28 May 2002
Volume 11 - 2002 Issue 21 (28 May 2002)
International
The Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) is seeking nominations for the 2002 Astor Award, presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to press freedom or to the promotion of the Commonwealth newspaper industry. The award is to be presented in October at CPU's biennial conference in Sri Lanka.
International
Experienced newspaper editors are encouraged to apply for the Freedom Forum/American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) exchange program. Administered by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), the programme selects 10 newsroom managers of daily newspapers to visit the United States for a five-week exchange including four weeks at a host newspaper.
Japan
A proposed privacy protection bill currently being debated in Japan's Diet (House of Representatives and House of Councillors) is drawing fierce opposition from the media establishment who fear it may curb journalists' freedom to obtain information and conduct investigative reporting, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Argentina
A bill before Argentina's Senate proposing jail terms of up to two years for unauthorised broadcasting would unjustly penalise community radio and other non-commercial stations, says the Argentine Association for the Defence of Independent Journalism (la Asociacion para la Defensa del Periodismo Independiente, PERIODISTAS). The group says thousands of unlicenced broadcasters all over the country would be vulnerable to prison sentences, threatening the only information source available to marginal sectors of society.
International
In a case that could determine the safety of journalists reporting in conflict situations, a former "Washington Post" reporter who interviewed a Bosnian Serb wanted for genocide faces seven years in prison for refusing to testify in front of a United Nations war crimes tribunal, reports "The Independent."
Mozambique
Mozambique's journalists will continue to live in fear as long as the murder of investigative reporter Carlos Cardoso remains unsolved. That's the conclusion of a Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) special report last week based on interviews and research conducted during a visit to the country last July. Written by Yves Sokorobi, the report urges the government to step up its inquiry into Cardoso's November 2000 murder and requests an official response from authorities.
Kazakhstan
Concerns over press-freedom conditions in Kazakhstan have been raised following attacks against two opposition newspapers and an independent television station in the city of Almaty. On 22 May, individuals threw Molotov cocktails into the offices of "Delovoye Obozreniye Respublika" setting fire to the premises and destroying the newspaper's technical equipment, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports. No one was injured in the attack.
International
The European Parliament is set to vote on a proposal this week that would allow member states to pass laws giving authorities regular access to citizens' telephone, fax and Internet communications, warn Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
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