Midnight University is a Thai virtual university for free public education. It contains over 1,500 scholarly articles. In 2006 it received more than 2.5 million visits per month from users around the world. Besides providing scholarly articles, the Midnight University website provides space for the public to discuss social and political issues. It is based in

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

. Following the

2006 Thai coup d'état The 2006 Thai coup d'état took place on 19 September 2006, when the Royal Thai Army staged a coup d'état against the elected caretaker government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The coup d'état, which was Thailand's first non-constitu ...

, Midnight University's website was shut down after

Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai University (CMU; ) is a national public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964. It has a strong emphasis on engineering, science, agriculture, and medicine. Its instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, ...

management and staff protested the junta's draft interim charter. Kasian Tejapira of

Thammasat University Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...

claimed the website was "the foremost free and critical educational and public intellectual website in Thailand. The shutdown was not only a huge loss to academic and intellectual freedom in Thai society, but also the closure of a free forum for the contention of ideas so as to find a peaceful alternative to violent conflict in Thailand." Kraisorn Pornsuthee, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) Permanent Secretary claimed ignorance of the shutdown of the website and declined to give his rationale or opinion about the matter.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Midnight University (archived copy)
Thai educational websites Political mass media in Thailand