IN THE WAKE of September 11, 2001, journalists around the world faced a press freedom crisis that was truly global in scope. In the first days and weeks after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., governments across the globe–in China, Benin, the Palestinian Authority Territories, and the United States–took actions to…
Silence reigned supreme in Eritrea, where the entire independent press was under a government ban and 11 journalists languished in jail at year’s end. Clamorous, deadly power struggles raged in Zimbabwe over land and access to information, and in Burundi over ethnicity and control of state resources. South Africa, Senegal, and Benin remained relatively liberal…
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…
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…
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…
Your Excellency: Given the fact that Zimbabwean authorities had threatened to bar foreign correspondents from covering the March 9 and 10 presidential elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is pleased that a number of foreign news reporters have been granted accreditation. However, we remain concerned that the accreditation process was applied selectively and that some foreign correspondents have been denied entry into Zimbabwe because of their professional affiliation or critical reporting on the country’s deepening political crisis.
New York, February 11, 2002—The Bulawayo city bureau of the independent Daily News was bombed in the early hours of Monday morning, CPJ has learned. At about 3 a.m., two gasoline bombs were thrown at the Daily News building from a moving vehicle. No one was hurt in the explosion, and the office suffered only…
New York, January 17, 2002—After a week of intense international pressure, Zimbabwe’s government delayed its vote yesterday on a harsh media bill that would stifle dissent during the run-up to the presidential elections, scheduled for early March, until certain changes can be made to the legislation, according to Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.
New York, January 7, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns legislation before Zimbabwe’s Parliament that would create a rigid system to register and regulate media companies and the journalists who work for them. Parliament is expected to vote on the legislation this week. The bill, called the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy…
New York, December 13, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists applauds the creation on December 7 of the Zimbabwe Foreign Correspondents Association (ZFCA), which has vowed to challenge a restrictive new press law in court. The draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill would allow only Zimbabwean citizens to work for foreign media. A…