|
Comment on this article |
View comments |
Email this Article
|
|
News :: Civil & Human Rights |
|
Really Untold News: The Recent Global Assault on Independent Media |
Current rating: 0 |
by Scott Edwards
Email: scottisimo (nospam) hotmail.com (verified) |
06 Oct 2004
|
|
This article can be found in this month's issue of the Public i. Pick it up! There are a number of really good articles of local and broader consequence. |
By: Scott Edwards
“Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” (Napoleon, Maxims)
“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” (JFK)
Between protests and hurricanes, it’s been a very busy news month. The most pressing untold story, however, has been a seemingly relentless series of attacks on press and independent expression across the international system. If it were a slow news cycle, though, I doubt we’d hear much about these developments anyhow. So in keeping with the Public I’s goal of reporting the often unacknowledged, here it goes:
Countries in the media activist “news” over the past few months, in no particular order:
Iraq: U.S. military sets precedent of shutting down newspapers and banning broadcast media in a time of crisis; less than principled example to set for the leaders of the newest “democracy” in the region.
Nigeria: The Nigerian government has been heavily criticized by NGO’s and democracy advocates recently for its pattern of repression and intolerance to political dissent. On September 6th, the Nigerian Intelligence Agency raided the independent magazine, Insider Weekly, in Lagos with sledgehammers, arrested staff, and banned further production. The reason? “…disparaging and humiliating the person and office of President and Commander-in-Chief.”
Thailand: The current Prime Minister founded the country’s largest telecommunication conglomerate. Late August of this year, this media giant filed libel charges against a Thai media reform activist from the Campaign for Popular Media Reform, as well as editors of the Thai Post who researched and documented that the conglomerate was a major beneficiary of the government’s policies. Media activists in the country have documented over 20 recent cases of journalists and editors being dismissed, or having their stories altered in order to appease the government. The Thai court agreed to hear the case, which could result in imprisonment.
Angola: Outside of Luanda, there is no independent media in this country, which is struggling to rebuild civic life after decades of war. In the capital, independent media is constrained by strong libel laws, and severely restrictive dissemination rules.
Brazil: As of September, the Brazilian government had not backed away from a proposal to require licensing of journalists in the country—a measure being pushed by the state-journalists union. President Luiz da Silva’s chief policy strategist, in response to questions about the proposal, quipped "nothing is absolute, not even freedom of the press."
Palestine: Early July, the Israeli military attacked and destroyed a Palestinian media office in Gaza city with missiles, with IDF justification being that it was “a communications center which maintained constant contact with terrorists.” The owner and manager admit contact with various Palestinian elements as a function of journalistic work. This was the third attack on Palestinian media in less than two months.
Vietnam: Journalists critical of the government have been subject to harassment and imprisonment. Notably, Nguyen Vu Binh was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for releasing an article over the internet; an apparent violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a state party. The government has been unresponsive to recent calls for his release and increased tolerance of journalism.
Kyrgyzstan: Physical attacks on independent journalists in the country are commonplace. In a number of cases editors and journalists critical of the government face threat to their families, the most recent documented case in May when the son of a journalist critical of the Interior Ministry was beaten nearly to death.
Eritrea: Ertireans have been forced to rely on state press for information, and the government has refused recent pleas by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders to release 14 journalists held without charge for at least 3 years. As of August, nearly all foreign journalists have been expelled from Eritrea.
Cyprus: The Cypriot government demonstrates its commitment to free speech by following “encouragements” from the CIA to investigate Petros Evdokas as a potential “threat to US interests”. Evdokas is a founding member of Cyprus Indymedia.
Russia: The KGB successor, the FSB, has been accused of intimidating journalists attempting to cover sensitive stories. Most recently, during coverage of the Beslan school tragedy, less government-friendly journalists have found themselves being detained for unknown reasons, or groggy and confused after prolonged unconsciousness following coffee or tea.
Zimbabwe: The hopelessly morally corrupt Zimbabwean government under Mugabe has for years repressed independent media in the country. As the country is becoming further isolated from the international community, even greater restrictions on speech critical of the government’s policies are being implemented. The government has ejected foreign media (most notably the BBC) for coverage of the use of food by the government as an instrument of coercion. In June of this year, the government required that ISPs enter into a contract that requires them to prevent or report to the authorities any “anti-national” activities and correspondence through their telephone lines (or face punishment).
Other countries that fit the press-repression/incident time-frame criteria above:
--Guatemala, Ethiopia, Venezuela, Cuba, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Indonesia
(If you are interested in these cases, contact the author. Space considerations at work.)
This is the short, very non-exhaustive list, limited to stories I’ve come across the last 3 months or so. A more temporally expansive search of disturbing restrictions on press and other expression would read as a who’s who list of troubled societies and dangerous political environments. Coincidence?
It is in times of crisis that an independent press is most important to a functional social and political community. It is also at these times that the press faces the gravest threats. We in the U.S. are accustomed to corporate self-censorship at home (e.g., Iraq war, and all things “un-patriotic”), but we must not forget the active role some state leaders take in using the coercive apparatuses of government against independent media. And we certainly must not limit media activism to those cases of need arising from corporate stranglehold.
What will these societies look like in 10 years? The global community is currently and appropriately concerned with countless political and humanitarian crises. What is the root of these crises? There are, of course, a thousand answers, and no single answer. Here’s a proposition, though: free press, unfettered from political control, profiteering interests, and factional intimidation, will foster a healthier civic life for those societies with such press than those without.
Healthy civil society is what allows human beings to air grievances without resort to violence. In looking at the list of countries above, it is obvious that these states are already in danger of continued chronic unrest, deprivation, and violence. By actively supporting independent media rights in these places, as well as here at home, speech and media activists will be playing a bigger role than they may realize in making the world a better place, for this and future generations.
Nearly all of the countries listed above are being targeted by campaigns that address, either directly or circumstantially, limits on press and political expression. For information on how to get involved in a particular country, email the author at sedward1 (at) uiuc.edu. |
This work is in the public domain |
|
Re: Really Untold News: The Recent Global Assault on Independent Media |
by Jeff
jpenrod (nospam) netzero.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
12 Sep 2006
|
|
Just wanted to say hi and nice job on your website. |
