Attacks on the Press 2001: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s mettlesome media endured another year of extraordinary political volatility. Although the administration of President Chandrika Kumaratunga finally lifted onerous censorship regulations and eased restrictions preventing journalists from reporting fully on the country’s long-running civil war, journalists were still routinely threatened and harassed for their reporting. Impunity for crimes against journalists continued to be…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Taiwan
An independent and lively press remains a bedrock of Taiwan’s democratic society, though debates over the limits of free expression persist. The media’s penchant for covering scandals was checked by a high-profile lawsuit lodged by the vice president and by an attack on the racy tabloid Taiwan Next. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s acute concern about safeguarding national…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Thailand
When populist telecommunications billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai (Thai Love Thai) party came to power with a solid majority in January, the stage was set for an ongoing confrontation between the new prime minister, eager to contrive a positive public image, and the freewheeling Thai press.
Attacks on the Press 2001: United States
Since its founding in 1981, CPJ has, as a matter of strategy and policy, concentrated on press freedom violations and attacks against journalists outside the United States. Within the country, a vital press freedom community marshals its resources and expertise to defend journalists’ rights. CPJ aims to focus its efforts on those nations where journalists…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Vietnam
During 2001, Vietnam forged closer ties with the international community. In July, the country hosted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference, and in November, the national assembly signed a long-awaited trade agreement with the United States. Spurred by China’s admission, the Vietnamese government moved ahead with efforts to enter the World Trade Organization. Yet…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Editor arrested
New York, March 19, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the recent detention of Shyam Shrestha, editor of the leftist monthly Mulyankan. On March 16, authorities detained Shrestha at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Shrestha was on his way to New Delhi, India, to take part in a conference on…
Government bans Australian reporter who covered rights abuses
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the Indonesian government’s decision to deny Australian journalist Lindsay Murdoch’s application for a renewal of his working visa, thereby effectively banning him from working as a correspondent in Jakarta. This action is a clear attempt to punish Murdoch for writing stories that criticize government policies.
Dissident writers detained for criticizing Vietnam-China agreements
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned that writer Tran Khue has been detained following a police search of his home. Tran Khue is the third Vietnamese intellectual to face reprisals in the past few months for criticizing bilateral negotiations between China and Vietnam.