Argentina In a disappointing development, the press freedom organization PERIODISTAS (Journalists) dissolved on November 11 amid internal differences. The group, which was established nine years ago and has done extremely important work uniting the Argentine media, defending local journalists, and promoting press freedom in Latin America, said in a press release that “after a long…
AzerbaijanThe massive protests that erupted in October 2003 over the election of President Ilham Aliyev continued to have repercussions in 2004. Following the lead of his father, Heydar, who died in December 2003, Aliyev intensified pressure on independent and opposition media and used the country’s harsh criminal and civil codes to stifle criticism.
BahrainThe government uses a number of tools to hinder independent reporting, chief among them a controversial press law imposed in October 2002. The law, criticized by Bahraini journalists and political activists, allows journalists to be fined and jailed and permits officials to close publications by court order. The law bans criticism of Islam and King…
BangladeshThe Bangladeshi press endured another volatile and violent year in 2004, with three journalists murdered in retaliation for their work, scores of death threats from extremist groups, and routine harassment and physical attacks. A CPJ delegation that conducted a fact-finding and advocacy mission to the country in March concluded that Bangladesh was the most dangerous…
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko strangled the country’s independent and opposition media in the months before deeply flawed October elections that returned his supporters to Parliament. The obedient state media flooded the capital, Minsk, and the countryside with pro-Lukashenko propaganda, vilifying opposition leaders and urging voters to support the president or face Western domination and political…
Bosnia-HerzegovinaJournalists in both of the autonomous regions that comprise Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska and the Croat-Muslim Federation, continue to work in a complex environment marred by widespread corruption and organized crime, weak government institutions, economic underdevelopment, and poor access to government information. Journalists commonly practice self-censorship to avoid pressure or harassment from nationalist politicians,…
Brazil A proposed bill to regulate the press, as well as the attempted expulsion of a New York Times correspondent, highlighted the growing tension between the Brazilian media and the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula. In August, the government submitted a controversial bill to Congress that would have regulated…
Burma Although Burma’s authoritarian military rulers proposed a “road map” to democracy in 2004, neither the Burmese people nor its press saw many positive results. On the contrary, conditions for journalists deteriorated, with hard-liners tightening their grip on power inside the government and cracking down further on Burma’s official media and the few remaining independent…
Burundi Some 5,000 U.N. peacekeepers are deployed in Burundi to support a peace process aimed at ending the country’s brutal civil war, which has killed hundreds of thousands since ethnic Tutsi troops murdered the elected Hutu president in 1993. Despite wrangling over a new constitution and the postponement of elections by six months, the transitional…