Haiti’s press suffered a crackdown this year that coincided with the February inauguration of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and continued after an apparent December coup attempt that sought to oust him. On December 17, about two dozen gunmen stormed the National Palace at dawn. At least 13 people were killed in the attack and ensuing mob…
The independent press faced pressure from the government of President Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé. Powerful politicians dominated the media during the November 2001 presidential elections, while small political parties received little coverage and had very limited access to the press. Both the National Party (PN) and the ruling Liberal Party (PL) flooded radio and TV…
India’s free press is perhaps the strongest pillar of its democracy, but Indian journalists continued to face numerous challenges in 2001, including physical threats, legal harassment, and more subtle pressures applied by the central government. In the disputed territory of Kashmir, where fighting between local separatists, foreign fighters, and Indian security forces has long forced…
Another year of political turmoil saw the Indonesian press clinging to its hard-won freedoms. But President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who took over from the quixotic Abdurrahman Wahid in July, is showing worrying signs of being less friendly toward the press than her predecessor. One of Megawati’s first acts in office was to appoint a state minister…
On January 8, President Laurent Gbagbo’s government thwarted an attempted coup by mercenaries whom the ruling Popular Front (FPI) accused of being in the pay of Burkina Faso and other countries bordering Côte d’Ivoire. The rebels occupied the compound of the official RTI broadcasting network and aired communiqués saying that the elected government had been…
Jamaica enjoys considerable press freedom. Despite gang warfare across the island nation, the media have not had problems covering controversial stories. “The media freely report on crime and violence in Jamaica, with these reports gaining prominence in the press and broadcast media,” noted Donna Ortega, president of the Press Association of Jamaica.
Continuing a trend that began in 2000, high-ranking politicians and legislators–led by President Daniel arap Moi–brought several libel and defamation suits against the press last year. The judiciary responded by awarding record libel damages, introducing bankruptcy as a possible tool to silence critical media.
With a growing reputation as a haven for Western travelers looking for a less-developed, more “authentic” Asian experience, tiny landlocked Laos is slowly emerging from the cocoon of isolation in which it has dwelt since the communist victory in 1975. Unfortunately, openness to visitors has not translated into tolerance of free expression, and the country’s…
President Charles Taylor remains the single greatest threat to press freedom in Liberia. As global pressure mounted on his government to improve its bleak human rights record, Taylor responded with his usual mix of paranoia and brutality, jailing reporters for “espionage,” shutting down newspapers for unpaid taxes and imposing a news blackout on an armed…
Officials and ruling party supporters intensified a campaign of intimidation against critical voices in Malawi following revelations of widespread government corruption and amid growing speculation that President Bakili Muluzi would run for an unconstitutional third term in office. Members of opposition parties are often denied coverage in the state media, which is almost entirely controlled…