Attacks on the Press 2001: Guatemala
Amid harassment and violence against journalists, human rights activists, and judges involved in high-profile cases, Guatemala’s political stability deteriorated considerably in 2001, and press freedom along with it. The administration of President Alfonso Portillo Cabrera, a member of the right-wing Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), showed little tolerance for criticism of any kind.
Attacks on the Press 2001: Lebanon
Lebanon boasts numerous privately owned newspapers and magazines, as well as television and radio stations that feature lively criticism of officials and government policies. Throughout 2001, however, Lebanese authorities used both the legal system and informal bullying to rein in outspoken journalists.
Attacks on the Press 2001: Liberia
President Charles Taylor remains the single greatest threat to press freedom in Liberia. As global pressure mounted on his government to improve its bleak human rights record, Taylor responded with his usual mix of paranoia and brutality, jailing reporters for “espionage,” shutting down newspapers for unpaid taxes and imposing a news blackout on an armed…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Malawi
Officials and ruling party supporters intensified a campaign of intimidation against critical voices in Malawi following revelations of widespread government corruption and amid growing speculation that President Bakili Muluzi would run for an unconstitutional third term in office. Members of opposition parties are often denied coverage in the state media, which is almost entirely controlled…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Swaziland
Absolute ruler King Mswati III learned just how small the global village can be when he signed a June 22 media decree that was immediately denounced by human rights organizations and governments worldwide. Decree No. 2 made it a seditious offense, punishable with a 10-year jail term, to “impersonate, insult, ridicule, or put into contempt”…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Journalists in Prison
There were 118 journalists in prison around the world at the end of 2001 who were jailed for practicing their profession. The number is up significantly from the previous year, when 81 journalists were in jail, and represents a return to the level of 1998, when 118 were also imprisoned.
Government bars Indian journalists
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is extremely concerned by your government’s apparent refusal to process visa applications from journalists of Indian descent. Indian journalists, as well as journalists of Indian origin holding citizenship from Western countries, have told CPJ that visa applications submitted in mid-September are still awaiting approval. Officials at Pakistan’s High Commission in London have informed journalists of Indian origin that the Information Ministry office in Islamabad must clear their applications before they can be approved. Meanwhile, non-Indian journalists typically receive visas within days, if not hours, of submitting their applications.
CPJ testifies before U.S. Congress on press freedom conditions in Central Asia
New York, July 19, 2001–A CPJ representative testified before a joint congressional subcommittee yesterday about the terrible state of press freedom in Central Asia. [Read the transcript] “Repression and violence, or the threat thereof, are ever present for many reporters, encouraging self-censorship as a survival mechanism,” CPJ Washington representative Frank Smyth told the joint hearing…