Letters

1. The issuing under your signature of the new “Doctrine on Information Security of the Russian Federation,” a Cold War-style text whose broad, ambiguous language can be used to justify severe repression of press freedom. 2. Your own statement — despite what you yourself have characterized as governmental mishandling of communication with the public over…

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is outraged by the imprisonment of Cheng Poh, a lawyer who was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in jail for allegedly distributing foreign news articles.

Dear Mr. Gagné, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about yesterday’s shooting of Michel Auger, a veteran crime reporter with the French-language daily Le Journal de Montréal. Auger was shot one day after the publication of his latest article on organized crime in Quebec Province.

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the lack of progress in the prosecutor general’s investigation into the kidnapping and torture of Jineth Bedoya Lima, a noted investigative reporter with the Bogotá-based daily El Espectador.

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely disturbed by the continued brutal persecution of journalists who criticize you and the activities of your military government. We are particularly alarmed at the recent beating of Joachim Beugré, editor of the private daily Le Jour, by three soldiers under your command.

Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is outraged by your government’s apparent efforts to shut down the independent newspapers SolDat and Vremya Po for reprinting articles from foreign media about alleged corruption in the Kazakh government.

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes your decision to ease censorship restrictions on the Sri Lankan media. We are, however, disappointed that military-related news will still be subject to censorship regulations issued in previous years.

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is dismayed by the recent suspension of two Malaysian publications, the weekly news magazine Eksklusif and the monthly youth magazine Wasilah.

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is disturbed by your stated intention of banning private radio stations from broadcasting in Kenya’s vernacular languages. On August 31, 2000, at the opening of the Agricultural Society of Kenya show in Mombasa, you accused private stations that broadcast in languages other than English and Kiswahili, Kenya’s two official languages, of undermining national unity and promoting tribal chauvinism. You also ordered Attorney General Amos Wako and Information, Transport, and Communication Minister Musalia Mudavadi to draft legislation that would force private stations to broadcast only in English and Kiswahili.

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely disturbed by a National Assembly member’s recent attempt to strangle journalist Chahana Takiou of the private biweekly newspaper L’Independant. This bizarre incident occurred August 30 inside the National Assembly building in the capital, Bamako, CPJ sources say. Takiou was apparently reporting a story when Mamadou Gassama Diaby, a member of parliament from the ruling Democratic Alliance of Mali (ADEMA), assaulted him. Diaby punched and kicked Takiou several times before seizing him by the neck and attempting to throttle him.