of SATTEL met Thursday with Vorapat Tiewthanom, ICT deputy permanent secretary. They told him that Al-Manar TV contracted to test its signal via Thaicom satellite between January 9-1.
They said the firm decided to stop the signal after just one day when the company was informed by a foreign journalist that Al-Manar TV was allegedly linked to Hezbollah.
SATTEL had also informed Al-Manar TV that it would not provide service to the station.
Al-Manar has been designated as a terrorist group by the US and other governments.
A spokesman of the Internal Security Operations Command said it was the duty of the Foreign Affairs and the ICT ministries to investigate the issue. Isoc has no "direct authority" to close the Thai firm, whose shares are owned by Temasek Holdings of Singapore.
"Isoc has no power to order a closure, but what we can do is to offer cooperation and we've already discussed this with ICT officials," the spokesman said. (BangkokPost.com, TNA)
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