Newspaper, reporter required to hand over documents
In a 20 March 2000 letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair, IPI expressed its great concern over the threats posed to “The Observer” and “The Guardian” newspapers as a result of the government’s actions in the matter of David Shayler, a former MI5 (Britainâs security service) officer now residing in France. It is IPI’s understanding, […]
State closes TV Kraljevo transmitter
(ANEM/IFEX) – The following is an 18 March 2000 ANEM press release: STATE CLOSES TV KRALJEVO TRANSMITTER BELGRADE, March 18, 2000 — The Association of Independent Electronic Media protests last night’s removal of a relay link and essential transmission equipment from Radio Television Kraljevo’s transmission facility on Mount Goc. The seizure followed the pattern used […]
ANEM weekly summary on media repression
(ANEM/IFEX) – The following is an ANEM report on media repression in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for the week of 11 to 17 March 2000: ANEM’S WEEKLY REPORT ON MEDIA REPRESSION IN SERBIA MARCH 11, – MARCH 17, 2000. STATION CLOSED IN NIGHT RAID AFTER PUBLIC DEFENCE IN DAYLIGHT BELGRADE, March 12, 2000 – […]
Journalist interrogated, asked to reveal sources
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Víctor Manuel Tinoco Rubi, governor of the state of Michoacán, RSF “protested the pressures imposed on Ángel Méndez, a correspondent with the dailies “Panorama” and “La Voz de Michoacán” in Coahuayana. RSF believes that the journalist’s interrogation, so that he would reveal his sources, and the police surveillance he […]
RTKM staff protest the requisitioning of their station
**Updates IFEX alert of 16 March 2000** (JED/IFEX) – In a 16 March 2000 letter adressed to “human rights organisations”, the staff of Radio Télévision Kin-Malebo (RTKM) protested the “irregular procedure” which drove Minister of Justice Mwenze Kongolo to requisition the private station on the State’s behalf. In their letter, the staff evoke “the unjustified […]
Journalists attacked by police
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of the Interior Michel El-Murr, RSF protested “the attack on several journalists, including Ramzi Haïdar, a photographer with Agence France-Presse, and Hassan Mounla, a photographer with Associated Press, during a demonstration in Beirut on 17 March”. RSF asked the minister of the interior to “do everything he can […]
Newspaper threatened by legal action, sued by former general manager
The following is a 17 March 2000 CPJ press release: PERU: INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER THREATENED BY LEGAL ACTION New York, March 17, 2000 — CPJ is deeply concerned by the legal action currently being brought against the Lima-based newspaper, El Comercio, which threatens to transfer ownership of the paper to its minority shareholders. El Comercio is […]
CPJ condemns closure of two independent radio stations
In a 17 March 2000 letter to President Charles G. Taylor, CPJ condemned the recent illegal closure of the privately-owned stations Star Radio and Radio Veritas. During the morning of 15 March, heavily armed police officers under the command of Director of Police Paul Mulbah occupied the Star Radio compound in Monrovia and sealed its […]
Fiji Islands president tries to stop sale and distribution of book by coup leader
On 17 March 2000, Fiji Islands news media reported that the country’s president is seeking a court injunction to try to stop the sale and distribution of a book by the leader of Fiji’s 1987 military coups, Sitiveni Rabuka. President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was opposition leader in parliament at the time of the first […]
PINA questions government role in removal of radio show presenter
On 17 March 2000, PINA expressed “great concern” at the removal of a Radio Fiji presenter from a news and current affairs programme on the Hindustani station Radio Fiji 2. Presenter Thakur Ranjit Singh was accused by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry of being biased against Chaudhry’s Fiji Labour Party. Singh, who hosted the twice weekly […]
Journalist arrested in Lubumbashi
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Information and Tourism Didier Mumengi, RSF requested the release of Nyembo Kimuni, a journalist with the Lubumbashi private weekly “La Tribune”. RSF recalled that in a document dated 14 July 1992, the United Nations Human Rights Commission stressed that “detention as punishment for the expression of an […]
MISA expresses concern over upcoming trial of journalist
The following is a MISA statement in reference to the trial of journalist Rafael Marques, a case of landmark significance: STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE MEDIA INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (MISA) ON FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2000 The following statement appeals to the presiding magistrate over the trial of journalist, poet and Open Society – Angolan Chapter […]
Serbian journalist released but another TV station is closed
YUGOSLAVIA: AUTHORITIES RELEASE JAILED JOURNALIST, BUT CLOSE ANOTHER TV STATION New York, March 17, 2000 — Nebojsa Ristic, head of an independent television station in Serbia, was released from prison today after serving almost 11 months of a one-year sentence imposed last April, according to CPJ’s sources in Belgrade. Ristic was arrested in April, 1999, […]
Court hears accusations about bid to hire assassin to kill Samoan editor-publisher
On 16 March 2000, the “Samoa Observer” reported accusations made in court that a former Samoan government minister tried to hire an assassin to kill the paper’s award-winning editor-publisher. The former minister, Leafa Vitale, denied inciting a person by the name of Leutufia Ioane to shoot editor-publisher Savea Sano Malifa, the paper reported. In the […]
CPJ announces web publication of “Putin’s Media War: Independent Press Under Siege in Russia”
CPJ is pleased to announce the Web publication of “Putin’s Media War: Independent Press Under Siege in Russia,” an analysis by CPJ Europe program coordinator Emma Gray. Writing in advance of the March 26 presidential elections, Gray argues that because of acting president Vladimir Putin’s successful use of mass media to deceive the Russian public […]
Mugabe threatens to have opponents killed
On 16 March 2000, President Robert Mugabe reportedly threatened to kill all of those who oppose his rule. According to the “Daily News” newspaper, Mugabe said, “Those who try to cause disunity among our people must watch out because death will befall them.” Mugabe allegedly included white Zimbabweans in his attack saying that they had […]