Thailand's military govt detains local reporter

Thailand's military government has detained a reporter for an English-language newspaper as part of what appears to be a fresh crackdown on critics of the ruling junta.

A spokesman for the junta, Col. Winthai Suvaree, acknowledged that Pravit Rojanaphruk, a journalist forThe Nation newspaper, was taken into military detention on Sunday.

Winthai said in a text message to local journalists on Monday that Pravit and several other people had been taken in for discussions with the authorities because of statements they made violating the junta's policies on information. He said that the length of Pravit's detention depended on how cooperative he was.

Last week, the military detained two politicians who had been critical of the junta, including a former energy minister.