26 February 2002
Volume 11 - 2002 Issue 08 (26 Feb. 2002)
International
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) has launched a redesigned version of its Web site. The site, which will continue to be located at
Niger
Can solar-powered wind-up radios help bring peace to a war-torn country? An innovative project by the Freeplay Foundation in Niger is certainly giving the idea a chance, reports Internews. In co-operation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the government of Niger, the South Africa-based organisation has set up a program to donate solar-powered wind-up radios to rural communities as part of a wider effort to secure peace and identify local development priorities.
Belarus
Belarus has adopted a new anti-terrorism law which gives its government powers to conduct raids on journalists, arrest demonstrators and prevent media from reporting on matters of public interest, warns ARTICLE 19.
Nigeria
Sixteen private broadcasters in Nigeria have secured licences from the government to operate radio stations across the country, reports the Independent Journalist Center (IJC-Nigeria). The broadcasters were among 400 who have applied for radio licences since 1992. Twelve of the sixteen broadcasters will operate commercial FM stations. IJC notes that at a press conference announcing the granting of licenses, Director General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission Danladi Bako said the government intends to grant more licences to deserving applicants.
International
African journalists investigating corruption issues now have a web-based resource that should make their jobs easier. The International Federation of Journalists' (IFJ) Media for Democracy in Africa program, with funding from the European Union, has recently launched a website "Promoting Accountability" (
Thailand
For the first time in decades, Thailand â whose press is considered one of the freest in Asia â has ordered the expulsion of two foreign journalists, saying they are a "threat to national security," report the Thai Journalists' Association (TJA), the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). TJA and SEAPA are condemning the move as a "witch hunt" and an "unwarranted attack on free expression," saying it will have a "far-reaching negative impact on Thailand's international image as a democratic ⦠country."
Australia
The Australian government's proposal to amend the country's Criminal Code has come under fire from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its local affiliate Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), who say it threatens whistle blowers and journalists and "stifle[s] public debate."
International
For the third time in less than three months, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) last week destroyed broadcasting facilities operated by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), while another journalist was shot at while attempting to report on the conflict. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) say that on 21 February IDF troops in the Gaza city of Al-Shijaieh entered a building housing the offices and studios of the Voice of Palestine (VOP) and Palestine Television. Equipment was confiscated and explosives were detonated by the troops, causing the building to collapse.
International
Geoffrey Nyarota, the editor-in-chief of Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper, the "Daily News", has won the 2002 UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. The journalist was awarded for his "tireless" efforts to denounce corruption among senior government officials in Zimbabwe despite numerous attacks against him. "The courage and persistence of Geoffrey Nyarota, who has not yielded to the enormous pressure on him in the last few years, is an example to all the world's journalists," says UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, who announced the award yesterday. The US$25,000 prize will be presented to Nyarota on 3 May as part of UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day celebrations.
International
The International Press Institute (IPI) has released its annual review of world-wide press freedom calling 2001 a year in which war was "waged on the media" in many parts of the world and governments made "unprecedented" attempts to control the free flow of information. Examining 176 countries, the group says 55 journalists were killed in the last 12 months, just under the previous year's total of 56.
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