In February, Abdullah II assumed the Hashemite throne after the death of his father, King Hussein. Promising more democracy and public freedoms, the new monarch immediately addressed press freedom concerns, calling on the government to amend the highly controversial Press and Publications Law of 1998. In September, legislators approved amendments that improved on the 1998…
Since 1990, when Lebanon began its recovery from 15 years of civil war and political strife, the country’s press has struggled to regain its formerly dominant position in Middle East journalism. A variety of private newspapers and radio and television stations exist today, many offering generally solid news coverage and criticism of the government. But…
Mauritania’s press remained at the mercy of strict laws that give the government broad discretion to close down outspoken newspapers. The infamous Article 11 of the 1991 press ordinance has been the authorities’ weapon of choice against critical independents for much of the past decade. It grants the authorities broad power to ban the distribution…
Press freedom appeared to benefit when Muhammad VI ascended the Moroccan throne in July, following the death of his father, King Hassan II, who had ruled for 38 years. The easing of self-censorship, which began in earnest after the formation of the government of Prime Minister Abdel Rahman Youssefi in 1998, accelerated thanks to the…
Among many Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, the optimism that accompanied the establishment of Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian National Authority (PNA) six years ago appears to have given way to disillusionment. Widespread corruption within the PNA, its perceived failure in negotiating a just peace, and worsening economic conditions for much of the population…
Although Kuwait enjoys one of the region’s most vibrant and respected presses, journalists recently experienced a noticeable deterioration in their freedoms. Government censorship continued in 1999, as did criminal prosecutions of reporters under the country’s press law and criminal code. After a welcome January court decision that canceled a six-month prison sentence imposed on former…
The press continued to suffer under the regime of Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who marked his 10th year in power by allowing restricted multiparty politics. Some private newspapers were noticeably more aggressive in their coverage of issues such as official corruption and the country’s 16-year-old civil war. In response, authorities punished outspoken newspapers with…
With the passing of Morocco’s King Hassan II and King Hussein of Jordan, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad became the Arab world’s second-longest-surviving leader. Only Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi has ruled longer. During three decades of one-man rule, Assad has ruthlessly eradicated all internal dissent. His February “reelection” by referendum with nearly 100 percent of the…
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…