Attacks on the Press 2001: Swaziland
Absolute ruler King Mswati III learned just how small the global village can be when he signed a June 22 media decree that was immediately denounced by human rights organizations and governments worldwide. Decree No. 2 made it a seditious offense, punishable with a 10-year jail term, to “impersonate, insult, ridicule, or put into contempt”…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Tanzania
In June, the government of President Benjamin William Mkapa published a review of its media policy, outlining proposed changes to existing media laws. The document expressed the government’s commitment to press freedom and to providing quality education and training for journalists. But it applied only to the mainland and excluded the island of Zanzibar.
Attacks on the Press 2001: Togo
Following widespread allegations of human rights abuses in Togo, President Gnassingbé Eyadema and the ruling Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT) struggled all year to prove their commitment to democracy, promising parliamentary elections that were ultimately postponed until 2002 for “technical reasons.” Desperate to improve its international image while retaining a tight grip on power, RPT…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Uganda
Despite a stiff challenge from his former protégé Kiiza Besigye, President Yoweri Museveni was reelected in March, fifteen years after he pioneered Uganda’s controversial “no party” political system. During the heated election campaign, there were allegations that the president’s office had tried to “vet” articles and columns in New Vision, a government daily. The paper…
Attacks on the Press 2001: United States
Since its founding in 1981, CPJ has, as a matter of strategy and policy, concentrated on press freedom violations and attacks against journalists outside the United States. Within the country, a vital press freedom community marshals its resources and expertise to defend journalists’ rights. CPJ aims to focus its efforts on those nations where journalists…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Zambia
Incumbent president Frederick Chiluba failed to convince Zambians that he should be allowed to run for an unconstitutional third term in the December 2001 general elections. Political controversies surrounding the elections dominated media headlines in Zambia all year long. Mounting tensions between the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and the opposition were mirrored in…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Attacks on the Press 2001: Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe was named to CPJ’s list of the ten worst enemies of the press in 2001. See CPJ’s 2001 Enemies list. Backed by his volatile minister of information and publicity, Jonathan Moyo, Mugabe harangued, insulted, threatened, and intimidated journalists throughout the year. Mugabe, his unpopularity growing at home, found himself increasingly isolated on…
Radio journalist jailed over controversial talk show
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Comoran authorities continue to hold a respected independent journalist in jail for his work. On November 10, 2001, Izdine Abdou Salam, a host and director of programming for the private station Radio Karthala, was detained and interrogated by police officers in the capital, Moroni.
Mugabe signs restrictive media bill
March 15, 2002—In his first major act since his controversial reelection, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe today signed into law the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill. The new law requires all journalists in Zimbabwe to be licensed by a new Media and Information Commission. Under the law, only citizens or permanent residents can…