THE PCIJ BLOG
Reporters in the Philippines light candles during a commemoration for the Ampatuan Massacre, the single deadliest attack on journalists in the world. Thirty-two media workers and reporters were murdered in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao PHOTO/Julius D. Mariveles
AS the world marked World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2015, we are publishing this overview of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) on the situation of press freedom in the region originally published on its website with the same title on May 3, 2015.
RULES imposed on journalists, media and free expression form the distinct highlight in the situation in Southeast Asia in 2015. Most countries in the region, with a few exceptions, largely stayed put with regards to their situation of press freedom and freedom of expression, with the same prevailing issues of media restriction, control and violence in varying degrees in each country.
The exceptions to this trend are not positive developments, with three countries experiencing serious setbacks in media freedom and freedom of expression.
The big news of the year is about Thailand, and how the country turned around from having a relatively free press to being one of the most restricted in terms of media and public expression. The military junta that took power in the 22 May 2014 coup d’etat has imposed strict bans on media, public and online criticism of government while it overhauls the political system before calling for elections in 2016. Generally, media and citizens have learned to keep within the rules after hundreds were ‘invited’ the the military for ‘attitude adjustment’ – euphemisms for summons and detention. Or maybe, people are just biding their time.
Burma, officially known as Myanmar, continued and intensified last year trend of deterioration in its new found media freedom. From jailing individual journalists in 2013, the government has now taken action against publications and collective actions of journalists by using security and criminal defamation laws.
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