John Emerson

PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO HAS REPEATEDLY PRAISED NIGERIAN JOURNALISTS for their role in bringing down successive military dictators, but Nigeria’s return to democracy has not relieved journalists of legal restrictions or of the hostility they face from the political class. Like much of the country, the press was caught up in an often-turbulent national debate last…

THOUGH NORTH KOREA OPENED UP SLIGHTLY as its leader Kim Jong Il emerged onto the world stage, the country remained a totalitarian backwater with no independent local media and only limited access for foreign journalists. Reporters from South Korea and the West are viewed with particular suspicion and were generally refused visas until last year.…

WITH A PALESTINIAN UPRISING RAGING IN THE ISRAELI-OCCUPIED TERRITORIES, the Oslo peace process dead, and his popularity slipping, the future of Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian National Authority (PNA) seemed precarious. But Arafat’s leadership position appeared unchallenged for the time being, with the result that press freedom remained under threat. The year was marked by…

THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE GEN. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF sought to create an impression of benign rule last year. In part, this meant avoiding the bare-knuckle tactics that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used to control the press. However, Musharraf’s patience with his critics seemed to be wearing thin toward the end of 2000, and…

THE PANAMANIAN GOVERNMENT NOT ONLY FAILED TO LIVE UP TO its promise to repeal the country’s so-called gag laws, but also made several attempts to impose new restrictions in 2000. Meanwhile, several journalists were handed jail sentences for defamation. The gag laws consist of a range of articles, laws, and decrees-many promulgated under military governments-that…

A COUP ATTEMPT IN MAY (THE THIRD SUCH ATTEMPT SINCE 1996) and vice-presidential elections in August tested the Paraguayan media and caused increased political polarizarion. On May 18, rebel forces loyal to Gen. Lino Oviedo, the fugitive leader of a faction within the ruling Colorado Party, tried to take over army barracks in the capital…

PERU’S INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS HELPED drive President Alberto K. Fujimori from power after forcing his once-mighty intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos into exile. Fujimori’s November departure led to the unshackling of the independent press, which had seriously suffered under a regime that tried to manipulate public information for a decade. President Fujimori used all resources at his…

THE RAUCOUS PHILIPPINE PRESS TOOK CENTER STAGE as President Joseph Estrada faced mounting scandals and a televised impeachment trial in the Senate. The crisis began after a one-time crony of Estrada accused the former movie actor of accepting millions of dollars in illegal gambling payoffs. Estrada’s predicament was a riveting media event, and press investigations…

LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS CONTINUED IN 2000, as Poland moved closer to joining the European Union. While journalists struggled under longstanding legal burdens, new court rulings favored press freedom, and legislation was drafted to improve access to information. Meanwhile, one violent attack against a journalist was recorded, and the political opposition alleged that the state…

IN LATE 1999, THE MAIN PARTIES TO THE INTERMITTENT ETHNIC CIVIL WAR in this oil-rich country signed peace agreements that seemed reasonably durable at the end of 2000. Yet President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s government, which is largely controlled by the northern Mbochi tribe, continued to repress political dissent. The Fundamental Act of 1997, which replaced a…