In 2001, Malaysia’s ruling National Front coalition, led by aging strongman Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, sought to broaden already tight controls on the press through coercion, ownership changes, verbal bullying, and backroom personnel moves. Currently, all publications must obtain an annual press license to operate, and the permit can be withdrawn without judicial review. Radio…
Although Mali’s press laws include punitive presumption-of-guilt standards, the media environment is reasonably liberal compared with many other African countries. Mali also has a strikingly diverse press corps, with about 40 private newspapers, some in French and others in vernacular languages, and about 100 radio stations, one fifth of them unlicensed.
The ruling Republican Democratic Party swept general and local elections in October, and President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya remained firmly in control of the country. Authorities have for years used prior censorship and Article 11 of the 1991 Press Ordinance to harass journalists who cover sensitive issues. Under the harsh statutes, the minister of…
President Vicente Fox’s historic election in 2000 marked the end of the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party’s (PRI) domination of the country and its media. But the honeymoon between the president and the media ended in 2001 with increasingly critical coverage that reflected the public’s frustration with the slow pace of reforms under the new government.
President Joaquim Chissano, restricted by constitutional term limits, announced that he would not seek reelection in 2004. This was unusual in southern Africa, where leaders such as Frederick Chiluba of Zambia and Sam Nujoma of Namibia have indulged in constitutional manipulation in an attempt to stay in power.
Journalists and press freedom advocates from around the world attended a UNESCO conference on press freedom held in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. The conference celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, which affirmed that a free and pluralistic press is essential for democratic government.
A year of extraordinary violence and political upheaval severely strained Nepal’s young democracy and posed profound challenges for the country’s media. Scores of journalists were detained after the declaration of emergency regulations in November, and 17 remained in prison at year’s end. The first major crisis for the press in 2001 began on June 1,…
During his last year in office, President Arnoldo Alemán continued to show intolerance and hostility toward the press. His administration supported a law requiring compulsory registration for journalists and doled out state advertising to punish or reward media outlets, depending on their coverage.
Two years ago, Niger’s media ombudsman judged the local press healthy. In 2001, that assessment seemed optimistic at best. Journalists in this vast, impoverished country remained at odds with the administration of President Mamadou Tandja. In January, three local media rights groups accused public authorities of “suffocating the press.” The Niger Press Association (ANEPI), the…
Mirroring the larger society, the Nigerian media were severely fractured along ethnic and regional lines in 2001, although mainstream news outlets remained economically robust, dynamic, and politically outspoken. Throughout the year, a host of new publications hit newsstands, many of them in local languages. In the Christian-dominated south, private radio and television stations expanded their…