Press Freedom

INDONESIA: Journalism as Jihad

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
An Indonesian journalist has news for those of the country's Muslims who have turned to terrorism to express rage. ''Journalism is my jihad,'' says Agung Rulianto, who leads a team of investigative reporters for the 'Tempo' weekly magazine.

MEDIA-IRAQ/US: Is It the PR, or the Policy?

By IPS Correspondents
In a recent speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared that, "The enemy is so much better at communicating. I wish we were better at countering that because the constant drumbeat of things they say - all of which are not true - is harmful."

MEDIA-IRAN: Ban on Newspaper Portends Tighter Censorship

By IPS Correspondents
Few were surprised by Monday's ban on Iran's leading reformist newspaper ‘Shargh' (East), which has for some time been boldly voicing dissatisfaction with the outcome of last year's elections that brought President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

MEXICO: No End in Sight to Civil Unrest in Oaxaca

By IPS Correspondents
In the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, teachers are leading a strike that has dragged on for over three months, masked activists armed with clubs have occupied radio and TV stations, and the police have opened fire on demonstrators and journalists and are accused of abuses against protesters who have been arrested.

MEDIA-IRAN: Crackdown on Satellite TV Taken Stoically

By IPS Correspondents
Iranians have taken stoically a crackdown on rooftop satellite dishes that allow then to watch 'decadent' foreign channels as well as a proliferation of Farsi language programmes beamed in by dissident expatriates.

MEDIA-AFRICA: “Threatened From Everywhere”

By IPS Correspondents
Concerns about restrictions on press freedom in Africa have surfaced again, this during a two-day conference held in Kenya that attracted over 100 media representatives from across the continent.

MEDIA-NEPAL: Community Radio Makes Reforms Inclusive

By IPS Correspondents
Nearly four months after successfully pushing the fight against royal dictatorship, community radio stations in Nepal are at the forefront of another revolution - turning the airwaves into an educational medium for constitutional reforms.

MEDIA-PHILIPPINES: ‘Getting Killed Goes With the Journalist’s Job’

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
For a country that boasts of having the freest media in South-east Asia, the Philippines bears a stain that is not easy to whitewash. It has an expanding graveyard for journalists killed in the line of duty.

MEDIA-AFRICA: It Shouldn’t Have to Bleed to Lead

By IPS Correspondents
The state of Africa, Charlayne Hunter-Gault says in her most recent book, "New News Out of Africa", is in many ways shaped by the public's image of Africa, and the image of Africa is in the hands of the media.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Journalists Release Guantanamo Bay Report

By IPS Correspondents
Two Afghan journalists, who spent three years in the infamous United States military prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have released a new chronicle on life in the now famous iron cages.

MEDIA-MALDIVES: Island Paradise, Hell for Dissidents

By IPS Correspondents
Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, is known as an island paradise for those who want to get away from it all. But, not so well known is the fact that it is a hell for journalists and dissidents who dare criticise the 28-year-old regime of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

MEDIA-SOUTH ASIA: Gov’ts Play Gag the Press Games

By IPS Correspondents
Across South Asia, ruling establishments have introduced or are attempting to introduce laws that curb the working of independent media, while claiming to uphold democratic values.

MEDIA-SOMALIA: “Any Person Can Kill You…”

By IPS Correspondents
Martin Adler, 2006; Kate Peyton, 2005; Duniya Muhyadin Nur, 2005; Abdullahi Madkeer, 2003; Ahmed Kafi Awale, 2000; Marcello Palmisano, 1995; Miran Krovatin, 1994; Ilaria Alpi, 1994; Pierre Anceaux, 1994; Jean-Claude Jumel, 1993; Hansi Krauss, 1993; Hosea Maina, 1993; Dan Eldon, 1993; Anthony Macharia, 1993*.

RIGHTS-IRAN: Scholar’s Long Detention, Warning to Dissidents

By IPS Correspondents
Nearly three months after Iranian scholar Ramin Jahanbegloo was arrested, academics and civil society activists here are protesting that he has not yet been formally charged and that he is being used as a scapegoat to frighten other intellectuals.

MEDIA-INDIA: Bloggers Blocked After Mumbai Blasts

By IPS Correspondents
India's fast-growing community of ‘bloggers' and Internet users was in for a rude shock when it found favourite sites blocked out in the wake of the serial blasts in crowded trains that killed 200 commuters in the western port city of Mumbai, last week.

RIGHTS-IRAN: No Winners in False Confession Game

By Omid Memarian
On Jul. 15, a conservative Iranian newspaper with strong ties to the Iranian Intelligence Ministry reported that Ramin Jahanbegoo, a prominent scholar, had confessed to having collaborated with foreigners to spark a "Velvet Revolution" in Iran.

INDIA: Mulling Tough Responses to Mumbai Bombings

By IPS Correspondents
After securing sympathy and support for fighting terrorism from the G8 grouping of the world's wealthiest countries in St. Petersburg, the Indian government is coming under pressure to harden its response to last week's Mumbai serial bombings, which killed 200 people.

MEDIA-IRAQ: A Voice From the Most Dangerous Place on Earth

By IPS Correspondents
For IPS and those closely associated with slain reporter Alaa Hassan, Jun. 28 was a day unlike any other - for the first time since the beginning of the war in Iraq, IPS lost a reporter in the line of duty.

MEDIA-SINGAPORE: Crackdown on Satirical Blogging

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
Among the popular T-shirts that a tourist can buy on a visit to Singapore is one that, tongue-in-cheek, describes that affluent island country as a 'Fine City'.

MEDIA-IRAQ: Independence Carries a Heavy Price

By IPS Correspondents
On Jun. 28, IPS reporter Alaa Hassan was ambushed and shot six times as he drove to work in Baghdad, bringing to 75 the number of reporters who have been killed while working in the country since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

HUMAN RIGHTS-CUBA: Dissidents Predict Pre-Summit House-Cleaning

By Patricia Grogg
A decrease in the number of prisoners held for "political motives" in Cuba - down from 333 to 316 "documented" cases over the last six months - is "insignificant," says a local opposition organisation that issues weekly reports on human rights.
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