12 young footballers and their assistant coach who were trapped in a flooded cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)Bangkok (VNA) - Thaimedia, reporting on the rescue mission of 12 young footballers and theirassistant coach who were trapped in a flooded cave in Chiang Rai, have beenurged to be discreet, respect the privacy of people concerned and to presentreports constructively.
In a statement on July 4, the National Press Council of Thailand (NPCT) soughtcooperation from members of the media, who have been covering the ongoingsearch and rescue operations at the Tham Luang cave in Mae Sai district, toconduct interviews later with the victims and their families.
This would spare the children from having to repeatedly answer the samequestions and allow them to focus on their physical and mental recovery, thepress council said.
TheNPCT also urged that updates be shared among media members to ensureorderliness, avoiding competition that could affect the rights and privacy of thepeople concerned.
Thecouncil advised media members to work with doctors and psychiatrists to get abetter understanding of the situation at hand, so as to ensure they ask appropriatequestions and treat the victims and families properly without creatingmisunderstandings, disunity, or additional trauma.
Italso warned against digging up information and pictures for “in-depth” newspresentations that may violate the victims’ rights, and avoid finger-pointingbecause news reports should be constructive, finding solutions and preventing anysimilar reoccurrences.
Earlier,some media members reportedly tried to pose questions to the boys’ parentsuntil the authorities posted signs prohibiting interviews at the entrance tothe cave.
Followingthe discovery of the young team on the evening of July 2, some media memberswanted to take pictures and have interviews with the parents, despiteprovincial officials’ attempts to keep them in a separate quarter.
Meanwhile,Thailand’s Ministry of Justice spokesman and Permanent Deputy Secretary ThawatchaiThaikhiew warned that the Child Protection Act prohibits anyone from publishinginformation about minors and their parents with the intent to causedamage.
Heurged media members to be careful when conducting interviews with thefootballers, most of whom are children experiencing a traumatic ordeal, so thatthe questions would not affect their mental state.
The official said that certain leading questions that promote illegal activityshould not be asked, as that would be an offence. The media should let theyouths rest sufficiently and undergo health treatments until they are ready.
Forits part, the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC), whose members have joined therescue mission, said in a media update that it had a policy not to confirm the namesof the cave rescuers, even though some names have been stated in various mediareports.
The council said it would like the rescuers’ privacy to be respected, allowingthem to get on with the difficult task ahead without any distractions. -VNA
In a statement on July 4, the National Press Council of Thailand (NPCT) soughtcooperation from members of the media, who have been covering the ongoingsearch and rescue operations at the Tham Luang cave in Mae Sai district, toconduct interviews later with the victims and their families.
This would spare the children from having to repeatedly answer the samequestions and allow them to focus on their physical and mental recovery, thepress council said.
TheNPCT also urged that updates be shared among media members to ensureorderliness, avoiding competition that could affect the rights and privacy of thepeople concerned.
Thecouncil advised media members to work with doctors and psychiatrists to get abetter understanding of the situation at hand, so as to ensure they ask appropriatequestions and treat the victims and families properly without creatingmisunderstandings, disunity, or additional trauma.
Italso warned against digging up information and pictures for “in-depth” newspresentations that may violate the victims’ rights, and avoid finger-pointingbecause news reports should be constructive, finding solutions and preventing anysimilar reoccurrences.
Earlier,some media members reportedly tried to pose questions to the boys’ parentsuntil the authorities posted signs prohibiting interviews at the entrance tothe cave.
Followingthe discovery of the young team on the evening of July 2, some media memberswanted to take pictures and have interviews with the parents, despiteprovincial officials’ attempts to keep them in a separate quarter.
Meanwhile,Thailand’s Ministry of Justice spokesman and Permanent Deputy Secretary ThawatchaiThaikhiew warned that the Child Protection Act prohibits anyone from publishinginformation about minors and their parents with the intent to causedamage.
Heurged media members to be careful when conducting interviews with thefootballers, most of whom are children experiencing a traumatic ordeal, so thatthe questions would not affect their mental state.
The official said that certain leading questions that promote illegal activityshould not be asked, as that would be an offence. The media should let theyouths rest sufficiently and undergo health treatments until they are ready.
Forits part, the British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC), whose members have joined therescue mission, said in a media update that it had a policy not to confirm the namesof the cave rescuers, even though some names have been stated in various mediareports.
The council said it would like the rescuers’ privacy to be respected, allowingthem to get on with the difficult task ahead without any distractions. -VNA
VNA
