Forty-eight Thai stations can return to air

Thailand’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has alllowed 48 radio stations in the south of the country to return to air during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The order comes two months after military coup, which saw the army shut down numerous radio and TV stations.

While 94 percent of Thai population is Buddhist, Muslims dominate the three southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat along the Malaysian border.

Muslim rebel groups in this region have been rejecting the Thai government’s authority, carrying out scores violent attacks over the past decade.

According to Colonel Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) stations in four southern regions can go back on air from June 28 to July 27.

However, the permission to broadcast comes with certain conditions.

Stations’ program content must be related to Islamic beliefs and teachings only and must promote understanding, peace and unity between the local populations and the authorities.

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