John Emerson

Taiwan, with its lively and diverse media, reveled in its reputation as a bastion of free speech and democracy. Government leaders made numerous public pronouncements on the importance of promoting press freedom, and advertised their efforts to strengthen civil liberties. In January, the legislature abolished a draconian publishing law that had been used to control…

Attacks on the press, while still rife, have slowed down since the end in 1997 of Tajikistan’s five-year civil war, during which 29 journalists were murdered in the line of duty. But the government has found other means to keep a tight lid on the press. Throughout the year, the government of President Imomali Rakhmonov…

President Benjamin Mkapa and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party continued to enforce laws that infringe on free expression. According to the Media Institute of Southern Africa, the government of Tanzania cautioned at least 19 newspapers this year alone, threatening them with legal action over the content of articles. The government itself admitted that…

Thailand’s journalists enjoy one of the freest presses in the developing world, and a new constitution implemented in 1997 provides some of the broadest press protections in Asia. The 1997 Official Information Act, which is modeled on the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, gives the public the right to access information that was once routinely…

On July 23, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who seized power in 1967, announced that he would not run for reelection. Meanwhile, widely publicized charges that the ruling party rigged the most recent election have heightened official sensitivity to media criticism. In late April, the government warned independent journalists to refrain from printing false or slanderous articles…

While the government of Prime Minister Basdeo Panday pressured journalists to cover only the positive aspects of national life, several violent incidents highlighted the adversarial relationship between officialdom and the press. The Panday government established the National Broadcasting Network (NBN), which unites various state-owned television and radio stations into a single corporate entity. Panday urged…

In a year that saw strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali reelected in October with 99.42 percent of the vote, the press remained in the stranglehold of the Tunisian police state. For the second year in a row, CPJ named President Ben Ali one of the world’s top 10 enemies of the press. Since ousting “president…

For years, Turkey has had one of the liveliest yet most restricted presses in the region. This paradox was again on display in 1999. Print and broadcast media continued to cover sensitive social and political topics and were often unbridled in their criticism of the government–notably during the authorities’ sloppy rescue efforts after the devastating…

Among all the countries of the former Soviet Union, Turkmenistan stands out as having the most repressive climate for journalists. President Saparmurat Niyazov, known as Turkmenbashi, “father of all Turkmen people,” has created a personality cult not seen since the days of Stalin. In the capital, Ashgabat, a huge statue of Niyazov dominates the city…

President Yoweri Museveni and his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) made it clear that criticism would not be tolerated in the run-up to a referendum on the Ugandan political system scheduled for June 2000. Using harassment and discriminatory legislation, the NRM government managed to suppress most independent political activity, including meetings and public rallies. This…