Foreign journalists at ASEAN find Lao restrictions frustrating
Southeast Asian leaders wrapped up this month’s summit in the Lao capital Vientiane by reaffirming their commitment to an “open, inclusive and transparent” ASEAN community. But some of the international media covering the meeting of the 10 member countries complained the vision was far from reality due to tough local reporting restrictions.
Authorities would not allow the hundreds of media members to talk to people on the streets to ask how they were coping with inflation that the Asian Development Bank forecasts will average 20% this year.
The media coverage manual said the press must report only from the National Convention Center hosting the summit or the Media Center a few kilometers away. Permission to report in the field was not available during the Oct. 6-11 meetings, an offic...
