Press freedom in Southeast Asia will continue to grow despite severe government controls restricting freedom of expression to varying degrees, a regional press watchdog said today.

The Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) said in a statement journalists in this region still have their work strictly censored and face subtle pressures of self censorship and press licensing.

The Seapa statement was issued together with journalists groups in Cambodia as part of a conference in Phnom Penh in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day today.

"Not long ago, the press in virtually every country in this region laboured under harsh authoritarian conditions. Today, the media is substantially free in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia," said Seapa.

"We also see that the press itself has a long way to go in terms of ethics and responsibility. We must redouble our efforts to strengthen professionalism of the press.

"The media must police its own ranks if it does not wish to lose the respect of readers and jeopardise their hard-won freedoms," said the statement.

Seapa also proclaimed that independent media in the region would continue to grow "because our people crave the right to read and discuss ideas".

'Papers biased'

Meanwhile, an AFP report quoted Malaysian National Union of Journalists (NUJ) president Norila Mohamad Saud as saying the Printing Presses and the Publications Act (PPPA) was restraining the free flow of information into the country.

"The Act is hampering the free flow of information. Newspapers impose self-censorship to avoid problems with the government. The Act must go in order to allow the media to operate without fear or favour," she said.

The fact that many mainstream papers are owned by political parties also complicated the situation, she explained. .

"There is a perception that mainstream papers are biased and not credible. Newspaper owners must be more professional by allowing fair and balanced reporting," said Norila.

In a separate message to commemorate today's World Press Freedom Day, the three top United Nations (UN) officials called upon decision-makers at all levels to do whatever they can to ensure that journalists pursue their work unhindered and undeterred.

Uphold integrity

Only this, they said, will allow the people throughout the world to benefit from the free flow of ideas.

The joint statement was issued by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation (Unesco) director-general Kochiro Matsuura

"We urge journalists to adhere to the highest standards of their profession, to refuse to lend their skills to hate-mongering and always to uphold the principle of impartiality," they said.

They also urged the international community as a whole to defend and protect the fundamental human right to receive and impart information free from censorship, through any media regardless of frontiers.