In the Philippines, one journalist killed, another wounded in a shooting spree
New York, June 25, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Philippine government to quickly investigate and bring to justice the killer of Vicente Sumalpong, an announcer for the government-owned Radyo ng Bayan (People’s Radio) network. Sumalpong was with two companions when a gunman attacked them this morning in the town of Bongao in…
Journalist flees country after receiving death threat
New York, June 22, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about an anonymous death threat made Saturday against Radio Free Asia (RFA) reporter Lem Pichpisey. Fearing for his safety, Lem fled across the Thai-Cambodian border the next day and is now in exile in the Thai capital, Bangkok. Lem told CPJ that…
Nepal: Two newspapers are forced to suspend publication
New York, June 21, 2007—Two newspapers in Kathmandu have suspended publication this week in response to pressure, including death threats, from a Maoist party-affiliated trade union, the All-Nepal Communication, Press and Publications Trade Union. Nepalese journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists that the trade union action appeared to be aimed at influencing coverage of…
In Sri Lanka, the government silences a Tamil Web site
New York, June 20, 2007—The Sri Lankan government should restore domestic access to the TamilNet Web site, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Free Media Movement, a Colombo-based press freedom group, and news outlets reported Tuesday that Internet service providers had blocked access to the site on government orders. TamilNet, which openly supports…
U.N. urged to examine accreditation policy
Dear Mr. Secretary-General: The Committee to Protect Journalists is greatly concerned about the United Nations’ refusal to accredit journalists from states not recognized by the U.N. General Assembly. In its rigid application of this policy, the organization excludes these journalists from entering any U.N. facility anywhere in the world and prevents them from performing their work. Journalists from Taiwan are particularly affected by this policy and were unfairly excluded from covering this year’s World Health Organization annual assembly on May 14, as they have been since 2004.
Mother of jailed Chinese journalist calls for international protest
New York, June 18, 2007—The mother of imprisoned Chinese journalist Shi Tao has called on the international community to maintain pressure on Chinese authorities to release her son ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. “My son is not guilty. You should keep up pressure on the Chinese government to release him,” Gao Qinsheng…