Articles by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
CAPSULE REPORT: All eyes on Thailand as landmark trial on freedom of expression set to start
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 14 July 2005 SEAPA report: All eyes on Thailand as Supinya trial set to start A landmark trial on freedom of expression in Thailand starts on 19 July 2005. Beginning Tuesday, Thai courts take on a criminal defamation lawsuit that pits one of the country’s most powerful corporations against […]
Three men jailed for consuming “unauthorised” information
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Just two days after releasing 200 political prisoners, including two journalists, Burma’s military junta jailed three opposition supporters for possessing and consuming “unauthorised” information. Mizzima.com, a Delhi-based, Burmese online news provider, reports that on 8 July 2005, the Shwebo district court in Northern Burma sentenced Dr. Win Aung, a township leader of the […]
Police harass guests, organisers at book launch
(SEAPA/IFEX) – At the 9 July 2005 launch of the latest book by Singaporean opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, police harassed guests and organisers, reports coming from the city state say. Plainclothes officers were seen videotaping the proceedings while the Singapore Democratic Party website noted that after the launch, policemen questioned guests and confiscated videos […]
Investigative news website attacked by hackers
(SEAPA/IFEX) – On 27 June 2005, hackers breached the website of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), according to reports from Manila. Police are investigating the incident. According to PCIJ executive director Sheila Coronel, the website was back in operation as of 2:00 p.m. (local time) on 28 June. She added that there had […]
Information Ministry orders temporary closure of two websites critical of the government
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Thailand’s cyber policing agency, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT), has ordered a temporary closure of two websites whose contents the ministry deemed highly critical of the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. One website, http://www.thai-insider.com, is run by businessman-cum anti-corruption crusader Ekkayuth Anchanbutr, who has accused the administration of endemic […]
Journalists protest authorities’ plan to evict newsstands from Phnom Penh streets
(SEAPA/IFEX) – A national journalist organisation and newspaper stall owners are protesting the Phnom Penh municipality’s plan to remove dozens of newsstands from the streets in the capital to make way for its new development plan. The Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ) was quoted by the “Phnom Penh Post”, in its latest issue, as saying […]
Officials balk on importance of granting public access to information
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Cambodian officials have been reconsidering the vitality of access to information to a free society, with influential personalities suggesting that too much accessible information could breed terrorism and pose a threat to state security. “Please check all the aspects of enlarging freedom of access to public information. Terrorists also need information,” Om Yentieng, […]
Government orders closure of community radio stations
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Rights groups and the academic community in Thailand are up in arms over a government order to close down community radio operations in the kingdom. Ostensibly, certain operations are being penalised for violating technical standards, but community media proponents say the move is threatening a crucial experiment in participatory democracy. Other critics are […]