It certainly has. Even Surin Pitsuwan, the new Asean chief, who was present at its birth on 8 November 1998 at Bangkok’s Dusit Hotel, conceded that he hadn’t expected the region’s one and only media union to have lasted this long.
However, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) has more to boast about than just longevity.
For instance, its alert network that was set up with the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) has worked so well that the arrest of a Singaporean journalist today may trigger off protests in front of Singaporean embassies tomorrow.
Its annual fellowship programs have also brought talented journalists who would otherwise have been out in the cold into action.
As for Burma’s exiled news agencies, they have been involved in SEAPA’s activities through its umbrella organization Burma News International (BNI) since 2004.
Thanks to SEAPA, the media from the region’s countries under close regimes are learning a lot from Burma, according to a Vietnamese participant, in the use of internet, citizen journalism, proxy servers to bypass firewall restrictions and low cost expansion of the media network, which came to light during the Saffron Revolution (September 2007) and Cyclone Nargis (May 2008). “Don’t forget us just because we’re so difficult to work with,” she asks SEAPA. Another participant from China even suggested a conference of media groups from China, Vietnam, Burma, Singapore and such to map out guerrilla strategies to get behind close regimes.
At the same time, participants were not hesitant to concede that SEAPA must still work harder to increase its profile.
The grouping’s annual report, published for the celebration of World Press Freedom Day 2008, was aptly entitled “Slipping and Sliding” and sums up the state of the press in Southeast Asia. Participants’ input better illustrates this point:
* Current political crisis in Thailand has split its society. The media is no exception
* While Thailand deteriorates from The Land of Smiles to The Land of Changes, 3 prime ministers in 10 months, according to SEAPA chair Kavi Chongkijthavorn, the Philippines continue to be The Land of Killings, more than 50 journalists since 2001, with an average of 15 every two years. Police and local officers are involved as killers and masterminds, according to the presenter. The need for community awareness was focused. “If they value the media, they will protect the media people”
* The Indonesian media that used to be under threat from its own government and state apparatus is now facing a new one from big businesses and Muslim radicals
* In East Timor, “those who had used the media for freedom are now against it”
Now comes a new challenge for the regional media, according to Mr Surin: to get itself involved in Asean’s quest to instill a sense of common identity among its diverse peoples. He urges the media’s contribution to make Asean “a better union.”
No doubt SEAPA will be having a big role in it.
