SEAPA Condemns Police's Assault on News Photographer
November 20 2002
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Jakarta condemns the assault of Lampung Post daily photographer Syaefullah (29) by Lampung Police Mass Disperse Unit (UPS Dalmas) officers in the Bandarlampung City, Lampung (Southern Sumatra), on November 11 2002. (Continue)

      Broadcasting Company Closed
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
November 13, 2002
MANILA -- A broadcasting company in Lucena City, Quezon, in the Philippines accused the city mayor of “harassment and political vendetta” in connection with the closure of the company’s radio and television stations by the city government last 4 October 2002. (Continue)

      SEAPA: HK "Basic Law" Could Hurt Press Freedom
November 11, 2002
Southeast Asian Press Alliance is irked by the current move by Hong Kong Government to install a law to protect national security that we deem might affect freedom of speech and press in Hong Kong. (Continue)

      Media Groups Lambaste Increasing Media Repression in Negros Island
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
November 11, 2002
The media community of Negros Island, central Philippines, decried the rising wave of media repression there, in light of two recent cases of alleged harassment of two local journalists by local government and military officials. (Continue)

      SEAPA Protests a Local Politician’s Attack on Reporters
November 11, 2002
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Jakarta denounces the assault on two journalists by a Pontianak member of parliament (MP) and his thug at the Pontianak Regional House of Representatives compound, November 7 2002. (Continue)

      SEAPA Jakarta Protest Against Bombings in Aceh
October 28, 2002
JAKARTA -- The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Jakarta SEAPA is alarmed with another arson attack in recent weeks, this time on the expedition cars of the Serambi Indonesia daily, in Banda Aceh, capital of the troubled region Aceh, twice by unknown individuals on October 22 and October 24, 2002. (Continue)

      Damalerio Murder Update
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
August 16, 2002
An alleged witness in the Edgar Damalerio murder in Pagadian City was killed in an ambush last August 10, Saturday night, in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur province in Southern Philippines. (Continue)

      A Radio Station in Philippines Attacked
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
August 16, 2002
An unidentified man shot at the guardhouse leading to a radio station in Angeles City, Pampanga, Northern Philippines in the evening of August 12, 2002. (Continue)

      Suspect in Journalist Candelario Cayona's Murder Arrested
June 5, 2002
On 28 May 2002, a suspect in a journalist's murder that occurred almost a year ago was arrested in Zamboanga City, Southern Philippines, the Metro Manila daily "Malaya" reported on 30 May. (Continue)

      Television Correspondent Hurt in Grenade Attack
June 5, 2002
On the night of 2 June 2002, a grenade thrown by two men aboard a motorcycle exploded at the home of a television reporter in Cotabato City, Southern Philippines, newspapers in Metro Manila reported. (Continue)

      Military Denies Existence of Report Alleging Ransom was Paid for the Release of Reporter
June 2, 2002
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has denied the existence of a military intelligence report allegedly claiming that P2-million (US$40,000) in ransom was paid for the release of television reporter Arlyn de la Cruz last April 27 with the help of a Philippine senator. (Continue)

      Radio Station Targeted in Molotov Cocktail Attack
May 23, 2002
On 22 May 2002, Radyo Natin, a radio station in Bangaga, Davao Oriental, in Southern Philippines, was set on fire by unidentified men. (Continue)

      Policeman Arrested in Connection with Journalist's Murder
May 21, 2002
On Friday 17 May 2002, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a policeman in Pagadian City, southern Philippines, in connection with the killing of journalist Edgar Damalerio, Metro Manila newspapers reported on 18 May (Continue)

      CPJ Calls for Inquiry into Journalist's Murder
May 15, 2002
In a 15 May 2002 letter to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, CPJ condemned the recent murder of Edgar Damalerio, managing editor of the weekly newspaper "Zamboanga Scribe" and a commentator on DXKP radio station in Pagadian City on the island of Mindanao. (Continue)

      Journalist Assassinated in Pagadian
May 14, 2002
"For several years now, Reporters Without Borders has condemned the fact that those who have killed journalists in the provinces of Mindanao Island remain unpunished. The government must react now, by mobilising the police and judiciary to investigate these murders as a matter of urgency," wrote RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard in a letter to Interior Minister José Lina (Continue)

      SEAPA Protests Attacks on Thai and Filipino Media
May 8, 2002
THE Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is an organization of Thai, Philippine and Indonesian journalists and their organizations. It is committed to the defense, enhancement and achievement of press freedom as well as to the responsible and meaningful exercise of journalism and the other media professions.. (Continue)

      Malaysian Journalists Campaign for Repeal of Draconinan Laws
May 3, 2002
We represent journalists who are working to raise professional standards and ethics, and to lobby for removal of restrictions on media operations in Malaysia.(Continue)

      Malaysian Journalists Appeal for More Freedom
May 3, 2002
Today is World Press Freedom Day. We are here today, as journalists from the traditional and new media, to urge the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia to create an enabling environment for media freedom, which is consistent with provisions in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on freedom of expression and the right to information.(Continue)

      TJA Statement on World Press Freedom Day
May 3, 2002
BANGKOK -- As the World Press Freedom Day, as endorsed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation Organization (UNESCO) marks its 11^th anniversary on May 2, 2002, Thai Journalists Association (TJA) would like to commend Thai media for sticking out together in performing its duty freely while maintaining both the principle of media freedom and journalistic ethics in show of its responsibility to media consumers and society as a whole. (Continue)

      Resolution on Terrorism and Media
May 2, 2002
MANILA -- Participants at the UNESCO-sponsored conference on Terrorism and Media meeting in Manila, the Philippines from 1-2 May 2002: (Continue)

      Arlyn De La Cruz Released
April 29, 2002
Cable television reporter Arlyn de la Cruz was released by her captors last April 27 (Saturday) in Jolo, Southern Philippines, reported Metro Manila newspapers. (Continue)

      A Dark Age for the Thai Media
March 20, 2002
Although the Thaksin government was the first to be elected under the 1997 “people's Constitution,” its first year in office has been marked by both overt and subtle media interference. Not since the restoration of democracy after the 1992 popular uprising has there been such a concerted effort by an elected leader to use government bodies to clamp down on the press, which has emerged as one of the strongest pillars of Thai democracy. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has also been accused of using the vast power of his business empire to silence the media. (Continue)

      SEAPA Condemn Jakarta's Clampdown on Foreign Press
March 19, 2002
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) condemns the Indonesian government’s refusal to renew the work permit for Australian journalist Lindsay Murdoch. On May 10 2002, the Department of Foreign Affairs (Deplu) denied Murdoch’s application for a journalist visa, therefore barring him to report for his Fairfax Group papers – The Sydney Morning Herald and The Melbourne Age as per that date. (Continue)

      SEAPA News Update
March 13, 2002
Confederation of Thai Journalists (CTJ) which comprises nine local press organizations and Thai Broadcast Journalists Association today warned the government not to try to wash their hands from the abuses of state power to intimidate media freedom. (Continue)

      SEAPA News Release
March 11, 2002
BANGKOK -- Newly-elected President of Thai Journalists Association (TJA) today urged the Senate and the House of Representative to set up a special committee to investigate into Thaksin government’s latest attacks on media freedom. (Continue)

      SEAPA News Release
March 10, 2002
BANGKOK -- A public forum on Saturday urged Thaksin government to cease behaviors deemed as threats to media freedom and fully commit to protect this basic right guaranteed under the 1997 Constitution. (Continue)

      SEAPA News Release
March 8, 2002
Thai Journalist Association (TJA) will on Monday submit an open letter to Senate Chairman Manoonkrit Roopkachorn, urging the top legislative body to impeach the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for allegedly excessive abuses of its executive power aimed at intimidating the media. (Continue)

      SEAPA Condemns Thaksin Government’s Harassment of Journalists
March 7, 2002
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is alarmed by the pressure put by the Thai government on the Nation Multimedia Group, a leading media company that runs one of the few independent TV and radio programs in the country. (Continue)

      Year of X-asperation: Yearend Notes on Indonesian Press Condition 2001
February 22, 2002
Source: ALERT Magazine Dec 2001 - Jan 2002
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) records 95 attacks on the press in Indonesia for the year 2001. Quantitatively, it is less than the number in 2000, where 115 violence cases against journalists were recorded. However we lost one colleague in 2001. Poso Post journalist I Wayan Sumariasana was found dead in Poso, Central Sulawesi. The murder motive is still puzzling, while the authority seems to have no interest in unravelling the case. (Continue)

      Press Council: Civil Society Watch On Media
February 22, 2002
Source: ALERT Magazine Dec 2001 - Jan 2002
When the Indonesian press was under the claws of the authoritarian Soeharto Regime, many journalists and non-government organisations (NGO) campaigned actively for press freedom, and eventually reached its goal in May 1998 when President Soeharto finally stepped down. But as time flows, a handful of the same campaigners now turn course, demanding the press to limit itself, not to harvest reporting that could trigger violence. (Continue)

      Police Series
February 22, 2002
Source: ALERT Magazine Dec 2001 - Jan 2002
For the past three years, police has stayed amongst the most sensible enemies of press freedom in Indonesia. (Continue)

      SEAPA Statement on Government Blacklist
February 23, 2002
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) strongly denounces the reported use of an official "blacklist" to curb the work of foreign journalists working in Thailand for the Far Eastern Economic Review. This tactic is reminiscent of a witch hunt and is an unwarranted attack on free expression. (Continue)

      Journalist disappears in Southern Philippines
Febuary 6, 2002
According to Metro Manila newspaper reports, a cable television reporter for Net 25 has been missing since last January 19, when she was last seen by the Philippine military and police in Basilan, Mindanao. The reporter was allegedly in Basilan to conduct exclusive interviews with the Abu Sayyaf Group, which has been holding two Americans and one Filipino captive for several months. (Continue)

      SEAPA Jakarta Protest Continued Police Abuse of Power
January 25, 2002
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is deeply disturbed by the continuous police abuse of power in just the first month of year 2002. In the third police assault this month, authority officers ransacked Waspada daily offices in Medan, North Sumatra, January 23, 2002. They destroyed office equipments and injured reporter Setia Budi Siregar, as they chased a suspected gang fighter. (Continue)

 

      SEAPA Protests the Thai Government’s Ban on the Sale of FEER
January 25, 2002
The Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA) protests the recent order by the Thai government to ban the sale and distribution in Thailand of the January 10 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER). (Continue)

 

      Thai Media Educators and Advocates Opposed Government’s Information Center
January 24,2002
Ten Thai media educators and advocacy and groups issued a joint statement on Tuesday, opposing the formation of the government’s information center to feed information related to the government ‘s policies and performance for use by the state-run media organisations. (Continue)

 

       SEAPA Statement on the Forced Resignation of The Sun newspaper’s editors and journalists
January 22,2002
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) strongly condemns recent actions of the management of the Malaysian newspaper, The Sun, whose editor-in-chief and editor were forced to resign on 27 December 2001 for publishing a front-page story on the police foiling a plot to kill Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad and his deputy. (Continue)