Saudi Arabia is one of the most closed societies in the world. The ruling al-Saud family tolerates no political dissent of any kind, especially in the press. Newspapers are deferential toward the ruling family and government policies. Although papers now report more openly on topics such as crime and unemployment, there is no open criticism…
Conditions for local reporters in Senegal have worsened since the March 2000 election of President Abdulaye Wade. A fiery opposition leader for four decades before his rise to power, Wade had cultivated good relations with the media, which he rallied behind his Democratic Party with promises to scrap repressive clauses from the press law.
For the first time since 1996, no journalist was killed in Sierra Leone last year, a welcome development in a country that had earned the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous country in Africa for journalists. However, journalists were threatened by former rebels and government officials alike. In September, seven members of the independent…
In the run-up to November’s general elections, entrenched government control of the media and new regulations governing the Internet and the foreign press virtually silenced public dissent. The ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) overwhelming dominance in the media sector helped guarantee the party’s supremacy: It won more than 75 percent of the vote, its biggest…
Throughout the year, a volatile political situation and a destitute economy made survival the media’s primary goal. Although a peace agreement ended the country’s 2-year-old civil war in October 2000, tension pervaded the country, with two ethnic militia groups–the Isatabu Freedom Movement and the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF)–remaining heavily armed.
The so-called failed state syndrome hampered efforts to reunite Somalia, wracked by inter-clan warfare since 1991. Although the year began with news that the economy was slowly recovering, it ended with a bleak United Nations assessment that Somalia was on the brink of an economic collapse unmatched in its modern history.
While the South African media is widely respected throughout the continent, the South African government’s attitude to press freedom is riddled with contradictions. On one hand, the Promotion of Access to Information Act, which went into effect in March, granted citizens access to any personal information held by the state and private entities. The authorities…
During 2001, a state crackdown on alleged financial misconduct by the country’s major media companies further embittered already contentious relations between President Kim Dae Jung and the South Korean press. In January, the president stated that “it is incumbent upon the news media to practice fair and balanced reporting with responsible criticism.” Only weeks later,…
Sri Lanka’s mettlesome media endured another year of extraordinary political volatility. Although the administration of President Chandrika Kumaratunga finally lifted onerous censorship regulations and eased restrictions preventing journalists from reporting fully on the country’s long-running civil war, journalists were still routinely threatened and harassed for their reporting. Impunity for crimes against journalists continued to be…
Sudan’s independent and opposition newspapers occasionally feature lively coverage of local political affairs, but the government quickly stifles discussion when the press becomes too bold. Coverage of topics such as the 18-year civil war, government corruption or mismanagement, or other official misdeeds has triggered arrests, prosecutions, and censorship, and has led to a rise in…