2012
India: Let us in!
In 2005, we deliberately violated the immigration laws of India. We broke the law by producing a documentary film even though we had entered the country on a tourist visa. We broke the law because we wanted to show that Scandinavian companies were in violation of many other laws in India.
Yemeni newspaper office under siege
New York, February 9, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Yemeni authorities to end an ongoing siege at the offices of a daily newspaper and ensure the protection of journalists and their equipment. Armed men last week surrounded the offices of two Yemeni newspapers, one of which remains under attack, according to news reports.
Dripping with blood
When high profile murders take place in Pakistan it is routine to include police and government forces along with criminals and ne’er-do-wells. This is the stark reality of the simmering and often bloody terrorist war in Balochistan. The Economist explains how a long standing secessionist movement and rampant corruption make Pakistan a dangerous place in…
Bahrain should grant entry to journalists
New York, February 9, 2012–Bahrain has rejected at least six journalists’ applications for entry visas ahead of the anniversary of antigovernment protests that swept the country in February 2011, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to allow journalists into the country to carry out their work freely.
In high-tech China, low-tech media control works too
China’s investment in high-tech Internet surveillance technology is well known, and the byzantine rules of its Central Propaganda Department have inspired books and academic treatises. But among the many tools in the box for media control, there’s one that’s very simple and low-tech: Keep journalists away.
Rousseff quiet as Cuban blogger denied travel to Brazil
The response from Cuban officials did not take anyone by surprise. Prominent Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez had been, once again, denied permission to leave her country after she was granted a visa by the Brazilian Embassy in January to attend a film festival. “I feel like a hostage kidnapped by someone who doesn’t listen nor…
Chinese media little help with Chongqing mystery
The website of Xinhua News, China’s state media flagship, leads today with EU’s threats of sanctions against Syria. Elsewhere on their Chinese-language site, one can read about Wen Jiabao’s remarks to the visiting Canadian prime minister, or look at photos of pretty white ladies lounging around, if that’s your style.
What’s behind India’s Internet censorship?
We have been posting a lot about the challenges facing the Internet in India recently–see Mannika Chopra’s “India struggles to cope with growing Internet penetration.” On Tuesday, Angela Saini, a guest blogger on The Guardian’s Comment Is Free site, posted “Internet censorship could damage India’s democracy,” with the subhead “Google and Facebook have been asked…