Articles by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Tamil daily’s photojournalist in coma after beating; colleague receives death threat for critical reporting
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Two journalists from a local Tamil daily, “Malaysia Nanban”, have recently been the victims of either physical violence or death threats, allegedly over their work, reports local media watchdog Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ). Photojournalist R. Raman, 52, who is better known by his pen name “R. Kalaramu”, is in a coma due […]
Thousands in rare rally call for electoral reforms; with mainstream media bound, Internet tells their stories
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Thousands of Malaysians overcame barriers both natural and man-made to join a rare rally in capital city Kuala Lumpur on the afternoon of 10 November 2007, to petition to the Agong (Supreme Monarch), Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, calling for free and fair elections. Braving heavy rain, police roadblocks and riot police beatings, tear […]
Government tells media not to report on rally for electoral reforms
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Malaysian authorities have instructed the local media not to give coverage to a rally calling for free and fair elections, to be held on 10 November 2007 in the capital city Kuala Lumpur, reports the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), a SEAPA partner in Malaysia. [Editor’s note: the rally took place on 10 […]
Fifteen IFEX members urge UN to generate status report on missing, killed or jailed journalists, aid exiled reporters
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 25 October 2007 joint letter from 15 IFEX members and several other international organisations to United Nations officials: Ibrahim Gambari Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar United Nations New York, NY USA Fax: +1212 963 0942 Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human […]
Charges against two Internet users “dropped”, but chilling effect on online free expression remains, says SEAPA
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The case against two Internet users who were the first to be charged under Thailand’s new Computer-Related Offences Commission Act continue to be shrouded in secrecy as the state prosecutors did not proceed with charges upon the deadline for filing them on 12 October 2007. Despite the apparent good news, local free expression […]
Opposition activists risk prosecution for refusing to reveal sources of video behind judicial scandal
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Two opposition activists in Malaysia who made public a video that indicated possible interference in top judicial appointments risk prosecution for refusing to comply with an order to reveal their sources. On 4 October 2007, Sivarasa Rasiah and Sim Tze Yin of the People’s Justice Party were served an order by the Anti-Corruption […]
Newspaper suspended for refusing to publish ministry’s version of event
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The Cambodian Ministry of Information has suspended for a month the “Khmer Amatak” newspaper for refusing to publish a correction the ministry requested over a controversial article in the newspaper. The article, published on 24 September 2007, said that two senior officials from the ruling Funcinpec party, Secretary General Nhiek Bun Chhay and […]
Police ban, confiscate book on democracy, monarchy
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The Thai police have banned and confiscated copies of a book by a respected and well-known social critic, alleging that the material “may cause unrest and degrade good morals” in Thai society. The book by Sulak Sivaraksa, called “A quarter of a century of Thai politics: a thorn-filled path”, concerns politics, democracy and […]