ATR

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia continues to maintain a hostile attitude toward journalists and journalism. There are no independent local media, because of the Taliban’s famous intolerance and because resources are scarce in this war-ravaged country. Although several news agencies–including the BBC, The Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse–maintain bureaus in Kabul, visas to foreign correspondents are…

In late 1998, the breakdown of the 1994 Lusaka peace accords led to the resumption of a brutal civil war that has killed more than half a million Angolans and devastated the country’s economy. Since then there has been a marked increase in the frequency and seriousness of reported press freedom violations in Angola. At…

During his decade in office, former president Carlos Menem used a flurry of lawsuits to stifle independent reporting in Argentina. His best efforts failed. When Menem stepped down on December 10, he left behind a vital and independent Argentine press. Journalists, particularly those in the provinces, continue to worry about their physical safety. The May…

The October murders of Armenian prime minister Vazgen Sarkissian and parliamentary speaker Karen Demirchian, by heavily armed gunmen who raided the Parliament building, shocked the nation and divided local media. While the assassins’ motives remained inscrutable at year’s end, some journalists jumped to the swift and as yet unsubstantiated conclusion that the killings represented an…

Journalists in Bangladesh were frequently subjected to physical assault, harassment, and intimidation as the country was wracked by political and criminal violence. The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, intensified its campaign to oust the current government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, frequently calling countrywide strikes during…

Under the rule of President Mathieu Kerekou, who was elected in April 1996 after ruling as a left-leaning military dictator from 1972 until 1989, the Benin government has won international praise for its efforts to liberalize the country’s political environment. These efforts have not always worked to the advantage of local journalists. In January, the…

Journalists in Bosnia-Herzegovina suffered physical attacks that ranged from beatings and abduction to the car-bombing of a noted Bosnian Serb newspaper editor. The attack on Zeljko Kopanja came in October, after his Banja Luka paper published investigative reports about alleged war crimes and acts of corruption committed by Bosnian Serbs. Reports from the Helsinki Committee…

Conditions for the heavily-controlled Chinese press worsened dramatically in 1999 as a broad clampdown on dissent and free expression led to fresh arrests of journalists, massive propaganda campaigns and systematic efforts by the secret police to monitor and control the Internet. Eleven journalists were arrested in 1999, bringing the total number of journalists in prison…

In a year that saw both an escalation of Colombia’s armed conflict and a tentative beginning of peace negotiations, the press found itself in the crosshairs of nearly every party to the increasingly complicated civil war. Five journalists were killed in the line of duty, while scores of others were threatened, attacked, or kidnapped. Colombian…

President Fidel Castro Ruz’s government did its best to stamp out independent journalism in Cuba this year, promulgating a bill that virtually outlaws free expression and perfecting preemptive repression. The Cuban constitution grants the Communist Party the right to control the press; it recognizes “freedom of speech and the press in accordance with the goals…