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Communiqué Vol 18, No 30

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International / Yemen

Al-Jazeera under attack in Yemen and elsewhere

Al-Jazeera has been confronting one challenge to its operations after another, report IFEX members. In Yemen and the West Bank in Palestine, the news network has come under fire for its critical reporting. In Canada, Al-Jazeera representatives are petitioning the country's licensing board to approve the network without conditions.

Philippines

Journalists document president's repressive legacy

Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rhymed off her achievements in her final state of the union address on 27 July, but Filipino academics and journalists have revealed a starkly different view of the leader's two terms in office.

Ukraine

General arrested for murder of journalist in 2000

Nine years after the barbaric beheading of prominent Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze, a general has been arrested, report IFEX members. General Oleksiy Pukach was arrested this month for the murder - a case which has been riddled with high level cover-ups. But IFEX's Ukrainian member, the Institute of Mass Information, warns the upcoming trial of Pukach is unlikely to lead to the arrests of the more powerful officials responsible.

Ethiopia

IFEX members raise alarm over anti-terrorism law

Ethiopia's parliament has just approved sweeping anti-terrorism legislation that could see journalists jailed for carrying out their work, report the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA), the Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch.

The Gambia

Global protests mark president's 15-year rule

Several protests against Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's extreme freedom of the press abuses were held in Europe and Africa last week, marking the 15-year anniversary of the president's coup d'état and the third day of a sedition and defamation trial against a group of the country's most respected journalists.

Somalia

NUSOJ holds forum on safety and ethics in a war zone

Journalists, media executives and Somali and international free expression advocates gathered this past weekend to encourage each other and strategise amid the ever-present threats of torture, kidnapping, political intimidation and death that fact finders in Somalia face.

Morocco

Press freedom suffers new threats

New forms of press freedom violations are troubling Morocco, even as the media have won some advances in the decade of King Mohammed VI's rule, say the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Awards

Knight fellowship programme seeks applicants

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is now taking applications for its Knight International Journalism Fellowships programme, which recognises outstanding journalists who have demonstrated leadership qualities with at least 10 years experience in the profession. Successful fellows will be placed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Malawi, Senegal and Mozambique for a minimum of one year. In Indonesia, the fellow is expected to launch a digital media association and create a code of ethics for online journalists while in Malaysia, the fellow will integrate a citizen journalism network into a digital newsroom.

International

INSI safety code supports journalists in conflict zones

The International News Safety Institute (INSI) calls on news organisations around the world to adopt its safety code for journalists in hostile environments. The safety rules are meant to ensure that news agencies prioritise journalists' protection over competitive advantage. Among other directives, the code says staff must be trained in risk awareness before being sent to a conflict zone and no journalist should be penalised for refusing to accept a dangerous assignment. Earlier this month, the code was endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) at its annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.