Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)

A joint submission to the UN UPR process of Cambodia focuses on the country’s compliance with its international human rights obligations in respect to freedom of expression.

Cambodian media and civil society have called on their government to enact a freedom of information law to allow better access to government-held information.

Justice must be pursued for Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi, SEAPA stressed, after a Bangkok Court ruled that Thai security forces were responsible his death in 2010 during a crackdown on protesters.

A recently announced licensing scheme for online news in Singapore is effectively extending the country’s strict regulation of news and public affairs information to its relatively-freer online news media.

IFEX members called on Philippines authorities to reprimand a local police chief who arrested a radio broadcaster without a warrant after he talked about police incompetence on the air.

In a joint letter, the Government of Indonesia is urged to reopen investigations into the 1996 murder of investigative journalist Udin and to identify and prosecute his killers before the statute of limitations on his murder runs out in August 2014.

As a whole, Southeast Asia has moved backward on media freedom in 2012 with more restrictive laws being enacted by governments, while in many countries journalists and civil society continue to be threatened by violence.

As Malaysians go to the polls on 5 May 2013, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance is concerned that voters are being denied their rights to fair and credible sources of information. SEAPA is also concerned about incidents of intimidation of journalists in the run up to the elections.