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Thailand's Litmus Test

BANGKOK -- Thaksin Shinawatra's adversarial relationship with Thailand's free press was a crucial indicator of where democracy stood under his regime, and where it was headed. After last week's military coup, press liberties will once again prove a crucial weather vane for freedom in the kingdom.

It shouldn't be hard to improve upon Mr. Thaksin's government. The former prime minister demonized the media, and routinely slapped journalists with multimillion dollar defamation suits. After cornering Thailand's only independent...