While violence and repression against the press continued unabated and even increased in some countries, public trust in journalists and the press suffered in much of the Americas, jeopardizing support for reforms of archaic press laws and opening the door for governments to take a more confrontational approach with the media.
Across Asia, press freedom conditions varied radically in 2003, from authoritarian regimes with strictly regulated state-controlled media in North Korea and Laos, to democratic nations with outspoken and diverse journalism in India and Taiwan. Members of the media throughout the region struggled against excessive government interference, outdated press laws, violent attacks, and imprisonment for their…
There was hope for a peaceful resolution toe the political violence in Nepal on January 29, 2003, when the government and Maoist rebels signed a cease-fire agreement to halt their seven-year civil conflict. However, the deepening political crisis within the country’s constitutional monarchy and the eventual collapse of the cease-fire in August sparked a sharp…
North Korea’s goal in a global nuclear crisis put the country on the front page of international papers throughout 2003. But the regime’s absolute control over news and information ensured that the world continued to know little about what happened inside the country’s tightly fortified borders.
Although the press in Pakistan enjoyed greater freedom under its president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a military coup in 1999, journalists there still operate under pressure from the military, religious hard-liners, intelligence agencies, and the country’s antiquated blasphemy laws.
The overwhelming issue facing the Philippine press in 2003 was the increasing number of journalists murdered with impunity. In the last year alone, at least five journalists were slain in the course of their work–a toll surpassed only by war-related killings of journalists in Iraq. But in the Philippines, this violence is not a temporary…
Singapore continued to promote its bid to become a “global media city ” in 2003 but failed to take any concrete steps toward loosening stringent controls over free speech and the press. As part of a campaign to liven up its stuffy international image, the government liberalized a number of its draconian social controls: Bungee…
After four years of fierce civil conflict in the Solomon Islands, an Australian-led international peacekeeping force managed to pacify the country in 2003. The media, which had been a frequent target of armed militias and corrupt local officials, enjoyed a respite under the international presence and operated with relative freedom.
After coming to power in February pledging to combat widespread corruption, President Roh Moo Hyun ended 2003 in disgrace, with several of his top aides under investigation for illegal campaign finance activities. Throughout 2003, the liberal president fought a heated battle with the largely conservative mainstream press, while the development of Internet news sites presented…
The Sri Lankan government’s fragile cease-fire with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), reached in February 2002 after 20 years of fighting, held throughout 2003 and brought a measure of stability to the media. But political tensions reached a crisis point on November 4, when President Chandrika Kumaratunga suspended Parliament and deployed troops…