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BANGKOK - Beyond traditional geographical boundaries there is a widening and increasingly important divide between two distinct Asian regions. One is committed to openness, public debate and the right of the press to monitor and professionalize its own ranks. The other still sees the press as a tool of authoritarian government, a force to be controlled rather than encouraged. Following the Asian economic meltdown, which began almost three years ago, it was widely believed that a freer Asian press could serve as an early warning system on risky financial dealings and entrenched corruption. The old notion that a servile media bred consensus, wealth and harmony in Asian societies seemed to be on the ropes. With recovery under way, the question is far from settled and is particularly acute when viewed from Southeast Asia. Countries with a genuine commitment to free expression like Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia have seen their press grow more aggressive, serving as a check on government while fostering debate on the role of the media. In Indonesia, once the Suharto era ended in May 1998, a vibrant press opened a remarkable political debate that played a key role in the transition to democracy. The result appears messy and uncertain at times, with public anger sometimes focused on the media itself. But the result will be that long-festering issues of separatism, cronyism and corruption can at last be discussed away from the political shadows of the past. In Thailand, where the currency collapse touched off the crisis in July 1997, a reform constitution put in place that year and an Official Information Act, which opened previously closed government doors to public scrutiny, have begun to bear fruit. In March, the powerful deputy prime minister and interior minister, Sanan Kachornprasart, took the virtually unprecedented step of resigning after an official corruption commission found him guilty of falsifying financial disclosure reports. The revelations first surfaced in the Thai press when reporters used the Official Information Act to investigate Mr. Sanan. That kind of public accountability is revolutionary in this part of the world, but it would be impossible in Malaysia, Vietnam, China or Burma, whose governments prevent the press from being watchdogs. In Malaysia, a crackdown against opposition and independent publications has resulted in the chief opposition party newspaper, Harakah, being forced to cut is print run from twice a week to twice a month. Detik, a small independent weekly, was effectively banned when the government refused to renew its printing license in March. Figures compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists show that China - which wields extraordinary influence in Southeast Asia - in 1999 imprisoned more journalists than any other country while keeping close reigns on the nation's party-controlled press. The committee also notes that Burma, the most repressive regime in the region, has at least eight journalists in prison. In Vietnam, Communist Party authorities reacted to the Asian crisis by tightening controls on the press at virtually every level. This gulf between open and closed press regimes is likely to grow wider as journalists in the free press countries take the lead in establishing effective professional associations. In these countries - Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and even Cambodia - the press is beginning to look after its own house, preempting those who would seek to reimpose government-controlled press councils or licensing plans. The outcome of the battle between these two diverse models of press development - one authoritarian, the other open and tolerant - will determine the shape of the region in years to come. Asia, no less than anywhere else, deserves an open, responsible, independent media Everywhere has a right to a free exchange of ideas. Kavi Chongkittavorn is the Managing Editor of the Nation in Bangkok and the Chairman of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance. Linr Neumann is an advisor to the alliance. They contrbuted this commentary to the International Herald Tribune. |
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The Press in Asia Follows 2 Paths