Articles by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
SEAPA warns of worsening press conditions following prime minister’s dismissal
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The following is a SEAPA statement: SEAPA says press conditions in Burma going ‘from worst to worse’; Junta shuts down 17 publications CONDITIONS for the Burmese press are quickly going “from worst to worse”, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance today said, following the sudden dismissal this week of Gen. Khin Nyunt as prime […]
Reforms needed on libel laws, say legal and media experts
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Legal and media experts in Thailand are sharing in concerns that the country’s libel laws are being used by the powerful as weapons against critics and the press, and are no longer serving their intended purpose of protecting the reputations of individuals. Leading lawyers, academics and media practitioners attending a conference in Bangkok […]
Court pushes back Supinya trial to second half of 2005
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The start of a civil libel case that has Thai journalists anxious over the security of their sector has been pushed back to the second half of 2005. A three-member panel of Thai judges hearing the case against media advocate Supinya Klangnarong and the “Thai Post” newspaper resolved to consider the matter only […]
Malaysia threatens to use Internal Security Act and sedition laws against webmasters
(SEAPA/IFEX) – SEAPA is gravely concerned by the government’s stated intent to use the Internal Security Act (ISA) and Sedition Act to potentially control the flow of information and opinion in Malaysia-based Internet operations. On 4 October 2004, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was quoted by a local daily, the “New Straits Times”, as saying […]
Media ownership trend compromising independence of the press, experts say
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Leading experts on media and communications in Thailand are raising concerns over a troubling trend in Thai media ownership that they say is clearly compromising the independence and freedom of the country’s press. Noting that several government ministers with substantial business interests have gained control of some of Thailand’s leading media outlets, the […]
Membership selection process for independent broadcast regulator criticised
(SEAPA/IFEX) – Thai independent media advocates have decried a controversial decision by a national selection committee to call for a new selection round for membership in the country’s first independent broadcast regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), based on a previous controversial list of candidates. In a statement released on 14 September 2004, the Thai […]
SEAPA condemns editor’s one-year prison sentence
(SEAPA/IFEX) – The Indonesian courts have sentenced “Tempo” editor Bambang Harymurti to one year in prison over charges of criminal defamation in a decision that quickly drew condemnation from journalists and free-press advocates worldwide. SEAPA called the verdict “sad and unfortunate” and “a blow to the credibility of Indonesia as a democratic nation.” Harymurti and […]
Media ban at People’s Forum “bodes ill” for Asia-Europe meeting in Hanoi, say SEAPA
(SEAPA/IFEX) – SEAPA has condemned government actions that severely limited media coverage of the fifth Asia-Europe People’s Forum, held in Hanoi from 6 to 9 September 2004. “The ban further taints Hanoi’s already tarnished image with regard to freedom of expression and of the press,” SEAPA said in a statement. At the same time, the […]