Asia

  

Government bans private media group’s radio programming

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about a government order to ban radio programs produced by the Nation Multimedia Group. This appears to be the latest in a series of moves designed to stifle the country’s free press, one of the cornerstones of Thai democracy.

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Elderly writer held incommunicado

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about the safety of 73-year-old Tran Dung Tien, who was arrested on January 22, 2003, after writing an open letter calling for the release of imprisoned activists Pham Que Duong and Tran Khue. His current whereabouts are unknown, and given his advanced age, we…

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Bangladesh: CPJ condemns murder of journalist

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to condemn the recent murder of journalist Harunur Rashid. We urge you to ensure that the murder investigation is conducted in a thorough and impartial manner. On the evening of March 2, Rashid, a reporter for the daily newspaper Dainik Purbanchal, was ambushed by gunmen while he was riding his motorcycle to work in the southwestern city of Khulna, according to Bangladeshi and international news reports. Three unidentified young men brought Rashid to a hospital, told doctors he had been injured in a car accident, and then disappeared. A doctor at the hospital told The Independent (a Dhaka-based newspaper) that Rashid suffered a fatal bullet wound to his chest.

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Toronto Star reporter injured in attack

New York, NY, March 4, 2002 —Kathleen Kenna, a correspondent for the Toronto Star, was seriously wounded when her car was attacked by unidentified assailants, according to press reports. Kenna was traveling with her husband, freelance photographer Hadi Dadashian; Star photographer Bernard Weil; and an Afghan driver on the main road from Kabul to Gardez.…

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Influential editor resigns under pressure

CPJ is alarmed by the resignation of Shaheen Sehbai, the influential editor of The News, one of Pakistan’s leading English-language newspapers. Sehbai said today in a resignation letter addressed to his boss but circulated among colleagues and friends that he was leaving his post under pressure from the government, warning that Pakistani officials were sending…

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Authorities to deport foreign reporters

Bangkok, February 25, 2002— Thai immigration authorities have ordered the expulsion of two foreign correspondents for the Hong Kong­based Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) magazine on the grounds that they are a threat to national security. Shawn Crispin, the magazine’s bureau chief, and correspondent Rodney Tasker, who is also president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club…

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Government may deport Far Eastern Economic Review journalists

February 22, 2001 His Excellency Thaksin Shinawatra Prime Minister Government House Bangkok, Thailand Via facsimile: 66-2-282-8587 Your Excellency:

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Background and Analysis:”Daniel Pearl’s Essential Work,” by Ann Cooper”He Took a Risk in Pursuit of Truth,” by Terry Anderson

Dear Little Pearl: By the time you read these words, God willing, you will not be a “Little Pearl” anymore. As I write these words, you are not yet born. It is March and you are due in May. Last weekend President Bush mentioned you at the annual dinner of the Gridiron Club. The 117-year-old…

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CPJ releases special report on Burmese journalism under military rule

New York, February 14, 2002—Facing strict government regulations, capricious censors, and corrupt bureaucrats, journalists in Burma persevere against odds unheard of in almost any other country, according to a CPJ special report, “Under Pressure: How Burmese journalism survives in one of the world’s most repressive regimes.” The report was released as United Nations envoy Paulo…

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Editor Myo Myint Nyein released

New York, February 14, 2002—CPJ welcomes the release yesterday of Burmese journalist Myo Myint Nyein, former editor of the magazine Pe-Phu-Hlwar, who was freed along with four other political prisoners during a visit by United Nations envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro. Myo Myint Nyein had served more than 11 years of a 14-year prison term. “CPJ…

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