The people of Burkina Faso have grown used to President Blaise Compaoré’s broken promises to respect the law. So on March 30, after the president opened the “National Day of Forgiveness” with an extraordinary apology for all crimes committed by his government, hundreds of people took to the streets to demand justice, not apologies.
Controlled by a harsh military junta and operating under a regime of severe censorship and threat, Burma’s media are barred from reporting even the most mundane local events. Debate about government policies or the dire state of the economy is unheard of, and most political news consists of glowing stories recounting the presumed achievements of…
On April 18, troops loyal to President Pierre Buyoya, a member of the Tutsi ethnic group, dislodged hardline Tutsi soldiers calling themselves the Patriotic Youth Front from Radio Burundi. In an act reminiscent of African coups during the 1970s and 1980s, the rebels had occupied the station and aired a statement announcing Buyoya’s overthrow.
With the government of strongman Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party firmly entrenched in power, the press was largely spared from the harsh political battles that once divided the country into armed camps. The major political event looming for Cambodia in 2002 will be the long-delayed trial of remaining leaders of the Khmer Rouge,…
Compared to previous years, the government of President Paul Biya seemed less keen to abuse the local press in 2001. In February, officials scrapped the value-added tax on imported media equipment and multimedia goods and services. Two months later, in June, the state television and radio network RTC allowed the BBC World Service to broadcast…
Press freedom is generally respected in Canada, and CPJ does not routinely monitor conditions in the country. However, police harassment of journalists covering demonstrations; investigations into past violent attacks against journalists; and proposed anti-terrorism legislation were all issues of concern last year.
President Ange-Félix Patassé spent much of the year cracking down on coup plotters as the media, clustered in the capital, Bangui, struggled to cope with harsh economic realities and a breakdown in the rule of law. In December 2000, President Patassé warned local journalists their “leisure time” was over. On February 4, 2001, police arrested…
President Idriss Deby began the year with bad news. On January 2, the rebel Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJT) announced that it had killed the head of Deby’s security team, General Kerim Nassour, and his aide, Colonel Fadoul Allamine. The next day, Deby was heard on state radio pleading with the MDJT to end…
After years of wrangling, Chile’s Congress finally passed a press law repealing some of the country’s most draconian defamation and libel statutes. There has been intense international pressure to rid Chile’s legal system of its severe restrictions on the press. But local media also credit President Ricardo Lagos with reviving the reforms, which were stalled…
In 2001, the Chinese government finally achieved two long-standing goals that brought the country closer to full integration in the international community. In July, Beijing won a bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, and in November, the World Trade Organization officially accepted China as a member. These developments helped secure the legacy of President…