1998 Press Freedom Awards – Simon
Ruth Simon Correspondent, Agence France-Presse Imprisoned Journalist Ruth Simon, a correspondent for the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), has been in detention since April 25, 1997. Simon, an Eritrean citizen, was arrested after reporting that President Isaias Afewerki told participants at a seminar in Asmara that Eritrean soldiers were fighting alongside rebels in neighboring Sudan.…
1998 Press Freedom Awards – Sheremet
Pavel Sheremet Bureau Chief, ORT Russian television Editor, Belarusskaya Delovaya Gazeta Pavel Sheremet has endured every conceivable type of official harassment for his coverage of Belarus‘ slide toward authoritarianism. Minsk bureau chief for the Russian public television company ORT since 1996 and editor in chief of the newspaper Belarusskaya Delovaya Gazeta since 1995, Sheremet —…
1998 Press Freedom Awards – Mohamad
CPJ home | IPF Winners Goenawan Mohamad Founder and Editor, Tempo Goenawan Mohamad has been a crusader for press freedom since his university days, when he set up the short-lived independent student newspaper Harian Kami in 1967, just a couple of years after Suharto engineered the overthrow of Indonesia’s founding president, Sukarno. Now, after sparring…
Introduction
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Caucasian republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have declared their desire to model themselves after Western European societies, with free-market economies and democratic government. But their passage from communism to a new social order has been rife with contradictions. In the current transition period, leaders of both countries…
Introduction
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Caucasian republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have declared their desire to model themselves after Western European societies, with free – market economies and democratic government. But their passage from communism to a new social order has been rife with contradictions. In the current transition period, leaders of…
Key Media Officials in Azerbaijan
Minister of Press and Information: Siruz Khudat ogli Tabrizli, born 1942 in Tabriz, Iran. A writer, poet, former journalist. Holds democratic views but is a strong supporter of President Heidar Aliyev. Member of parliament and a leader of Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan party. Serves as minister under the “List of 18” exception which allows 15 percent…
Armenian Officials Tout Press Freedom But Bully the Press
There are two views of the press in Armenia today. The first holds that the press is entirely free to report as it chooses. The second is that the press is irresponsible. One thing is certain: In the absence of censorship, Armenian officials resort to verbal pressure and sometimes physical retribution, to knock journalists into…
Cut It Out: Notes from An Azerbaijani Censor
A 1993 censor’s log book, revealing the interplay between censors and the cuts they made, has been circulating among Baku editors. Some extracts from the purloined document: ³24/VIII/93 ³An article cut from Azadliq. It said that S. Husseinov demanded the resignation of President Aliyev at his press conference at Ganja. If you see such information…
Censorship While You Wait: An Azerbaijani Newspaper Struggles to Stay Alive
At 25, Gunduz M. Tairli is a chain – smoking, ink – stained journalist. His face is angular; his expression intense. He is also chief editor of Azadliq, one of Baku’s most popular newspapers, and the organ of the opposition Popular Front party. Putting out Azadliq is a daily struggle for Tairli, who labors 12…
Azerbaijan’s Media Navigate a Legal Maze
Editors of Baku’s leading newspapers were thrown into turmoil in early November 1996. The Milli Medjlis had just amended the law on mass media to require licensing in addition to registration with the Ministry of Justice before newspapers could begin, or continue, operating. Fourteen chief editors of newspapers and news agencies gathered in December to…