Articles by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Newspaper office hit by two small bombs
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Two small explosions occurred outside a newspaper office in a northern suburb of Bangkok during the early hours of 30 January 2007, causing minor damage to the building and the hotel next door, but no casualties. Reports said the first blast went off at around 1:30 a.m. (local time) outside the office of […]
Blogger covering protest roughed up, arrested by police; journalist briefly detained, camera seized temporarily
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is concerned that police in Malaysia roughed up and arrested a blogger at a peaceful assembly, and briefly detained an online journalist covering the event on 21 January 2007. Blogger Tan Han Kuo had attempted to document the peaceful assembly held to protest a recent increase in […]
Defamation suit against two bloggers a “landmark” legal assault on Internet free expression, says SEAPA
(SEAPA/IFEX) – SEAPA views with grave concern a landmark suit in Malaysia, filed on 4 January 2007 by a major news group and its top executives against two bloggers for “defamation” and “malicious falsehoods”. “We see this case as going beyond the interests of private entities. It will impact on Malaysians’ access to diverse and […]
Military leaders block CNN broadcasts of interview with deposed prime minister
(SEAPA/IFEX) – On 15 January 2007, Thailand’s military leaders moved to block CNN broadcasts of the cable network’s exclusive interview with deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, less than a week after warning the Thai press about giving the ousted leader such access to the media. Thai papers are reporting that the Council for National Security […]
Military junta invokes censorship order on broadcast media for first time
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The military junta in Thailand has ordered the broadcast media to refrain from reporting about deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his cohorts. The ruling Council on National Security (CNS) is invoking military order No. 10 for the first time since issuing it on 20 September 2006, the day after it successfully staged […]
Government shows lax attitude toward banning of books
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The implication that banning books in Malaysia, or placing restrictions upon their entry into the country, can be reversed or reconsidered upon receiving complaints from distributors or importers, has distressed a local communication rights organisation. “This implies, firstly, a lax attitude toward the banning of books and, second, it puts the onus for […]
Weekly censored for “contravening Islamic teachings”
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Government officials in Malaysia tore pages from the international weekly, “The Economist”, and blacked out a paragraph whose content they alleged contravened Islamic teachings, according to the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), SEAPA’s partner in Malaysia. Missing in the locally circulated 23 December 2006 edition of “The Economist”, which is published by the […]
Key opposition leader, imprisoned for speaking in public without permit, released early for good behaviour
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The Singapore government released vocal opposition leader Dr Chee Soon Juan from prison on 16 December 2006, two weeks short of the five-week term meted out to him for speaking in public without a permit. The secretary general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) had opted for jail rather than a fine of […]