Nine years after the 1994 genocide, which killed about 800,000 people, Rwanda ended its transitional ruling period with a constitutional referendum, followed by the first presidential and multiparty parliamentary elections in the country since its independence in 1962. The transitional government’s control of the broadcast media and its repressive tactics against the independent press helped…
With its relatively free and diverse press, Senegal is seen as an example of democracy in West Africa. There are more than 10 daily newspapers and a plethora of weeklies and fortnightlies, many of which frequently criticize the government. Senegal also has numerous private, community, and foreign radio stations, and the constitution guarantees press freedom.…
Sierra Leone has continued effort to rebuild after a brutal 11-year civil war that officially ended in January 2002. At year’s end, a large international peacekeeping force that has helped stop the fighting, disarm rebels, and retrain the Sierra Leone army remained in place. In 2003, a U.N.-backed Special Court and a Truth and Reconciliation…
Somalia has had no effective central authority since the fall of dictator Siad Barre in 1991. A peace agreement in 2000, which led to the installation of the weak Transitional National Government (TNG) in the capital, Mogadishu, fueled the revival of independent media, including local radio stations, newspapers, and Internet sites. Somalia’s high rate of…
South Africa has the more diverse and sophisticated media on the continent. Although freedom of the press is enshrined in the constitution, a number of old laws that restrict freedom of expression remain on the books. For example, the publication of information on police and security forces is restricted, and the Criminal Procedure Act can…
King Mswati III, ruler of Africa’s only absolute monarchy, retained tight control over the media in this tiny southern African nation in 2003. In April, newly appointed Information Minister Abednego Ntshangase announced a censorship policy for state media, saying that “the national television and radio stations are not going to cover anything that has a…
With a press code that imposes sentences of up to five years in prison and a hefty fine for “insulting the Head of State,” and as much as three years in jail for defaming the courts or the armed forces, Togo earned a spot on CPJ’s list of the “World’s Worst Places to Be a…
In March 2003, President Yoweri Museveni proposed extending presidential term limits, allowing him to run for a third five-year term in office. Museveni, who came to power in a 1986 coup, retained power in the country’s first presidential election in 1996 and was re-elected in 2001. His proposal for a third term drew criticism from…
The U.S. media went to war in 2003, with both embedded and independent reporters pouring into Iraq to cover the U.S.-led invasion and its aftermath. U.S. officials called the invasion the best-covered conflict in history, but it was also one of the most deadly for journalists. All told, 19 reporters died while working in Iraq,…
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the continued imprisonment of Judes Zossé, publication director of the private daily L’Hirondelle (The Swallow). Zossé was arrested on February 25, two days after the newspaper reproduced an article titled “General Bozizé: the State’s Tax-collector.”