In Burma, more sites blocked ahead of UN Security Council’s first resolution

Internet users in Burma are alleging that the secretive military junta has banned more sites since 8 January 2007, creating difficulties in accessing free email and chat services, reports Mizzima.com, a New Delhi-based news site run by exiled journalists.

Philippine journalists give grounds for locus standi in suing president’s husband following motion to dismiss

The journalists suing First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo for abuse of right and for violating their right to the free exercise of their profession shrugged off Mr. Arroyo’s motion to dismiss their complaint, and maintained that their suit is meant to defend press freedom and democracy against Mr. Arroyo’s efforts to undermine both, according to a press release from the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, a SEAPA founding member.

Speaking through their lawyer, University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque, the journalists said that the Arroyo’ motion is based on technicalities and on a wrong interpretation of the rules and is thus devoid of merit.

‘It’s only a warning,’ Thai junta insists of controversial communication to media

The ruling Council for National Security (CNS) in Thailand is trying to soften a chilling message sent to the country’s media on January 10, saying a ‘request’ to stop airing news about ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his cronies was merely that. A request. At most, the CNS called it a ‘warning’. The Bangkokpost.com quotes the military leaders as assuring that the ‘CNS never wishes to control media. Still, the assurances come with some ambiguity. CNS spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said over an interview on Channel 3 that while ‘CNS is still willing to listen to critics…we just feel that it is inappropriate to listen to opinions of the old political party that was the cause of disunity and confusion in the country.’

Thai military junta invokes censorship order on broadcast media for the first time

The military junta in Thailand has ordered the broadcast media to refrain from reporting about deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his cohorts.

The ruling Council on National Security (CNS) is invoking military order No. 10 for the first time since issuing it on 20 September 2006, the day after it staged a bloodless putsch. The order urges media cooperation in reporting state affairs accurately and constructively, with peace and national unity as the primary considerations, and explicitly targeted news reports that might by deemed as bolstering Thaksin’s position.

In Malaysia, government’s lax attitude to banning of books shows poor grasp of implications

The implication that book bannings in Malaysia can be reversed or reconsidered upon complaints from distributors or importers has distressed a local communication rights organisation.

“This implies, firstly, a lax attitude toward the banning of books and, second, it puts the onus for action on book distributors, whereas the responsibility should lie with the (Internal Security) Ministry to ensure that no frivolous bannings occur,” said the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) in a 9 January 2007 release.

Lawyer for Philippine journalists in suit against president’s husband receives death threats

The lawyer handling the class action suit of Philippine journalists against Jose Miguel Arroyo, the husband of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was threatened on the phone on 3 January 2007, according to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), a SEAPA founding member.

Singapore’s leading cyber-dissident tells how he became one

Nope, contrary to popular perception, they’re not all gone.

We’re talking about dissenters in Singapore, and Robert Ho is one of them, ruling in cyberspace, under his real name - which makes him even more a rarity. Arrested four times for the unspeakable crime of exercising free expression and remanded thrice at a mental institution by the Singapore authorities, Ho is still up and at it on his blog and regularly contributes to the Singapore Review.

Martyn See, filmmaker of “The Singapore Rebel” and no stranger to the Singapore government’s tolerance for dissent, interviews Ho via email and phone in December 2006. Read what makes Ho who he is here.

Burmese military junta releases two journalists

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) welcomes the early release of journalists Thaung Tun and Than Win Hlaing on 3 January 2007 after six years of imprisonment by the Burmese military junta. The two were among 2,831 detainees “pardoned” in conjunction with the nation’s 59^th year of independence on 4 January.

In Malaysia, newspaper weekly censored for “contravening Islamic teachings”

Government officers in Malaysia tore pages from international weekly newspaper “The Economist” and blacked out a paragraph because the content contravened Islamic teachings, according to the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), SEAPA’s partner in Malaysia.

AJI calls on Indonesian government to protect journalists and press freedom

Following a year of intensifying threats and violence against journalists, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Indonesia is calling on the government to guarantee the safety of journalists and ensure a conducive environment for press freedom.

In a 3 January 2007 press release, AJI pointed out that Indonesia has yet to achieve “the essence of press and information freedom” that is stipulated in Article 28 of the country’s amended 1945 Constitution.