In Pakistan conflict, grave risks for reporters
The September 30 Daily Times in Pakistan headlined a story “Peace being gradually restored in Swat,” although daily skirmishes continue between the military and militants. A few days earlier, a massive car bomb in the heart of Peshawar killed at least 10 people and left some 70 wounded, while an explosion destroyed a police station…
Security forces harass Pakistani newspapers
The Urdu daily Asaap said Frontier Corps forces were posted outside its offices on August 1, 2009, questioning staff about connections with local insurgents, according to local news reports. The Frontier Corps is a local paramilitary unit stationed to quell a violent independence movement staged by Baloch nationalist groups in the province.
National Day censorship intensifies in China
New York, September 30, 2009—National Day celebrations on Thursday will be marred by extensive media restrictions in China, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The public holiday marks the founding of the People’s Republic of China by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949
Vietnam’s Triet urged to fulfill promises on reform
Dear Mr. President: It has been nearly three years since Vietnam was accepted into the World Trade Organization and your government announced its intention to play a more prominent role in international organizations and multilateral forums. Your participation in this week’s United Nations General Assembly and your country’s scheduled assumption next year of the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are testament to Vietnam’s more engaged approach to international relations.
Supreme Court moves trial in Philippine attack
New York, September 23, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists applauds a Philippine Supreme Court decision to grant a change of venue in the trial of a defendant in the attempted murder of radio journalist Nilo Labares, who was shot and injured in Cagayan de Oro City in March. The transfer is the third venue change…
CPJ to honor five international journalists
New York, September 23, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor courageous journalists from Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Azerbaijan with its 2009 International Press Freedom Awards at a ceremony in November. Mustafa Haji Abdinur of Somalia, Naziha Réjiba of Tunisia, Eynulla Fatullayev of Azerbaijan, and J.S. Tissainayagam of Sri Lanka have faced imprisonment, threats…
J.S. Tissainayagam, Sri Lanka, Sunday Times
Awards 2009 |Announcement of the Awards | Eynulla Fatullayev | Naziha Réjiba | Mustafa Haji Abdinur | Anthony Lewis On March 7, 2008, J.S. Tissainayagam, editor of the news Web site OutreachSL and a columnist for the English-language Sri Lankan Sunday Times, went to the offices of the government’s Terrorism Investigation Division to ask about…
National Day triggers censorship, cyber attacks in China
New York, September 22, 2009—The Chinese government should stop censoring Web sites and protect Internet users from cyber attacks in advance of upcoming National Day celebrations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. October 1 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.