Interesting article articulating situations Where free speech is threatened (By Rupert Abbott is Amnesty Internationals Research Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific) In Vietnam, the authorities continue to tightly control the media, and in recent years online activists and bloggers have been thrown into jail on spurious charges -- there are scores of prisoners of conscience languishing in harsh conditions. Next door in Cambodia, where earlier this year, security forces shot dead protesting garment workers, an alleged draft Cybercrime Law would criminalize and censor online expression critical of the government and its policies.... Southeast Asia has come a long way in recent decades in its efforts to improve respect for human rights, a change that has helped unleash some of the regions economic potential. Yet the restrictions on free speech sweeping across the region are troubling, and are only likely to discourage much-needed investment from overseas. Those attending the November summits have an opportunity to reverse this trend. But to do so they must start by speaking out for all those in Southeast Asia whose voices have been silenced -- and demand the release of all prisoners of conscience jailed simply for the peaceful expression of their views...
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 02:47:02 +0000
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