While outdated media laws that encourage self-censorship among journalists remain on the books in Costa Rica, the decision by the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Court of Human Rights to hear a criminal defamation case involving a Costa Rican journalist may have a profound impact on the region’s press. A ruling could set a…
Unlike previous years, when Cuban authorities were mostly content to merely harass and threaten independent journalists and their families, in 2003, authorities launched an all-out assault against the opposition and the independent press. Officials jailed 29 journalists–about one-third of the island’s independent press–and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms. Those who continue to work face…
President Joseph Kabila’s transition government was inaugurated in June, after warring parties signed a power-sharing deal in December 2002 that ended a devastating four-year civil war. The peace accord keeps Kabila in power until 2005, with four vice presidents from both the armed and unarmed opposition. In 2005, the country will hold its first elections…
Government efforts aimed at punishing critics led to a deterioration of press freedom in the Dominican Republic in 2003. Moreover, news coverage of scandals involving private financial institutions that own many Dominican media outlets seriously damaged citizens’ confidence in the press.
Despite widespread poverty in this island nation, a fledgling press has developed out of the destruction that followed the territory’s vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999. Since May 2002, East Timor has been sovereign, with only a small U.N. presence remaining until 2004 to provide defense and security assistance.
With 17 journalists in prison in 2003, Eritrea was Africa’s leading jailer of journalists. CPJ named the country one of the “World’s Worst Places to Be a Journalist” for the second consecutive year. Despite jubilant celebrations in the capital, Asmara, honoring the 10-year anniversary of the country’s independence on May 24, Eritrea’s development has been…
During its 10 years in power, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front has come under mounting criticism for its antagonistic attitude toward the country’s burgeoning private press. Authorities have used a restrictive press law to imprison journalists for critical reporting and to intimidate others into silence on sensitive issues, such as government infighting and…
In July, the Gabonese legislature amended the constitution to eliminate presidential term limits, opening the way for President Omar Bongo, who has been in office for 36 years, to be president for life. The state-controlled L’Union newspaper, the country’s only daily, said the amendment would usher in “a new era for our democracy and our…
In 2003, President Yahya Jammeh’s ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) maintained a firm grip on power in this tiny West African country, despite signs of political and economic instability. In September and October, the president fired four ministers, including the communications minister, while a fifth, the justice minister, resigned.
Seven years after the government and former guerrillas signed the last of a series of peace accords ending Guatemala’s 36-year civil conflict, the nation continued its struggle with a legacy of massive human rights violations and impunity. As relations between the government and the local press became more hostile, the number of attacks and threats…