Covering the New War
Read first-hand accounts by journalists covering the war in Afghanistan. • December 21, 2001—The New York Times reported that on December 20, Afghan tribal fighters detained three photojournalists working for U.S. news organizations. The journalists were detained for more than one hour, apparently at the behest of U.S. Special Operations forces in the Tora Bora area….
CPJ confirms attack on journalists covering anti-American protests
New York City, October 23, 2001—CPJ has confirmed that on Monday, October 15, police beat four journalists as they covered an anti-American demonstration in front of the House of Representatives in Jakarta. The Jakarta Post identified the journalists as Medo Malianza, a camerman for Metro TV, a private, national all-news channel; Agung Nugroho, a cameraman…
CPJ welcomes release of Belgian filmmakers held hostage
New York, August 16, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes today’s release of Philippe Simon and Johan van Den Eynde, two Belgian documentary filmmakers who were held hostage by a faction of the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, or OPM) for more than two months in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, also…
Threatened by separatists, Aceh newspaper suspends publication
New York, August 15, 2001—On August 11, Serambi Indonesia, the largest daily newspaper in Aceh Province, suspended publication under pressure from the separatist Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, or GAM), CPJ has confirmed. GAM leaders were angered by an article about the massacre of 31 villagers in eastern Aceh that appeared in the August…
CPJ CALLS ON NEW INDONESIAN PRESIDENT TO SUPPORT PRESS FREEDOM
New York, August 1, 2001—In a July 30 letter to Megawati Sukarnoputri, the newly elected president of Indonesia, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on her to preserve and strengthen recent gains in press freedom. CPJ cited reports that Megawati’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle may revive the Ministry of Information—a department which, under the…
CPJ urges new government not to revive repressive Ministry of Information
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wishes to congratulate you on your appointment as the new president of Indonesia. As an organization of journalists dedicated to the defense of press freedom around the world, we hope that you will use your authority to preserve and strengthen recent gains in press freedom.
CPJ concerned about Belgian journalists missing in Papua
New York, June 27, 2001 — CPJ is gravely concerned about the apparent abduction of two Belgian documentary filmmakers in the Indonesian province of Papua. Philippe Simon and Johan van Den Eynde were reported missing on June 7, when they left for the jungle east of Nabire, a coastal city about 500 kilometers (310 miles)…
Journalists beaten by Wahid supporters in central Java
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent attack on six journalists by some of your political supporters in Tegal, Central Java. We urge your government to undertake a prompt and full investigation into the incident.
Attacks on the Press 2000: Asia Analysis
DESPITE PRESS FREEDOM ADVANCES ACROSS ASIA IN RECENT YEARS, totalitarian regimes in Burma, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Laos maintained their stranglehold on the media. Even democratic Asian governments sometimes used authoritarian tactics to control the press, particularly when faced with internal conflict. Sri Lanka, for instance, imposed harsh censorship regulations during the year in…
Attacks on the Press 2000: East Timor
EMERGING FROM DARKNESS AND DEVASTATION, East Timor’s journalists took their first steps toward building an independent press for the fledgling nation. The leaders of the new country have pledged to promote press freedom after they achieve formal independence (expected by the end of 2001). “We have no intention to interfere in any way with the…