August 2009 Archives

As Col. Muammar Qaddafi, 67, celebrates the 40th anniversary of his ascent to power this week, it is unlikely that any of the numerous international guests will venture to ask the Libyan dictator or his aides what happened to journalist Abdullah Ali al-Sanussi al-Darrat after his arbitrary arrest 36 years ago. Al-Darrat, a journalist and writer from Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, vanished following his detention without trial in 1973, according to international human rights groups and the Western Europe-based Libyan League for Human Rights.

A Supreme Court decision to allow a change of venue in the trial of three suspects accused of murdering journalist Dennis Cuesta, at left, in August 2008 sets a hopeful precedent in the fight against impunity in media killings in the Philippines. The decision was granted in mid-July and press freedom groups tracking the case learned about the ruling on August 28. 

No doubt Stars and Stripes is a Pentagon-authorized newspaper. But no one should doubt the daily's editorial independence from the Defense Department. This week Stars and Stripes beat the rest of the press pack in breaking a story that not only made Defense Department officials uncomfortable, but that compelled veteran Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman to say he would look into the matter.

For the second time in less than a month, the lead federal investigator in the case of a journalist murdered in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, has been shot and killed in the streets of that city, according to news accounts. The second investigator, Pablo Pasillas Fong, was shot 13 times on August 26, according to the reports.

PBS's "Wide Angle" aired "Eyes of the Storm" last week, a documentary on Cyclone Nargis and its aftermath. Like Anders Ostergaard's recent film "Burma VJ" on citizen reporters during the monk-led protests in 2007, which we wrote about in April, "Wide Angle" contrasts independent reports filmed at great risk with the junta's state media claims that aid was under control. 

The government's cruel treatment of Tunisian journalist Abdallah Zouari came to an end on August 1, a reminder that even the most autocratic regimes will yield to international pressure for press freedom. Zouari, a former reporter for the now-defunct Islamic weekly Al-Fajr, had been forced to live under a form of house arrest since his release from prison in 2002 following an 11-year term. Living under what was called "administrative control," Zouari was subjected to strict police surveillance and forced to reside in the suburbs of the southern city of Zarzis, hundreds of miles from his family. No more.

Ahead of the first anniversary on Sunday, August 23, of the kidnapping in Mogadishu of Canadian Amanda Lindhout and Australian Nigel Brennan we issued the following statement today on behalf of the families of the two journalists...

On August 15, Caracas authorities arrested Gabriel Uzcátegui in connection with a violent attack against a dozen local journalists who were protesting an education bill that critics fear will restrict press freedom in Venezuela. Uzcátegui is an employee of the government-owned broadcaster AvilaTV, the national daily EL Nacional reported.

This week, CPJ's Shawn W. Crispin examined the incredible risks and challenges confronting witnesses to journalist murders in the Philippines. Crispin's report, "Under Oath, Under Threat," featured Bob Flores, a man who has demonstrated extraordinary courage in identifying a gunman in the slaying of radio journalist Dennis Cuesta. Crispin and I had met Flores earlier this year in Manila, and we came away both inspired and determined to highlight the issue of witness intimidation in the Philippines.

CPJ spoke with three Kabul-based journalists to learn how they and their colleagues around the country responded to the government's request to mute coverage of violence during polling hours today.

"When we were in that car and he was pointing that gun at us ... I thought, 'We're done. We're not getting out of here alive.'"

The shooting death last year of Radio Mindanao Network broadcaster Dennis Cuesta raised the realization among journalists here that the profession we know and love could cost us life and limb. 

In response to news that Pakistani Voice of America reporter Rahman Bunairee was released after 10 days in U.S. immigrant detention, we issued this statement...

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda lashed out at private broadcasters last week, accusing them of unethical reporting. The comments come in the midst of two important, ongoing developments: mounting public criticism of Museveni's policies and the government's criminal prosecutions of six journalists for their coverage.

A piece in the Columbia Journalism Review raised questions about CPJ's support of several bloggers in Egypt. The article draws a distinction between journalists who report facts and bloggers who deal in opinion and the promotion of causes. In a companion piece, CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney argues that in a country like Egypt, where freedom of expression is under constant assault, bloggers fill a vacuum and need our support.

The Chinese government backed away on Thursday from its attempt to mandate censorship software, "Green Dam" and "Youth Escort," on personal computers, a move that was previously delayed. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology official Li Yizhong denied there was ever an intention to require pre-installation of the programs on Thursday, saying the government's May announcement of its plans were misleading, according to state newspaper China Daily. 

In Zambia, the coming week will mark the anniversary of the untimely death of President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa. The late president had championed press freedom with his commitments to reform, and, with his passing, the Zambian media lost an ally. Worse, the media freedoms gained in recent years are now slipping. 

In response to news that Pakistani reporter Rahman Bunairee was detained Monday by immigration officials at Washington Dulles International Airport while trying to enter the country to accept a one-year position with Voice of America, we issued this statement...

It's been more than three months since I realized one of my most important dreams by coming to the United States. Still, I never thought that I would come here as a refugee, maybe because my Iraqi dignity and pride simply wouldn't accept such an idea. 

A month ago I sat next to a cop, turned on my computer, and opened my blog. The threats were there: "My dear lydia cacho get ready to be found soon with your throat slit, your pretty head will be left outside your apartment if you think you are so brave bye."

Last week, the Ethiopian government tried to force private Kenyan broadcaster Nation Television (NTV) to drop a four-part exclusive report on separatist rebels in southern Ethiopia. NTV aired the first two parts of "Inside Rebel Territory: Rag-Tag Fighters of the Oromo Liberation Front," which led Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya to accuse the Nation Media Group of giving a platform to a terrorist organization, the daily Nation reported. The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), whose Web site is among several authorities block in Ethiopia, is fighting for greater autonomy for the Oromos, the largest ethnic group in the south of the vast Horn of Africa nation.

A bizarre case of press censorship arose recently in Morocco when authorities seized 100,000 copies of the country's two leading newsweeklies--TelQuel and its Arabic-language sister publication, Nichane--after they published the results of a poll in which Moroccans were asked to assess their king. The odd part? Ninety-one percent of Moroccans said they found the rule of King Mohammed VI mainly "positive."

The notion that three American hikers could innocently wander across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran has elicited some understandable skepticism. But a statement from their friend who stayed behind in his hotel because he was ill helps explain how the situation unfolded. 

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon is one of four diverse voices featured on The New York Times "Room for Debate" blog. The debate centers on the risk of venturing into dangerous territories, whether for recreation or journalism. You can read Simon's take on the Times' Web site.

Some Zimbabwean journalists say 2003 was the most repressive year for independent journalists. Others claim it was 2008. But no one is yet claiming it was 2009 after a recent series of positive developments for the country's media.

At noon on Tuesday, Venezuelan authorities arrested pro-government activist Lina Ron and took her to Caracas' military intelligence headquarters, according to an official statement by the Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice Tarek El Aissami. Ron, a founding and very public member of the far-left political party Union Patriótica Venezolana (UPV), appeared in footage of Monday's violent attack against private broadcaster Globovisión.

In June, CPJ traveled to Ciudad Juárez to report on the extraordinary challenges that Mexican reporters face in covering the drug trade. As CPJ's Mike O'Connor noted in his report, self-censorship is rife and many critical stories are uncovered. The primary reason is impunity: Those who kill or threaten journalists know there is almost no chance they will be punished. Developments last week have reinforced the point.

In response to Russian press reports that the family of Anna Politkovskaya has appealed for further investigation into the suspected role of three men in her murder before sending them back to court, we issued the following statement...

Roxana Saberi, who was imprisoned in Iran for nearly four months, published a statement on her personal Web site to Euna Lee and Laura Ling after their release from North Korea on Tuesday. Saberi had previously expressed her support for the two imprisoned journalists in an interview with CPJ on June 9.

In Niger today, the government is holding a public referendum on a constitutional amendment that would pave the way for President Mamadou Tandja to run for office indefinitely. It would also further increase the former army colonel's control over the press. Tandja, at left, has charged ahead with the referendum despite overwhelming public opposition after he dissolved a resistant constitutional court and the National Assembly.

We issued the following statement in response to reports today from the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that imprisoned U.S. journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling have been pardoned and will be released:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is encouraged by news reports that former U.S. President Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea to negotiate the release of two American television journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling. They were convicted on June 8 of entering North Korea illegally and planning "hostile acts" and were sentenced to 12 years' labor in a closed-door trial.

On July 26, the following headline appeared in Mexico's daily Milenio newspaper: "Canada: Will assassinated at point-blank range." Soon, similar headlines followed. The stories focused on a recent report by three Canadian investigators that sustains conclusions made by the Mexican authorities in the case of Bradley Roland Will, left, a U.S. video-journalist and activist killed in October 2006 in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. The government-commissioned report has sparked controversy for echoing the findings of Mexican authorities, whose investigation has been heavily questioned by local and international human rights groups and the Will family for being politicized and riddled with irregularities.

We issued the following statement after some 30 gunmen, identified by reporters at the scene as government supporters, stormed the premises of broadcaster Globovisión in Caracas, disarmed the station's security guards, and fired tear gas...

Like many radio listeners in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, I tune to Radio France Internationale (RFI) on 93.4 FM or 105 FM. But beginning on July 24, the frequencies carried nothing but static. It was no accident. Media reports quoted government spokesman Lambert Mende as declaring a ban on RFI broadcasts.

Responding to reports that journalists were among the more than 100 defendants put on trial in Iran today for conspiring against the government, we issued the following statement...

We issued the following statement today in response to Venezuelan Minister of Housing and Public Works Diosdado Cabello's announcement that regulators have revoked the broadcast licenses of 34 private radio stations...