Philippines: President accused of masterminding ad boycott
July 21,1999 His Excellency Joseph Ejercito Estrada President of the Republic of the Philippines Office of the President Malacañang Palace Manila, Philippines Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned over persistent evidence that an ongoing advertising boycott of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the Philippines’ top newspapers, may have been…
Pakistan: Legislator seeks to bar journalist Najam Sethi from public life
July 19, 1999 His Excellency Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister Prime Minister’s Secretariat Islamabad, Pakistan Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by the ongoing persecution of Najam Sethi, founding editor of the English-language weekly newspaper The Friday Times. On July 15, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) summoned Sethi to appear…
Thailand: Government official invades newspaper office, threatens editor
July 15, 1999 His Excellency Chuan Leekpai Prime Minister Government House Bangkok, Thailand Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned over a recent attempt to intimidate the staff of the Thai Post that was directed by an aide to Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwankhiri. We do, however, welcome Your Excellency’s pledge today to…
Introduction
On the eve of Indonesia’s first free elections in more than a generation, government officials eagerly point to the country’s open and virtually unfettered press as one of the major accomplishments of interim President B.J. Habibie’s tenure. With the Indonesian economy still reeling from the Asian economic crisis, unrest simmering in many provinces, and the…
Indonesia’s Press Flourishes Despite Uncertainty
Journalists in Jakarta estimate that 1,000 new publications have sprung up throughout the country since Suharto was forced from office a year ago. While some of them are supported by one or another of the 48 political parties vying in the June 7 elections, many others profess independence and seek readers rather than partisan victories.…