PRESS FREEDOM WORLD REVIEW, NOVEMBER 2007 – JUNE 2008
Media Channel
/06/03/press-freedom-world-review-november-2007-ju ne-2008/
June 3 2008
NY
Attacks on the media remain commonplace in Latin America, where local
gangs and corrupt government officials do not hesitate to use deadly
violence to silence critical voices. Four journalists were killed in
the past six months and a number of media professionals were attacked,
threatened and harassed. The region is distinguished by a general
lack of respect for journalists.
In the Middle East and North Africa, the past six months have been
marked by a number of setbacks in the area of press freedom, mainly due
to autocratic regimes that do not hesitate to take drastic measures
to prevent independent voices from making themselves heard. Bloggers
throughout the region continue their relentless battle to spread news
and information ignored or censored by the mainstream media.
In sub-Saharan Africa, reporting on rebellions and conflict zones
has proved more and more dangerous, as governments resort to charges
of sedition and "endangering national security" to intimidate and
sanction independent and opposition media. Challenging or criticizing
the President, government members and the army also lands many African
journalists in prison. Election times have exacerbated tensions and
made accurate and timely reporting even more difficult and risky.
Freedom of the press continues to be challenged in various parts of
Europe and Central Asia, either in a subtle or blatant manner. Death
threats against or prosecution of journalists reporting on conflict
zones, war crimes, organised crime or against those mocking state
officials, national or religious symbols remain disturbingly common.
Throughout Asia, independent media continue to face an array of
obstacles mainly in the form of hostile governments and internal
conflicts. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, journalists continue their
struggle for the right to freedom of expression. Dictatorships such
as Burma, North Korea and Laos allow no independent media to operate
within their borders.
AMERICAS Journalists killed = Brazil (1), Bolivia (1), Honduras (1),
Mexico (1) TOTAL = 4
Attacks on the media remain commonplace in Latin America, where local
gangs and corrupt government officials do not hesitate to use deadly
violence to silence critical voices. Four journalists were killed in
the past six months and a number of media professionals were attacked,
threatened and harassed. The region is distinguished by a general
lack of respect for journalists.
Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami Al-Haj was released on 1st May 2008 from
the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was held for
six years without charge or trial. Al-Haj had been arrested at the
Pakistan/Afghanistan border in December 2001, while covering the
U.S.-led fight to oust the Taliban, and sent to Guantanamo in June
2002. The U.S. alleged that he worked as a financial courier for
Chechen rebels and that he assisted al-Qaeda and extremist figures.
In the United States, The Oakland Post publisher Paul Cobb was given
police protection in January 2008 after being told a contract had been
put out for his murder. The editor of the same weekly, Chauncey Bailey,
was gunned down in August 2007 as he walked to work. Bailey was working
on a story about the financial status of a bakery, Your Black Muslim
Bakery, which had filed bankruptcy in October 2006. Bailey had also
reported on alleged statutory rape accusations against Yusuf Bey,
the founder of the bakery. A 19-year-old handyman at a local bakery
initially confessed to the murder, explaining he was angered by
Bailey’s negative coverage of the bakery and its staff. He later
retracted.
U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law amendments to the
Freedom of Information Act on 31 December 2007 that will improve
public access to information about federal government activity. The
amendments come just weeks after it emerged that the CIA destroyed
videos of terrorism suspects being interrogated that had been requested
as evidence in court.
No improvements have been seen in freedom of expression since
Raul Castro took over as president of Cuba in February 2008. More
than 20 journalists continue to serve lengthy prison sentences in
appalling conditions and press freedom groups have intensified their
condemnations of these imprisonments in the past months, hoping to
establish a dialogue with the new president.
The brutal January killing of José Fernando Gonzáles, owner of
Radio Mega in Honduras, was yet another evidence of murder being too
easy an option to muzzle journalists in this part of the world. Two
unidentified men entered the radio station saying they wanted to
buy advertising time and shot Gonzáles when he came to attend
to them. Murders and death threats are part of the daily lives of
media professionals in Latin American countries such as El Salvador,
Guatemala and Bolivia, where radio journalist Carlos Quispe was killed
when a group opposing the mayor in the city of Pucarani first attacked
the municipal building of the city and then the municipal radio station
where Quispe worked. He was badly beaten and later died in hospital.
Mexico has a record number of unsolved journalist murders, and a new
one was added to the long list of tragedies for the country’s media
profession when Gerardo Israel GarcÃa Pimentel, a journalist with
the La Opinión de Michoacán newspaper, was gunned down in early
December by unidentified individuals in the state of Michoacán,
where drug cartels play an important role and murder is frequent.
The government of Argentine came under sharp criticism in May, when
the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) called on it to be less
confrontational towards news media and individual journalists as
a measure to prevent an escalation of violence "which jeopardizes
press freedom in the country." According to IAPA, journalists and
media outlets have been the target of a campaign by the president’s
office with the aim of discrediting them, much along the same lines as
the ongoing government campaign in Venezuela against media critical
of President Hugo Chavez’ regime. In the past months Venezuelan
journalists have been the victims of police violence and threats by
government officials, which in its turn has led to ordinary citizens
attacking journalists and media outlets when dissatisfied with their
reporting.
A more positive development took place in Brazil in February, when
the Supreme Court of Brazil granted a provisional decision suspending
the application of 20 articles of the Press Law adopted in 1967 by the
military regime, because of their "incompatibility with the democratic
values and press freedom standards of the 1988 constitution". One
murder occurred in Brazil in the past six months. TV cameraman Walter
Lessa de Oliveira was shot to death in early January, probably by a
drug trafficker that he had previously filmed for a documentary.
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Journalists killed: Iraq (9), Palestinian
Territories (1) TOTAL = 10
The past six months in this region have been marked by a number of
setbacks in the area of press freedom, mainly due to autocratic regimes
that do not hesitate to take drastic measures to prevent independent
voices from making themselves heard. Bloggers throughout the region
continue their relentless battle to spread news and information
ignored or censored by the mainstream media.
Despite a sharp decline in journalist killings in Iraq since
the beginning of the year, the figures are still high with seven
journalists killed since November 2007. In Iraqi Kurdistan, where
press freedom is known to be greater than in the rest of the country,
the working conditions of the independent media have deteriorated
over the past months. Several journalists have been arrested and
prosecuted, while others have been attacked by what is believed to be
government security forces. A controversial new media bill was passed
by the parliament in December 2007, imposing harsh restrictions on the
media and allowing for the government to close newspapers, but it was
vetoed by the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masoud
Barzani. A new version of the bill will soon be debated in parliament.
In Saudi Arabia, the December 2007 arrest of blogger Fouad Al-Farhan
for "violating regulations" sparked worldwide protests which seem
to have contributed to his release in April 2008. An attempt to
freedom of expression in the tightly controlled kingdom was curbed
in February, when the government banned live broadcasts on public
Saudi TV channels after viewers had criticised government officials
on the Al-Ikhbariya TV channel. The director of the channel was fired
following the broadcast.
Freedom of expression came under attack in Yemen in late 2007 when
the government closed down a number of websites in an attempt to
limit the free flow of information on controversial issues related to
the rebel fighting in the north of Yemen and the growing discontent
and separatist calls in the south. The government has refused to
give any explanation to the blocking of the websites. In March, the
Al-Sabah and the Abwab newspapers were banned from distribution by
the government, and in April the license of the Al-Wasat weekly was
cancelled, a decision that was overturned by a court order in early
May. It seems clear that after a period of greater openness, the
Yemeni government has decided to again tighten its grip on the media.
During the fierce clashes in Lebanon in early May, the media became
the targets of unprecedented attacks, which according to local sources
were even more aggressive than any media violations during the civil
war between 1975 and 1990. Media outlets owned by the son of murdered
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were attacked and set on fire and
several journalists were harassed, manhandled and temporarily held
by unknown assailants as well as detained by police. Two newspaper
photographers needed hospital care after they had been attacked. At
least six media outlets were temporarily forced to close or prevented
from publication.
Media in the Palestinian Territories continue to be victims of the
internal conflict between the Islamist party Hamas, controlling
the Gaza Strip, and President Mahmoud Abbas’ party, Fatah, in the
West Bank. In addition to that, media workers are permanently at
risk when covering the ongoing conflict with Israel. 23-year old
Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was killed while covering an apparently
unprovoked Israeli military strike. There are claims that Shana was
deliberately targeted by the Israeli forces.
In North Africa, newspapers in both Algeria, Morocco and Egypt have
come under new attacks by the authorities in the past months. In order
to exercise pressure on media deemed too critical, the governments
in these three countries do not hesitate to hand massive fines which
compromise the whole existence of the targeted media enterprises,
or simply ban them.
In Algeria, newspapers find themselves before the courts on a weekly
basis on charges of defamation and libel. In March, Omar Belhouchet,
publisher of the French-language El Watan daily, and Chawki Amari, a
columnist with the same paper, were sentenced to two months in prison
and ordered to pay one million dinars (10,000 euros) in damages for
comments made in a column published in El Watan in June 2006. They
have now appealed the sentence. In another case, Yasser Abdelhai a
journalist with the Echourouk El Youmi daily was sentenced to pay
four million dinars (40,000 euros) in damages for four defamation
cases. Abdelhai has had 26 cases brought against him since 2002.
An article published by the Arabic-language Al Massae daily in Morocco
led to a strong division of the country’s press in early 2008. The
article reported on a supposed homosexual marriage ceremony, which
resulted in attacks on the people that allegedly participated in the
ceremony. The more liberal French-language press protested vigorously
against Al Massae, accusing the paper of hate speech. The controversy
exposed the difficulties of Moroccan media to cover sexual, cultural,
political and ideological diversities and also he country’s division
over political and ideological issues. In the end, jail sentences were
handed to the people present at the supposed marriage on charges of
‘sexual perversion’ but also to Rachid Ninni, director of the Al Massae
press group, for libel. He received a record-high fine of six million
dirhams (524,000 euros), which jeopardizes the entire operations of
the newspaper group. Another worrying development in Morocco is the
recent attacks on media workers. Five journalists were attacked on
different occasions by unknown assailants in the first months of 2008,
and in April four journalists were beaten by police officers while
covering demonstrations.
In Egypt, the government has continued its crackdown on the media
through a number of actions in recent months. In January, a journalist
of the pan-Arab TV network Al-Jazeera was briefly detained following
a six-month prison sentence she received over a film exposing
torture in Egyptian police stations. Egyptian blogger Abbas Wael,
who has gained international recognition for his reporting on human
rights issues, lives under constant pressure and harassment from
government officials. The authorities have also banned or restricted
a number of media outlets in an effort to curb the reporting on
the mounting discontent in Egyptian society. On a positive note,
the Administrative Judicial Court in December rejected a request of
Judge Abdul Fattah Murad who sought to ban 51 Egyptian websites on
29 December 2007. In its ruling, the court emphasised the importance
of freedom of expression.
Under President Ben Ali, Tunisia continues to be one of the most
repressive countries in the Arab region, with no independent
media and ruthless punishments of journalists and press freedom
advocates. Sihem Bensedrine, an internationally renowned editor,
and her husband Omar Mestiri, a publisher, were violently attacked by
police and detained upon their arrival in Tunisia in March. Journalist
Slim Boukhdir is serving a one-year sentence for "insulting behaviour
towards an official in the exercise of his duty," "violating decency"
and "refusing to produce identity papers". In early May he started
a hunger strike, protesting against the fact that he has not been
allowed to take a shower for the past six weeks, which has given him
scabies. French President Nicolas Sarkozy received wide criticism
from human rights groups in late April, when he during a trip to
Tunisia stated that "today, the sphere of liberties is progressing"
in the country.
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Journalists killed: Somalia (1) TOTAL = 1
Reporting on rebellions and conflict zones has proved more and
more dangerous, as governments resort to charges of sedition
and "endangering national security" to intimidate and sanction
independent and opposition media. Challenging or criticizing the
President, government members and the army also lands many African
journalists in prison. Election times have exacerbated tensions and
made accurate and timely reporting even more difficult and risky. After
a period of relative freedom following a military coup in 2005,
the independent press in Mauritania has again become the target of
government pressure. The government, which came to power in March 2007,
has limited its contact with the media, dealing only with certain
editors and strengthening ties with them while effectively cutting
off their less compliant counterparts by denying them subsidies and
other financial support or even restricting access to information.
The National Communications Council of Guinea banned the publications
La Vérité, L’Observateur and La Nouvelle for extended periods
earlier this year in retaliation for separate articles critical of
the presidential administration, the government and the army.
After spending four months in prison for "endangering state security"
in Niger, the director of the bimonthly Aïr Info was released in
February. His arrest was part of the government crackdown on media
coverage of a rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in the north of the country
that also landed two French broadcast journalists in jail for one
month. One month later, the managing editor of an independent bi-weekly
publication, L’Eveil Plus, was sentenced in February to one month
in prison following a complaint filed by the State Prosecutor of the
Niamey Court. The charge stemmed from an opinion piece critical of the
judiciary’s contrasted handling of two high-profile corruption cases.
The use of sedition charges has intensified in Nigeria to intimidate
and sanction journalists who report on alleged cases of high-level
corruption and mismanagement. Another highly sensitive field
of reporting is the Niger Delta region, where the Nigerian army
is fighting several armed groups. In this context, four American
documentary filmmakers and a Nigerian citizen were arrested and held
for five days in state security custody in Abuja, in April.
Following a new nationwide state of emergency decreed in Chad on
14 February, new severe restrictions have been placed on reporting
the armed rebellion and any information "endangering national
unity." Moreover, a 20 February presidential decree amended the
press law to effectively criminalize critical coverage of sensitive
topics, including government affairs, the armed rebellion and
ethnic relations. The decree also imposes new requirements to launch
newspapers. Newsrooms have been raided, pre-publication censorship
reigns and many independent journalists were forced into hiding.
In neighbouring Sudan, the government in February reestablished
censorship for the privately owned media following press reports
that the government had provided support to a Chadian rebel offensive
against the N’Djamena government. In this context, journalists were
repeatedly questioned and copies of newspapers seized.
Fourteen journalists, including Dawit Isaac, founder of the now-banned
weekly Setit, remain behind bars in Eritrea, usually held incommunicado
in secret jails. Eritrea is among Africa’s most repressive regimes
toward the media and the largest journalist jailer.
Somali National News Agency reporter Hassan Kafi was killed on
28 January by a remote-controlled landmine on his way to a press
conference. In 2007, eight Somali journalists were killed because of
their work, the second highest toll after Iraq. In March, Government
security forces in Somalia raided the premises of Horn Afrik, Radio
Shabelle, and Radio Simba and seized equipment in an effort to prevent
the stations from reporting on a deadly fighting between soldiers and
insurgents in the centre of Mogadishu. The government claimed it did
not order the raids.
A high level of economic and political pressure continues to endanger
independent media outlets in Gabon. The National Communications
Council is instrumental in the government’s arsenal to silence critical
reporting. Among the latest sanctions was a three-month ban imposed in
March on the private publication Tendance Gabon after it republished
Le Monde’s article on French investigations into the private luxury
Parisian residences acquired by five leaders of oil-rich African
nations, including President Omar Bongo.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, press freedom violations continue
unabated. Investigative reporter Maurice Kayombo, of the private
monthly publication Les Grands Enjeux, was detained for 34 days over a
still unpublished article looking into a high-profile corruption case.
In Kenya, the media did not exacerbate the political crisis that
followed a highly disputed presidential election in December, nor
did it incite violence. Rather newspaper headlines and broadcasts
that managed to seep through the media ban, which was put in place
by President Kibaki’s government between 30 December 2007 and 4
February 2008, were more messages of peace. Some observers, however,
consider that in doing so Kenyan media failed in their duty to report
the facts and to inform the public.
In Uganda, the bimonthly independent publication The Independent has
been in the government’s spotlight since April following investigations
the paper led into illegal detention centers in the suburbs of
Kampala. Police raided the paper’s premises, seized equipment and
arrested staff on charges of "possessing seditious materials" and
"publishing inflammatory materials."
Ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections held on 29 March,
the Zimbabwean government again used its journalist accreditation
law-known as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act-to prevent most major international media as well as local
journalists from covering the country’s elections. The New York
Times journalist Barry Bearak and British freelance journalist Steve
Bevan were held in Harare Central Prison for five days on charges of
reporting without accreditation before being tried and released. More
recently, The Standard editor, Davison Maruziva, was charged with
"publishing false statements prejudicial to the state and contempt
of court" for publishing an editorial by opposition leader Arthur
Mutambara that was critical of President Robert Mugabe’s regime.
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Journalists killed: Russia (2) TOTAL = 2
Freedom of the press continues to be challenged in various parts of
Europe and Central Asia, either in a subtle or blatant manner. Death
threats against or prosecution of journalists reporting on conflict
zones, war crimes, organised crime or against those mocking state
officials, national or religious symbols remain disturbingly common.
Several newspapers in Denmark decided in February to republish
the controversial cartoon drawn by Jyllands-Posten cartoonist
Kurt Westergaard in response to the discovery of a plot to kill
him. Westergaard now lives under the protection of the Danish secret
services.
In France, Guillaume Dasquié, a journalist specializing in
intelligence issues, was detained for two days in December and
pressured to reveal his sources for the 16 April 2007 article in
Le Monde titled "September 11: the French had long known." Based on
classified files, the article said French intelligence services had
warned their American counterparts of a possible terrorist plot that
involved the hijacking of planes and crashing them into buildings eight
months before 9/11. Threatened with pretrial detention Dasquié did not
reveal his main source, but he confirmed one name to avoid detention.
In February, President Nicolas Sarkozy filed a criminal lawsuit
against the weekly Le Nouvel Observateur for publishing an article
claiming Sarkozy had offered his former wife to cancel his forthcoming
wedding if she would return. Sarkozy dropped the lawsuit after the
article’s author apologised to the President’s new wife. In May,
Sarkozy accused Agence France-Presse (AFP), Le Parisien and L’Express
newspapers of bias, claiming they failed to duly report on a negative
court verdict against his opponent in the 2007 presidential election
Ségolène Royal.
Threats made against journalists who report on the mafia in Italy are
increasing. About a dozen journalists work under police protection,
including Lirio Abbate, Palermo correspondent of the news agency Ansa.
In Slovakia, a controversial Press Act adopted in April grants a
right of reply to any person or legal entity whose honour or dignity
has been effected by a published "fact statement", regardless of
whether the statement were true. Replies must be placed in the
same position in the newspaper as the original article, and must
be equivalent in size to the original article. A failure to provide
equal coverage for such a reply would subject newspapers to financial
damages claims. It is feared that the law could open the floodgates
to unfounded litigation that could threaten the very existence of
newspaper publishing companies.
In Croatia, Drago Hedl, editor of the weekly Feral Tribune who has
investigated war crimes against Serb civilians in the city of Osijek
in 1991, received death threats in February. The weekly claims that
its reporting on the case against Mr Glava, who has been charged
with war crimes, has led to death threats being made against its
journalists, including Hedl, and witnesses. In April, Ivo Pukanic,
co-owner and director of Nacional, a Croatian weekly news magazine,
barely escaped an attempted murder in front of his house when an
unidentified assailant shot at him.
Threats against Serbian independent broadcaster B92 intensified and
hundreds of demonstrators opposing Kosovo’s unilateral declaration
of independence besieged B92 building on 21 February.
The Supreme Court of Belarus ruled in January that Aleksandr Sdvizhkov,
an editor at the now defunct independent weekly Zgoda (Consensus),
was guilty of inciting religious hatred for reprinting controversial
cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2006. Sdvizhkov was sentenced
to three years in prison but was freed after he served a reduced
three-month term. The newspaper had given coverage to an opposition
candidate in the 2006 presidential election before being closed down.
In March, two journalists were arrested while covering a peaceful
demonstration in Minsk. Both journalists were charged with offences
related to organising and holding unauthorised mass events. Shortly
after, the KGB launched a nationwide search of the offices and homes
of independent media and journalists, accusing them of libelling
President Lukashenko in cartoons published in 2005.
A policy to suppress independent reporting on sensitive issues
appears to have gained ground in Russia. Amendments to the Law on
Fighting Extremist Activity adopted in 2006 and 2007 already proved
to be a weapon against media critical of the authorities. Ahead of
the December parliamentary and March presidential elections, cases of
harassment and violence against journalists multiplied and mainstream
media showed a clear bias in favor of the ruling party candidates.
The State Duma adopted in April an amendment to the Federal Law on
the Mass Media that adds "distribution of knowingly false information
insulting the honour and dignity of other persons or denigrating
their reputation" to a list of activities that constitute a "misuse of
media freedom". This new offence would have provided grounds for the
government to close a media outlet. However, on 19 May, Duma Speaker
Boris Gryzlov, a senior leader of United Russia, announced that his
party changed its position and that the Duma will not pass the bill.
In the North Caucasus, media still face a high level of political
pressure, repressive laws, administrative harassment, abusive financial
auditing, direct threats and defamation charges. Added to the economic
hardship and the low professional level of local media, this results
in distorted news reports on the conflicts of this region.
Ilyas Shurpayev, a Dagestan-born reporter who covered conflicts in
the Northern Caucasus for Russia State-run Channel One, was found
stabbed and strangled with a belt in his Moscow apartment on 21
March. Later the same day, in an unrelated case, gunmen shot dead
Gadzhi Abashilov, the head of Dagestan’s state-controlled television
channel, in Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala.
Amid growing hostility toward independent and opposition media in
Azerbaijan, Eynulla Fatullayev, editor-in-chief of the independent
Realni Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan newspapers, was convicted
of terrorism, inciting ethnic hatred and tax evasion, and sentenced
to eight and a half years in jail. In March, Genimet Zakhidov, editor
in chief of the newspaper Azadlig was given four years in jail for
"hooliganism". His brother and co-worker, Sakit Zakhidov, is serving
a three-year sentence on a heroin possession charge. Sakit said a
police officer planted the drugs. Violence and the threat of violence
against journalists have become frequent in Azerbaijan and further
contributed to the deteriorating environment for freedom of expression.
The repression of Uzbekistan’s independent and opposition media has
intensified since the May 2005 massacre of civilians by Uzbek security
forces in the city of Andijan. Independent journalists are harassed
and threatened, while restrictions on foreign reporters and their
local correspondents have increased. Five independent and opposition
journalists are currently serving long prison sentences in retaliation
for their reporting.
The controversial Article 301 of Turkey’s Penal Code that makes it a
crime to insult "Turkishness" was amended in April to replace the word
"Turkishness" with the phrase "Turkish nation", to require permission
of the Justice Minister for any prosecution and to reduce the maximum
penalty from three years to two. Cases against journalists, publishers
and activists under Article 301 rose from 29 in 2005 to 72 in
2006. Between July and September 2007 only, 22 charges were laid under
Article 301, mostly against journalists. In 2006, Armenian-Turkish
journalist and editor Hrant Dink was prosecuted under Article 301
for insulting "Turkishness" and received a six-month suspended
sentence. Dink was murdered in January 2007 by radical nationalists.
ASIA Journalists killed: Afghanistan (1), India (1), Nepal (1),
Pakistan (4), Philippines (1), Sri Lanka (3) TOTAL = 11
Throughout this vast region, independent media continue to face
an array of obstacles mainly in the form of hostile governments and
internal conflicts. In the northern parts of Asia, journalists continue
their struggle for the right to freedom of expression. Dictatorships
such as Burma, North Korea and Laos allow no independent media to
operate within their borders.
The upcoming Olympic Games have sparked an international debate
about freedom of expression in China, intensified by the banning of
foreign media to cover the March riots in Tibet. Not only has China
failed to live up to the press freedom commitments made as part of
Beijing’s preparation to be the host city of the 2008 Games but the
authorities continue to arrest and sentence journalists to lengthy
prison sentences.
The latest case is that of journalist Qi Chonghuai, of the China
Legal News in Shandong province, who was sentenced to four years in
prison for fraud and extortion in mid-May. Freelance journalist He
Yanjie was sentenced to two years in prison during the same trial. The
two journalists had together with a friend, Ma Shiping, published an
article on a foreign-based website accusing a local official of beating
a woman for arriving late to work. They also posted photographs of
a luxurious Tengzhou government building on the Xinhua news agency
anti-corruption web forum.
Ma is still awaiting his trial. Several other journalists have been
arrested and sentenced to prison in the past six months.
In the aftermath of September 2007 uprising in Burma, the authorities
have continued to impose harsh restrictions on the flow of information
in an attempt to further isolate the country from the rest of the
world.
In January, the price for satellite dish licences increased from 6,000
to 1 million kyats (from 3 to 513 euros) in attempt to limit access to
foreign news media. In February, the editors of 15 news publications
received a warning from the authorities to not publish any materials on
their web versions that had not been verified by censors. A few days
later, the editor and the manager of the Myanmar Nation weekly were
arrested and charged for possessing a report by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro,
the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar.
Throughout the spring access to Internet has been limited and there
has been difficulties phoning Burma from abroad. Despite this, Burmese
citizens have continued to provide information to the outside world
through the Internet, often risking their lives in doing so. When the
Nargis cyclone hit Burma in early May, media outlets operated from
abroad in collaboration with local journalists allowed for uncensored
news to exit from the country.
Foreign journalists were forced travel to the country on tourist visas,
operating under pen names. Local journalists enjoyed greater freedom
to travel around the country, but still experienced tight restrictions
on their work.
In January, Golden Pen of Freedom laureate U Win Tin, who has been
imprisoned since July 1989, was taken hospital to undergo surgery
because of a painful hernia.
In Vietnam, the government has in recent months arrested a number of
journalists and online writers, thus reversing a previously positive
trend with regards to freedom of expression.
In April, Nguyen Hoang Hai, a famous Vietnamese blogger was arrested
following his participation in protests against the human rights and
press freedom situation in China.
In April, independent journalist Truong Minh Duc was sentenced to five
years in prison and US journalist Le Hong Thien who had travelled to
Vietnam to cover the Olympic torch relay had his passport confiscated
and was placed under house arrest.
In May, journalists Nguyen Van Hai and Nguyen Viet Chien were arrested
and accused of "abuse of power" following their 2005 investigation
into an important corruption case involving government officials. The
corruption case, which was widely covered by the national press,
resulted in the conviction of a dozen political figures, including
the transport minister, and was at the time seen as an important sign
of greater freedom granted to the country’s media.
Also in May, journalist Somsak Khunmi, a Thai citizen and contributor
to Radio New Horizon received a nine-month prison sentence on terrorism
charges. The only positive development in Vietnam was the unexpected
January release of journalist and writer Tran Khai Thanh Thuy after a
one-day trial that sentenced her to nine months and 10 days, or time
served, on charges of "causing public disorder".
The press traditionally enjoys an important degree of press freedom in
the Philippines, however, in January media groups massively protested
an "advisory" issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) warning
journalists of "criminal liabilities" should they "disobey lawful
orders from government officers and personnel" during "emergencies".
The absence of any concrete terms allows for a broad interpretation,
posing a threat to journalists when carrying out their work to inform
the public. In February, media was prevented from covering a large
protest rally again President President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from
the air. The organisers evoked the security of the demonstrators as
the reason for the ban, but media claimed they wanted to prevent
them for reporting on how large the rally was. Fernando Linutan,
a journalist with dxGO radio was killed on Christmas Eve.
The working conditions for the media in Afghanistan have further
degraded as the country continues to face numerous obstacles in its
efforts to establish democratic rule.
In late March, gunmen destroyed Radio Zafar, an independent
radio station outside of Kabul, and also in March, the Ministry of
Information and Culture ordered Afghan TV stations to stop broadcasting
"sensual" images, following TV programmes where men and women were
dancing together.
The February death sentence handed to Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh on charges
of blasphemy and insulting Islam led to an international outcry and was
also widely condemned by journalists in Afghanistan. It is believed the
23-year old Kambakhsh was in reality punished for articles written by
his brother, prominent journalist Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, who has been
vigorous in his criticism of local authorities and warlords. Kambakhsh
is currently waiting for appeal in a Kabul prison. One journalist was
killed in Afghanistan in the past six months. Norwegian journalist
Carsten Thomassen of the Dagbladet newspaper died in a suicide attack
on the Kabul hotel where he was staying in mid-January.
In neighbouring Pakistan, the independent press has been subject
to tremendous pressure in the aftermath of the 28 December 2007
assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Criminal
cases have allegedly been brought against 78 journalists under the
anti-terrorism and anti-riot acts. The journalists all claim that
they are being targeted for their reporting. In addition to this,
strict regulations were placed on media ahead of the February general
elections.
In May, media were put under pressure in their coverage of the judicial
system in Pakistan. According to a court order journalists will have
to reveal their sources and media should not publish any reports
involving a judge without prior clearance by court officials.
Three journalists were killed in Pakistan since November 2007. Zubair
Ahmed Mujahid, a correspondent of the daily Jang newspaper was shot
dead in November 2007, Chishti Mujahid, a journalist with the Quetta
newspaper was shot to death outside his home in early February and
Siraj Uddin, a reporter with The Nation newspaper, was killed in a
suicide attack at a funeral of a murdered police officer at the end
of February.
Journalist murders also occurred in India and Nepal. Ashok Sodhi, an
Indian photojournalist for the Daily Excelsior newspaper was killed
while he was covering a hostage situation during which security forces
exchanged fire with suspected militants. Nepalese publisher Pushkar
Bahadur Shresta of the Highway Weekly and New Season publications
was shot to death in January by a man who claimed he was a journalist
from the "wrong" region of the country.
The state of press freedom in Sri Lanka has remained critical over the
past six months due to the armed conflict between government troops
and Tamil separatists. Three media employees, journalist Isaivizhi
Chempiyan, and technicians Suresh Linbiyo and T. Tharmalingam of the
Voice of Tigers radio station, were killed in deliberate attack by
the Sri Lankan Air Force in late November 2007.
In May, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary and brother of the
president, called for a ban on independent media outlets which he
blamed for publishing news stories detrimental to the security
forces. International press freedom watchdogs have repeatedly
expressed concern over the attacks on media and the lack of respect
from government of officials with regards to the country’s independent
media.
–Boundary_(ID_ez/2m+PtiuoV5hL aTpHBvg)–
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2008