Asia
2011
Attacks on the Press 2010: Philippines
Top Developments • Flawed procedures, witness intimidation, bribes mar Maguindanao prosecution. • Aquino pledges reform, but two more journalists are murdered for their work. Key Statistic 3rd: Ranking on CPJ’s Impunity Index, reflecting one of the world’s worst records in solving press murders. Trial proceedings began in September for the first 19 defendants in the…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Sri Lanka
Top Developments • Anti-government cartoonist missing; police make no evident effort to find him. • Government readies plan for a strict media regulatory agency. Key Statistic 19: Journalists in exile, having fled violence, imprisonment, and intimidation. In his Independence Day speech on February 4, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared that the country “cannot be…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Thailand
Top Developments • Using emergency decree, government blocks access to thousands of websites. • CPJ faults government, protesters for lethal violence against media. Key Statistic 2: Journalists killed during violent clashes between security forces and protesters in Bangkok. Armed clashes between anti-government protesters and state security forces resulted in 91 deaths and more than 1,800…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Vietnam
Top Developments • In run-up to Communist Party Congress, authorities clamp down on Internet. • Critical blogs targeted in hacking attacks; government complicity seen. Key Statistic 5: Online journalists imprisoned on December 1, reflecting crackdown on Internet commentary. Vietnam targeted online journalists in a clampdown on dissent ahead of a 2011 Communist Party Congress at…
Attacks on the Press 2010: Asia Developments
ATTACKS ON THE PRESS: 2010 • Main Index ASIA Regional Analysis: • Partisan Journalism And the Cycle of Repression Country Summaries • Afghanistan • Burma • China • Indonesia • Nepal • Pakistan • Philippines • Sri Lanka • Thailand • Vietnam • Other nations BANGLADESH An unidentified man threatened photojournalist Shahidul Alam on March…
Burmese video journalist given 13 years in jail
New York, February 11, 2011–Burma’s new government under Prime Minister Thein Sein must put an end to the former military junta’s despicable policy of imprisoning independent journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The most recent case to come to light is the 13-year sentencing of Maung Maung Zeya in a trial held within…
Nepal’s leadership vacuum threatens press freedom
Nepal’s new Prime Minister Jhalnath Khanal should be setting a new tone. Law and order–and with it, journalists’ security–have suffered in the seven months since Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned and has been filling in as interim leader. Khanal could be making public commitments to reversing the atmosphere of impunity that is promoting media attacks. Instead,…
Press freedom has its limitations in Bangladesh
In the last decade, the growth of print and electronic media and a new generation of journalists have changed the face of the media in Bangladesh. But there is a long way to go until there is true press freedom. Politicians, criminals, and businessman exert undue influence, and the industry itself lacks the professionalism to…
Police in India must drop charges against Tehelka reporter
New York, February 7, 2011–Authorities in Karnataka state should drop charges against Tehelka magazine correspondent K.K. Shahina that appear intended to discredit her reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police visited her residence in Kerala state twice in January and left notices for her to appear for questioning, leading her to fear she…