ATR

In the run-up to November’s general elections, entrenched government control of the media and new regulations governing the Internet and the foreign press virtually silenced public dissent. The ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) overwhelming dominance in the media sector helped guarantee the party’s supremacy: It won more than 75 percent of the vote, its biggest…

Sudan’s independent and opposition newspapers occasionally feature lively coverage of local political affairs, but the government quickly stifles discussion when the press becomes too bold. Coverage of topics such as the 18-year civil war, government corruption or mismanagement, or other official misdeeds has triggered arrests, prosecutions, and censorship, and has led to a rise in…

President Ronald Venetiaan, leader of a moderate coalition of ethnic parties, proved as respectful of press freedom as journalists had hoped when he took office in August 2000. Since then, no major abuses have been reported in this former Dutch colony of less than half a million inhabitants. Under the previous government, journalists were routinely…

Although Tajikistan’s civil war ended in 1997, its devastating effects endure. Journalists work in dire, impoverished conditions, exacerbated by the stifling restrictions imposed under President Imomali Rakhmonov. Investigative reporting is rare, especially on sensitive issues such as trafficking in weapons and drugs, border tensions, and power struggles among the political and military elite.

When populist telecommunications billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai (Thai Love Thai) party came to power with a solid majority in January, the stage was set for an ongoing confrontation between the new prime minister, eager to contrive a positive public image, and the freewheeling Thai press.

This oil- and gas-rich island nation, whose population is equally divided between people of African and Indian descent, moved from crisis to crisis after elections in December 2000. Former prime minister Basdeo Panday’s United National Congress (UNC), supported mainly by Indo-Trinidadians, narrowly defeated the People’s National Movement (PNM), generally supported by Afro-Trinidadians, in elections that…

In an effort to improve its chances to join the European Union, the Turkish Parliament in October approved more than 30 amendments to the country’s restrictive constitution, which was passed in 1982 after a military coup two years before. Lawmakers are currently considering a proposal that would bring some of the nation’s repressive laws used…

During 2001, Vietnam forged closer ties with the international community. In July, the country hosted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference, and in November, the national assembly signed a long-awaited trade agreement with the United States. Spurred by China’s admission, the Vietnamese government moved ahead with efforts to enter the World Trade Organization. Yet…

The revolutionary political changes of late 2000 and early 2001 that ousted former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic ended a decade of repression for Yugoslavia’s independent journalists. But after a year in power, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), which replaced Milosevic, failed to enact needed reforms in media-related laws. And while the DOS proved far…

Incumbent president Frederick Chiluba failed to convince Zambians that he should be allowed to run for an unconstitutional third term in the December 2001 general elections. Political controversies surrounding the elections dominated media headlines in Zambia all year long. Mounting tensions between the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and the opposition were mirrored in…