New York, March 26, 2002–The September 11 attacks and subsequent “war on terrorism” precipitated a press freedom crisis that was global in scope, according to CPJ’s annual survey of press freedom conditions around the world. Attacks on the Press in 2001 documents over 500 cases of media repression in 140 countries, including assassination, assault, imprisonment,…
In recent years, it had become common for people who care about Afghanistan to worry about its growing invisibility. The all-encompassing burqa gown, which the ruling Taliban forced women to wear, seemed a metaphor for the militia’s efforts to hide Afghanistan’s people and problems from the world. Visits by foreign correspondents were restricted; taking pictures…
Independent journalists in Albania continue to struggle with economic underdevelopment, highly partisan politics, and security risks. Low professional standards and stalled government reforms of media laws further compounded journalists’ problems in 2001. High taxes and printing costs, poor distribution networks, low advertising revenues, limited business skills, and endemic corruption keep editors and publishers dependent on…
Algeria’s boisterous press has been at odds with president Abdel Aziz Bouteflika since he took office in 1999. In 2001, the animosity took a more serious turn when the government promulgated harsh new press legislation. In June, despite intense local and international protest, the Algerian Parliament approved a series of new amendments to the Penal…
Angola’s rulers remained powerless to remedy longstanding woes such as appalling child mortality and rampant corruption, but government troops meddled in civil wars in the two Congos and carried out bloody forays into Zambia, allegedly in search of fighters from the rebel UNITA organization. As the country’s basic social indicators sink ever lower on the…
The family of Prime Minister Lester B. Bird has long dominated Antigua and Barbuda’s broadcast media, but the outcome of a four-year court battle that forced Bird’s government to allow a private radio station to broadcast has driven a wedge in the family’s monopoly. Winston and Samuel Derrick, editor and publisher, respectively, of The Daily…
Wile Argentina fell deeper into economic crisis during 2001, and President Fernando de la Rúa resigned in disgrace as a result, the media worked largely unhindered. But the worsening economy hurt advertising and sales, and the Supreme Court dealt damaging blows to press freedom.
ARMENIA Widespread poverty, polarized politics, and flawed legislation kept the media at the mercy of government officials and wealthy sponsors during 2001. Libel remained a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment, though it was not used against journalists during the year.
Although President Heydar Aliyev claimed to be the “guarantor of freedom of speech and the press in Azerbaijan,” his government continued to crack down on independent and opposition media while suppressing public criticism. Journalists who dared to criticize officials suffered harassment, defamation lawsuits, imprisonment, and physical assaults. Publications faced financial pressure and closures, as well…