New York, August 16, 2005—A popular Tamil broadcaster and her husband, a political activist, were killed by unidentified gunmen in Colombo on August 12, the day Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was assassinated. Political leaders blamed the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for all three killings, charges the LTTE denied. The attackers…
New York, August 16, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the criminal defamation charges filed by two state-owned firms against the editor of the English-language daily Bangkok Post, Kowit Sanandang, and the newspaper’s parent company, Post Publishing Plc. The charges, announced today, carry penalties of up to two years in prison and a fine of…
AUGUST 15, 2005 Posted: August 18, 2005 Kowit Sanandang, Bangkok Post Post Publishing LEGAL ACTION Two state-owned firms filed criminal defamation complaints against the editor of the English-language daily Bangkok Post, Kowit Sanandang, and the newspaper’s parent company, Post Publishing Plc. The charges carry penalties of up to two years in prison and a fine…
The pivotal role of the Philippine press in the nation’s history is a point of pride among journalists. The newspaper La Solidaridad, published in Spain and distributed to intellectual reformers in the Philippines, was a mouthpiece for revolutionary sentiment against the Spanish at the end of the 19th century. One of its principal contributors, the author and national hero José Rizal, was executed by the Spanish in 1896 for being the intellectual inspiration for the independence movement.
AUGUST 12, 2005 Posted October 31, 2005 Relangi Selvarajah, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corp. KILLED—UNCONFIRMED Popular Tamil broadcaster Relangi Selvarajah and her husband, a political activist, were killed by unidentified gunmen in Colombo on the same day that Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, was assassinated. Political leaders blamed the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam…
JULY 8, 2005 Posted: August 9, 2005 Mei Magsino-Lubis, Philippine Daily Inquirer THREATENED Lubis, Batangas correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, went into hiding after a caller told her that two prisoners from the provincial jail had been released with orders to kill her. The caller suggested that she leave Batangas, the provincial capital of…
New York, August 11, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Nepalese judge’s decision on Wednesday to block a government order that could have shut Nepal FM 91.8. Authorities have sought to close the station for defying a government ban on broadcasting news. Buoyed by the preliminary court ruling, several FM stations in Nepal have…
Bangkok, Thailand, August 11, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the Thai government’s escalating harassment and intimidation of the media. Police on Tuesday raided and shut down FM 92.25, a Bangkok community radio station known for its critical reporting of the prime minister, and threatened to arrest its journalists if they continued…