Press Freedom

VIETNAM: Communist Party Steps on Already Stifled Newspapers

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
A week after Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party ended its pivotal congress of the country’s political elite, there is little evidence in the state-controlled media of a possible return to the openness that once saw high-profile corruption scandals exposed in print here.

Press Freedom Under Threat in Age of Wikileaks

By IPS Correspondents
Freedom of the press could be seriously impacted across the world in the wake of the ongoing political revelations brought about by whistle-blowing websites such as Wikileaks, one of foremost constitutional law experts in the U.S. said Tuesday.
Marcela Turati sat down to talk with IPS. Credit: Daniela Pastrana/IPS

Q&A: “In Mexico, We Have Let the Violent Ones Do the Talking”

By Daniela Pastrana
"In Mexico, we have let the violent ones do the talking," says journalist Marcela Turati, author of "Fuego Cruzado" (Crossfire), a new book that tells the stories of victims of President Felipe Calderón's war on drugs, which has left an official death toll of 30,000 in four years.

Media Crackdown Threatens Democracy

By Zoltán Dujisin
Following the approval of a restrictive media law that led to widespread domestic and international condemnation, Hungarian society is trying to come to terms with the broader consequences of the country’s alleged descent into authoritarianism.

VIETNAM: Communists Gag the Web

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
By clamping down on the Facebook.com social networking service, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party is revealing its discomfort with the rapidly expanding avenue for free expression even as it pushes to transform the once poor agrarian nation into a modern industrial society by 2020.

Report Shows Rollback on Rights in China

By IPS Correspondents
A new report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) charges that China has largely failed to meet the commitments laid out in its first-ever National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP), introduced in 2009.
Shows of defiance to protect media freedom have been held all around Sri Lanka. Credit: Amantha Perera

SRI LANKA: Media Freedom Still Distant

By Amantha Perera
January is indelibly linked to the tumultuous recent history of the media in Sri Lanka. Two years ago, on Jan. 8 Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge, editor of the The Sunday Leader newspaper, was murdered while on his way to work.

MEDIA-HONDURAS: Ten Murders and No Justice

By Thelma Mejía
The murder of Henry Suazo, a correspondent for a radio station based in the capital, brought this year's death toll for reporters in Honduras to 10, and made this Central American nation the second most dangerous country for journalists in Latin America, after Mexico.

VENEZUELA: New Rules to Rein In the Internet

By Humberto Márquez
Controversy has flared up in Venezuela over planned reforms to the law on online media, especially because restrictions that already apply to the content of radio and television broadcasts would be extended to the internet. Portals and networks that transmit messages deemed to be illegal may face heavy fines, or even be shut down.

Wikileaks “Gossip” Merely Annoying in Latin America

By Mario Osava
Although revelations by the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks concerning Latin America have caused irritation in the region, they have not had any significant effects so far.
José Couso in a photo taken shortly before his death in Baghdad, Apr. 8, 2003. Credit: Public domain

SPAIN: Wikileaks Revelations Put Pressure on Justice Officials

By Tito Drago
The highest authorities of Spain's judicial system will have to explain to the Congress of Deputies their repeated refusals to bring U.S. soldiers to trial for the 2003 killing of journalist José Couso in Baghdad. The recent diplomatic cables made public by the whistleblower organisation Wikileaks reveal contacts with U.S. authorities aimed at preventing a trial.

MIDEAST: Egypt’s Duplicity Stands Exposed

By Cam McGrath
More than 250,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables released by online whistle- blower WikiLeaks include statements made behind closed doors that could prove embarrassing for Egypt’s government, say analysts.

Egypt Rejects “Interference” in Elections

By William Fisher
Egypt's authoritarian government ramped up its crackdown on journalists and opposition politicians ahead of the Nov. 28 parliamentary elections and rebuffed a U.S. call for international observers to monitor "free and fair" balloting.
María Pía Matta Credit: Courtesy of Mujeres en Conexión

Q&A: Community Radio Stations – Key Players in Expanding Democracy

By Marcela Valente
Chilean journalist María Pía Matta, a feminist and staunch believer that communication is a universal right based on freedom of expression, is the new president of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit in the State Department

EGYPT: Mubarak’s Critics See Hypocrisy in U.S. Support

By William Fisher
The Egyptian government's crackdown on political opponents continues unabated in advance of parliamentary elections Nov. 28, even as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week hailed the "partnership" between the two countries as "a cornerstone of stability and security in the Middle East and beyond".

KOSOVO: Dragging Corruption Into the Net

By Claudia Ciobanu
Kosovo youths looking to address issues treated as taboo by mainstream media are taking increasingly to online activism. The new platform is being used particularly to fight high-level corruption.

Burma’s Junta Switches from Fatigues to Plain Clothes

By Kanya D'Almeida
On May 30, 2003, the Depayin Massacre in Burma (Myanmar) left at least 70 people dead. A failed attempt to assassinate opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the attack was carried out by the pro-junta political militia, the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA).

Egypt Cracks Down as U.S. Stands By

By William Fisher
In the face of police brutality, crackdowns on political parties and media, and a host of other violations ahead of Egypt's Nov. 28 parliamentary election, human rights advocates are calling on President Barack Obama to use U.S. leverage to persuade Egypt to reform its electoral process, allow international monitors to assess the election, and conduct transparent and accountable balloting.

Torture Orders Were Part of U.S. Sectarian War Strategy

By Gareth Porter
The revelation by Wikileaks of a U.S. military order directing U.S. forces not to investigate cases of torture of detainees by Iraqis has been treated in news reports as yet another case of lack of concern by the U.S. military about detainee abuse.
A week of action against what activists describe as a Secrecy Bill concluded with a march on parliament. Credit: Davison Makanga/IPS

SOUTH AFRICA: Draft Bill Is ‘A Charter for Rogues’

By Erna Curry
A coalition of civil society groups marched to South Africa's Parliament on Oct. 27 to protest against the draft version of a new Protection of Information Bill. "This bill is a betrayal of all the democratic principles we fought for," anti-apartheid stalwart Kader Asmal told the crowd.

CHILE: Documentary Reveals Injustices Endured by Mapuches – and Filmmaker

By Daniela Estrada
Finally, her documentary film about the indigenous Mapuche people has reached theatres in Chile and in other countries. Elena Varela was in the midst of making the film when she was imprisoned on charges for which she has now been completely cleared.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
*#*