SEAPA | Southeast Asian Press Alliance

On 29 November 2011, over a thousand lawyers and human rights activists marched through the streets of Malaysia's capital in an affirmation of their right to assemble. Later that day, and in spite of persistent and vocal criticism of the legislation, the lower house of Parliament voted to approve a bill which will effectively deny the people that right, and which is now known as the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).

On 23 November 2011, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) delivered a letter to the Embassy of the Philippines in Bangkok strongly requesting that President Benigno Aquino III expedite the trial of the Ampatuan Massacre suspects and take a more forceful stance against impunity in the Philippines.

Southeast Asia has unfortunately earned a reputation for not being a safe place for journalists. The threats? Take a number. They range from imprisonment for crimes in outdated libel and slander laws, detention without trial, violence against media personnel, and impunity in the killing of journalists. 

Dear friends and colleagues,

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) in conjunction with the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) invites the media community in Southeast Asia to join us and national  and international groups in inaugurating International Day to End Impunity on 23 November.

Thailand underwent the first review of its human rights performance before United Nations Human Rights Council and UN member states on 5 October and discussed steps it was taking to assure freedom of expression.

Bangkok, Thailand: Full intermediary liability should not be an approach to mitigating unlawful content over the Internet  as it ignores the liability of individuals actually responsible for such content, said an expert from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Danny O’Brien.