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FORUM‐ASIA World Press Freedom Day Statement
3 May 2011
Fight Impunity and Censorship in Asia
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM‐ASIA) today joins the international
community in commemorating World Press Freedom Day. Our solidarity on this important date
comes in the context of the situations of the countries in Asia where members of the press continue
to be under attack. These attacks on press freedom further undermine the enjoyment of freedom of
expression and access to information by the people and hinder the process of democratization in
Asia.
FORUM‐ASIA recognizes the vital work of journalists, who are key allies in the promotion and
protection of human rights. Human rights defenders and journalists share the similar task of
exposing information and the truth about human rights abuses, and in educating the public about
their situation and human rights. In this way, many journalists are also considered as human rights
defenders, to whom international legal protection is provided under the Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders of 1998.
However, journalists continue to be targets of violence and intimidation because of their work as
human rights defenders. FORUM‐ASIA is especially alarmed with three regional trends that are
deeply entrenched:
1. Impunity for acts of violence against journalists and press freedom is rampant in many
countries, even among those seen to have freedom of expression. Two countries in Asia
particularly stand in infamy in recent press freedom statistics: Pakistan has one of the
highest rates of killings of journalists with 14 being killed between January 2010 and January
2011; the Philippines was the scene of the most horrific act of violence against journalists
when 32 media persons were killed in a single incident in 2009.Yet until now, none of the
perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre has been brought to justice. Journalists covering
conflicts in West Papua in Indonesia, Northeast India and Sri Lanka have been targets of
violence for their work. In Nepal, journalists have often been victims of attacks from non‐
state actors (including supporters of political parties) and criminal groups.
Addressing the appallingly low level of redress and effective official action against both state
and non‐state perpetrators of acts of violence remains a priority concern. Asian States must
take concrete measures to stop and prevent such acts from continuing.
2. Censorship and repressive regulations are still a major concern in many countries, especially
in East Asia. National laws and policies that aim to or effectively censor the press remain in
place, such as Burma (Myanmar) and Singapore’s laws that regulate newspapers, printing
presses and other media. Most of the press in Bhutan, China, Laos and Vietnam are state‐
owned; and the contents are rigorously monitored and subsequently censored. China, Laos,
Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam actively monitor human rights defenders, the media and
independent bloggers for “threats to state” and detain them by using vaguely worded
security laws that criminalizes a broad scope of legitimate public criticism. New regulations
for the internet have recently been put in place in Indonesia (2008) and Thailand (2007)
which imposes penalties on both senders and receivers of information over the internet.
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FORUM‐ASIA World Press Freedom Day Statement – page 2
3. Defamation charges are commonly filed against many journalists both in the mainstream
and alternative media including online citizen journalists who report on human rights and
corruption issues. In Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam a number of human rights defenders,
bloggers and journalists are facing defamation charges from powerful individuals and private
companies who have been reported to have committed abuses and anomalies.
These defamation charges demonstrate that what is at stake in this arena are mostly the
personal interests of the state officials and powerful private actors, rather than the public or
state interests, to cover up acts of corruption and abuse of human rights.
Although this dark outlook and the challenges remain daunting, journalists and citizen bloggers
continue to struggle to bring light to the truth by publishing reliable information to the public and
the international community.
FORUM‐ASIA calls on the governments across Asia to:
Recognize the role of journalists and human rights defenders who struggle against impunity
and censorship by legislating laws to protect human rights defenders.
Guarantee press freedom and internet freedom under the law and in practice; and repeal all
laws that restrict press freedom and freedom of expression.
Ensure the right to information to protect the act of accessing information and coverage of
issues vital to public interest. There are already existing and emerging models in a number of
Asian states on freedom of the press and the right to information that others can emulate.
Regional cooperation is vital for countries to learn from each other about good practices and
the benefits of governance where freedom of expression is guaranteed. States must also use
regional cooperation mechanisms to agree on common standards on guaranteeing the
freedom of expression that follow international human rights law.
FORUM‐ASIA calls on the entire Asian community to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day by
taking these concrete steps to fully guarantee the right to freedom of expression for journalists and
citizens.
For more information, contact:
Mr. Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director, +66 818 689 178, yap@forum‐asia.org
Mr. Surya Deuja, South Asia Programme Manager, +66 840 904 079, surya@forum‐asia.org
Ms. Gayoon Baek, East Asia Programme Officer, +66 850 566 548, gayoon@forum‐asia.org