Kavi Chongkittavorn, Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Chairman, has been named co-recipient of the 2007 Democracy Award.
Kavi Chongkittavorn, Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Chairman, has been named co-recipient of the 2007 Democracy Award.
Awarded by the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, U.S.-based organization seeking to strengthen democratic institutions around the world, this year's Democracy Award carries a theme of "Defending Free Media in Difficult Environments."
SEAPA is described by the National Endowment for Democracy as "the only regional organization with the specific mandate of promoting and protecting press freedom in Southeast Asia."
Believing that democracy and a free press are inexorably linked to one another,
National Endowment for Democracy Chairman Vin Weber states, "In countries with little or limited press freedom, independent journalists and activists committed to providing citizens with honest news and information often find themselves in the vanguard of the struggle for democracy."
Recognition of the importance of those striving for free expression and a vibrant independent media in Southeast Asia comes at a time when journalists and media groups inside Burma are reporting ever increasing barricades and intimidation in their quest to cover recent events unfolding in the country.
In 1998, Kavi Chongkittavorn was named the Human Rights Journalist of the year by Amnesty International, Thailand, in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
He is also assistant editor of the Bangkok-based Nation Media Group.
The 2007 award ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C. on the 18th of September.
Awarded annually since 1991, the Democracy Award has its origins in the events surrounding Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, in 1989.
Mizzima works in alliance with SEAPA in providing and disseminating information regarding Burma and Burma-related issues.
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