Press freedom heroes in Southeast Asia

Hang Chakra (Photo: Sok Serey, RFA)

Wed, Sep 14, 2011
By Shawn W. Crispin/Senior Southeast Asia Representative
CPJ Blog (Committee to Protect Journalists)
Press Freedom News and Views

(Excerpt)

Three Southeast Asian journalists--Cambodia's Hang Chakra, Malaysia's Zulkiflee Anwar Ul Haque, or Zunar, and Thailand's Chiranuch Premchaiporn--were among the 48 awardees of the Hellman/Hammett grant, given to writers targeted with political persecution, who were recognized today by Human Rights Watch for their commitment to press freedom.

Hang Chakra, editor-in-chief of the daily Khmer Machas Srok, was imprisoned for 287 days on "disinformation" charges related to a story he wrote about high-level corruption. Zunar, a cartoonist and contributor to online news site Malaysiakini, now faces sedition charges and possible imprisonment for his banned political illustrations. Chiranuch faces a possible 50 years in prison on charges related to anonymous comments critical of the Thai monarchy posted to one of her news site's Web boards.

I spoke on a panel with them today in Bangkok, where I described the repression they have faced and discussed how their individual cases are indicative of a downward trend in regional press freedom conditions. Excerpts from my address follow:

On behalf of CPJ, I would like to extend my hearty congratulations to these three recipients of the Hellman/Hammett awards, but underscore my organization's belief that none of them should have suffered from the government harassment that is implicit in being a recipient of one of these prestigious awards.

These awards speak to the lack of progress in press freedom in three of Southeast Asia's reputed democracies and point disturbingly to the closing of space that was once open for journalists to report and opine in Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

It is notable and chilling that two of today's three recipients have been persecuted for their activities or journalism that originally appeared online. CPJ research shows that the region's governments are increasingly targeting online journalists. Nearly half of the journalists jailed worldwide published their work predominantly online.

.....

In Cambodia, our view is that Hang Chakra was wrongly jailed for reporting on alleged government corruption and failing to disclose his sources. Cambodia's government purports to support a free press and points to the explicit laws in Cambodia's law books protecting press freedom--laws that authorities frequently circumvent to stifle criticism.

The reality on the ground is that Cambodia's media is dominated by newspapers sympathetic to Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party, and those that refuse to step in line--such as Hang Chakra's Khmer Machas Rok--are often targeted for harassment by his government. Along those lines, we continue to campaign on the unresolved death of Cambodian journalist Khem Sambo, who reported critically about Hun Sen's government and was murdered just weeks before the 2008 general elections.

All three of these journalists honored here today have effectively been punished for their courage to speak journalistic truth to power in their respective countries. Their courage in reporting is an inspiration to all of us who believe democracies cannot function without a free and probing press. Their repression raises uncomfortable questions about the quality of democracy in their respective homelands.

May the governments who have bid to make punitive examples of their courage in reporting take note of the international recognition and prestige they have received here today.