Despite widespread poverty in this island nation, a fledgling press has developed out of the destruction that followed the territory’s vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999. Since May 2002, East Timor has been sovereign, with only a small U.N. presence remaining until 2004 to provide defense and security assistance.
Egypt boasts many national, party, independent, and opposition publications that feature some of the Arab world’s best-known commentators. But over the years, the government has alternated between crackdowns on the media and periods of relative openness. For Egyptian journalists, self-censorship is the norm because violating the country’s stringent press laws can land them in prison.…
With 17 journalists in prison in 2003, Eritrea was Africa’s leading jailer of journalists. CPJ named the country one of the “World’s Worst Places to Be a Journalist” for the second consecutive year. Despite jubilant celebrations in the capital, Asmara, honoring the 10-year anniversary of the country’s independence on May 24, Eritrea’s development has been…
During its 10 years in power, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front has come under mounting criticism for its antagonistic attitude toward the country’s burgeoning private press. Authorities have used a restrictive press law to imprison journalists for critical reporting and to intimidate others into silence on sensitive issues, such as government infighting and…
In July, the Gabonese legislature amended the constitution to eliminate presidential term limits, opening the way for President Omar Bongo, who has been in office for 36 years, to be president for life. The state-controlled L’Union newspaper, the country’s only daily, said the amendment would usher in “a new era for our democracy and our…
In 2003, President Yahya Jammeh’s ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) maintained a firm grip on power in this tiny West African country, despite signs of political and economic instability. In September and October, the president fired four ministers, including the communications minister, while a fifth, the justice minister, resigned.
After 11 years in office, President Eduard Shevardnadze and his corruption-ridden government grew increasingly unpopular in 2003. Approval ratings plummeted, culminating in November elections marred by widespread fraud that discredited pro-Shevardnadze forces’ claim of victory. Facing escalating protests against the poll, the president resigned on November 23. New presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled for…
Seven years after the government and former guerrillas signed the last of a series of peace accords ending Guatemala’s 36-year civil conflict, the nation continued its struggle with a legacy of massive human rights violations and impunity. As relations between the government and the local press became more hostile, the number of attacks and threats…
Nearly a decade after the United States restored Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in an attempt to encourage democracy there, Haitian journalists continued to face routine threats, harassment, and physical violence, while perpetrators of these attacks were rarely punished.
Although India is the world’s largest democracy, with a diverse and expanding media, government authorities remained sensitive to criticism in the press in 2003. Officials harassed journalists through lawsuits, using restrictive laws governing criminal defamation, contempt of court, and national security to silence reporters’ accounts of corruption. Meanwhile, violence in the disputed state of Kashmir…