1 Journalists from 15 Asia-Pacific countries on Wednesday urged Asian governments to open their minds to freedom of expression, a response to crackdowns on reporters.
2 Their statement was directed particularly at Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Singapore, where recent actions against the media had raised widespread international concerns.
3 'Asian governments must open their minds to freedom of expression and encourage the highest standards of journalism,' said the general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, Aidan White.
4 Asian leaders needed to establish a framework for the exercise of journalism in safe, professional conditions, free from intimidation and social neglect, he said.
5 The statement was made during a three-day conference organized by the federation and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which ended Wednesday.
6 White said more journalists around the world died last year than in any previous year since records were kept.
7 One example in the Asia Pacific region was the deaths of three leading journalists in Cambodia, two of whom the IFJ was sure were assassinated for 'critical independent journalism,' White said.
8 The meeting made a special appeal to the government of Indonesia to support the right of journalists to organize themselves independently. Thursday is Press Freedom Day in Indonesia.
9 'Journalists around the region are shocked at actions in Jakarta against our colleagues in the Independent Alliance of Journalists,' White said.
10 'Attempts to suppress this fledgling organization damage media freedom and the credibility of Indonesia's commitment to democracy worldwide,' he said.
11 The meeting decided to establish a regional network of journalists' organizations supported by the IFJ regional office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to take action against threats to journalists and violations of media freedom.
12 It also planned to develop programs of training to strengthen trade unions among journalists and professionalism in media.
13 Speakers at the conference included visiting journalists from Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Fiji, Tonga, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Asian leaders needed to establish a framework for the exercise of journalism in safe , professional conditions , free from intimidation and social neglect , he said .
safe , professional conditions ,
What would constitute these types of conditions?