ap bio ch.6 notes

8/14/2019 AP bio Ch.6 notes

1/21

1. NORTH KOREA

Leader: Kim Jong Il, chairman, National Defense Commission, inpower since his father Kim Il Songs death in 1994

How censorship works: North Korea has wedded the traditionalConfucian ideal of social order to the Stalinist model of anauthoritarian communist state to create the worlds deepestinformation void. All domestic radio, television, and newspapersare controlled by the government. Radio and television receiversare locked to government-specified frequencies. Content issupplied almost entirely by the official Korean Central NewsAgency (KCNA). It serves up a daily diet of fawning coverage ofDear Leader Kim Jong Il and his official engagements. Thecountrys grinding poverty or famines are never mentioned. Only

small numbers of foreign journalists are allowed limited accesseach year, and they must be accompanied by "minders"wherever they go.

Lowlight: After a deadly munitions train explosion in April 2004 inRyongchon near the Chinese border, KCNA reported that citizensdisplayed the spirit of guarding the leader with their very livesby rushing into burning buildings to save portraits of Kim beforesearching for their family members or saving their householdgoods." The international press, meanwhile, was barred from the

scene, where more than 150 died and thousands were injured.

2. BURMA

Leader: Than Shwe, who took over as chairman of the militaryjunta known as the State Peace and Development Council in 1992after the resignation of 1988 coup leader General Saw Maung

How censorship works: The junta owns all daily newspapers and

radio, along with the countrys three television channels. Mediadare not hint at, let alone report on, antigovernment sentiments.Burmas few privately owned publications must submit content tothe Press Scrutiny Board for approval before publishing;censorship delays mean that none publishes on a daily basis. In2005, the junta took control of Bagan Cybertech, Burmas mainInternet service and satellite-feed provider. Citizens have been


2/21

arrested for listening to the BBC or Radio Free Asia in public.Entry visa requests by foreign journalists are usually turned downexcept when the government wants to showcase a political event.

Lowlights: An article in the June 4, 2005, edition of New Light of

Myanmar (Burma) titled Have positive attitude in broadcastingnews explains the governments approach to media: TheMyanmar people do not wish to watch, read, or listen to corruptand lopsided news reports and lies. The Myanmar people evenfeel loathsome to some local media that are imitating thepractice of featuring corrupt and lopsided news and lies. TheVoice, a Rangoon-based weekly, was suspended in May 2005 aspunishment for an innocuous front-page story about Vietnamswithdrawal from Burmas New Year water festival, which the juntafound embarrassing.

3. TURKMENISTAN

Leader: Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, elected 1991 anddeclared President for Life in 1999

How censorship works: Niyazov has isolated the country from therest of the world and created a cult of personality declaringhimself Turkmenbashi, father of the Turkmen. The state ownsall domestic media and Niyazovs administration controls them by

appointing editors and censoring content. Niyazov personallyapproves the front-page content of the major dailies, whichalways include a prominent picture of him. In 2005, the stateclosed all libraries except for one that houses the presidentsbooks, and banned the importation of foreign publications. Thestate media heap fulsome praise on Niyazov as they ignoreimportant stories on AIDS, prostitution, unemployment, poverty,crime, and drugs. A handful of local and foreign correspondentswork for foreignprimarily Russiannews agencies, but theirfreedom to report is minimal.

Lowlight: State television displays a constant, golden profile ofNiyazov at the bottom of the screen. Newscasters begin eachbroadcast with a pledge that their tongues will shrivel if theirreports ever slander the country, the flag, or the president.

Turkmenistan Locater Map


3/21

4. EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Leader: President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in power

since a coup in 1979

How censorship works: Criticism of Obiangs brutal regime is nottolerated in the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa. Allbroadcast media are state-owned, except for RTV-Asonga, theprivate radio and television network owned by the presidentsson, Teodorino Obiang Nguema. A handful of private newspapersofficially exist but rarely publish due to financial and politicalpressure. An exiled press freedom group ASOLPEGE-Libre saysthe only publication that appears regularly is a pro-government

magazine published in Spain and financed by advertising revenuefrom companies operating in Equatorial Guinea, mainly NorthAmerican oil companies. The group says the government hasforced all private companies to pay for advertising spots on statebroadcast media. It describes state broadcasters as puregovernmental instruments in the service of the dictatorship,dedicated uniquely and exclusively to political narcissism and theideological propaganda of the regime in place. The U.S. StateDepartment reported in 2005 that foreign celebrity and sportspublications were available for sale but no newspapers, and that

there were no bookstores or newsstands. Foreign correspondentshave been denied visas or expelled without official explanation.

Lowlights: State-run Radio Malabo broadcasts songs warningcitizens that they will be crushed if they speak against theregime. During parliamentary elections in 2004, state mediacalled opposition activists "enemies" of the state. State radio hasdescribed Obiang as the countrys God who has all power overmen and things.

Equatorial Guinea Locater Map

5. LIBYA

Leader: Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, unchallenged in power sincea bloodless 1969 coup.


4/21

How censorship works: Libyas media are the most tightlycontrolled in the Arab world. The government owns and controlsall print and broadcast media, an anachronism even by regionalstandards. The media dutifully reflect state policies and do notallow news or views critical of Qaddafi or the government.

Satellite television and the Internet are available, but thegovernment blocks undesirable political Web sites. The Internet isone of the few avenues for independent writers and journalists,but the risks are exceedingly high. Dayf al-Ghazal al-Shuhaibi,who wrote for London-based opposition Web sites, was found shotin the head in Benghazi last year. No one has been charged withthe murder, which has sent an unmistakable message to would-be critics. In addition, Internet writer Abdel Razek al-Mansouriwas jailed in reprisal for online writings critical of thegovernment.

Lowlight: In 1977, Qaddafi laid out his ideas for Libyas culturalrevolution in The Green Book. On the press he wrote, The pressis a means of expression for society: it is not a means ofexpression for private individuals or corporate bodies. Therefore,logically and democratically, it should not belong to either one ofthem.

6. ERITREA

Leader: President: Isaias Afewerki, elected by the nationalassembly in 1993

How censorship works: Eritrea is the only country in sub-SaharanAfrica without a single private media outlet. More than four yearsafter a vicious crackdown shuttered a fledgling independentpress, the governments repressive policies have left the tinyHorn of Africa nation largely hidden from international scrutinyand with almost no local access to independent information. Aprivileged few have access to the Internet. The handful of foreign

correspondents in the capital, Asmara, are subject to intensivemonitoring by authorities.

Lowlight: At least 15 journalists have been jailed or otherwisedeprived of their liberty. Most are held incommunicado in secretdetention centers. When CPJ sought information about theimprisoned journalists in fall 2005, Information Minister Ali Abdou


5/21

told Agence France-Presse, Its up to us what, why, when, andwhere we do things.

7. CUBA

Leader: President Fidel Castro, who has run a one-party statesince seizing power in a 1959 revolution

How censorship works: The Cuban constitution grants theCommunist Party the right to control the press; it recognizesfreedom of speech and the press in accordance with the goals ofthe socialist society. The government owns and controls allmedia outlets and restricts Internet access. News is carried onfour television channels, two news agencies, dozens of radiostations, at least four news Web sites, and three main

newspapers representing the views of the Communist Party andother mass organizations controlled by the government. Themedia operate under the supervision of the Communist PartysDepartment of Revolutionary Orientation, which develops andcoordinates propaganda strategies. Cuba remains one of theworlds leading jailers of journalists, second only to China, with 24independent reporters behind bars. Those who try to work asindependent reporters are harassed, detained, threatened withprosecution or jail, or barred from traveling. A small number offoreign correspondents report from Havana but Cubans do not

see their reports. Officials grant visas to foreign journalistsselectively, often excluding those from outlets deemed unfriendly.

Lowlight: The government organizes demonstrations known as"repudiation acts" outside the homes of independent journalists.Government supporters congregate around the homes, intimidatethose inside and prevent them from leaving or receiving visitors.

8. UZBEKISTAN

Leader: President Islam Karimov, elected 1991; presidential termextended by referendums in 1995 and again in 2002.

How censorship works: Karimov has re-established a Soviet-styledictatorship that relies on brutal political intimidation to silence

journalists, human rights activists, and the political opposition.Karimovs regime uses an informal system of state censorship to


6/21

prevent the domestic media from reporting on widespread policetorture, poverty, and an Islamic opposition movement.Uzbekistan has also distinguished itself among the former Sovietrepublics as the leading jailer of journalists, with six behind barsat the end of 2005.

Lowlight: After troops killed hundreds of antigovernmentprotesters in the city of Andijan in May 2005, Karimovs regimecracked down on foreign media. The BBC, Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty, and the Institute for War & Peace Reportingwere forced to close their Tashkent bureaus. A dozen foreigncorrespondents and local reporters working for foreign media hadto flee the country.

Uzbekistan locater map

9. SYRIA

Leader: President Bashar al-Assad, who took over upon hisfathers death in 2000

How censorship works: The media are under heavy state controland influence. Some newspapers and broadcast outlets are inprivate hands but are owned by regime loyalists, or are barred

from disseminating political content. Some private and partynewspapers offer mild criticism of some government policies orthe Baath party, but they are largely toothless. State papers andbroadcasters remain unflinchingly supportive of the regime. Thepress law maps out an array of restrictions against the media,including a requirement that periodicals obtain licenses from theprime minister, who can deny any application not in the publicinterest. The regime has harassed critics through arrests orwarnings.

Lowlights: State repression has spawned newspapers so blandthat even a top government official, the late Interior MinisterGhazi Kenaan, once called Syrias news coverage "unreadable."Despite efforts to privatize the press, newspapers that overstepthe mark in their criticism are shut down or their editionsconfiscated.


7/21

10. BELARUS

Leader: President Aleksandr Lukashenko, elected 1994; last re-elected in March 2006 in polls the European Union called deeplyflawed.

How censorship works: Most broadcast and print outlets areowned by the government, and they are effusive in their praise ofLukashenko. Nominally independent radio and television stationsavoid politically sensitive subjects. The state has shuttereddozens of independent newspapers in recent years, and the fewthat remain have been subjected to a government onslaught:Lukashenkos administration has pressured state printing housesnot to print critical newspapers, barred the post office and statenewspaper distributor from distributing independent publications,

seized entire press runs of independent newspapers, and setprison penalties of up to five years for criticizing the president.

Lowlight: More than two dozen domestic and foreign journalistswere jailed during the tumultuous presidential campaign, mostwhile covering antigovernment rallies staged after the vote.Reporters were often charged with hooliganism for being at therallies.Belarus locater map

CPJ staff judged countries according to 17 benchmarks. CPJestablished the criteria after consultation with experts in thefields of press freedom, human rights, and media law. In order toappear on this list, countries had to meet at least nine of the 17criteria. The benchmarks included: absence of independentmedia; existence of formal censorship regulations; state controlof all media; state-sponsored violence against journalists;

jamming of foreign news broadcasts; restrictions on Internetaccess; limits on journalists mobility; interference in theproduction and distribution of publications; and existence of laws

forbidding criticism.

1. NORTH KOREA

Leader: Kim Jong Il, chairman, National Defense Commission, inpower since his father Kim Il Songs death in 1994


8/21

How censorship works: North Korea has wedded the traditionalConfucian ideal of social order to the Stalinist model of anauthoritarian communist state to create the worlds deepestinformation void. All domestic radio, television, and newspapersare controlled by the government. Radio and television receivers

are locked to government-specified frequencies. Content issupplied almost entirely by the official Korean Central NewsAgency (KCNA). It serves up a daily diet of fawning coverage ofDear Leader Kim Jong Il and his official engagements. Thecountrys grinding poverty or famines are never mentioned. Onlysmall numbers of foreign journalists are allowed limited accesseach year, and they must be accompanied by "minders"wherever they go.

Lowlight: After a deadly munitions train explosion in April 2004 in

Ryongchon near the Chinese border, KCNA reported that citizensdisplayed the spirit of guarding the leader with their very livesby rushing into burning buildings to save portraits of Kim beforesearching for their family members or saving their householdgoods." The international press, meanwhile, was barred from thescene, where more than 150 died and thousands were injured.

2. BURMA

Leader: Than Shwe, who took over as chairman of the militaryjunta known as the State Peace and Development Council in 1992after the resignation of 1988 coup leader General Saw Maung

How censorship works: The junta owns all daily newspapers andradio, along with the countrys three television channels. Mediadare not hint at, let alone report on, antigovernment sentiments.Burmas few privately owned publications must submit content tothe Press Scrutiny Board for approval before publishing;censorship delays mean that none publishes on a daily basis. In

2005, the junta took control of Bagan Cybertech, Burmas mainInternet service and satellite-feed provider. Citizens have beenarrested for listening to the BBC or Radio Free Asia in public.Entry visa requests by foreign journalists are usually turned downexcept when the government wants to showcase a political event.

Lowlights: An article in the June 4, 2005, edition of New Light of


9/21


10/21

since a coup in 1979

How censorship works: Criticism of Obiangs brutal regime is nottolerated in the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa. Allbroadcast media are state-owned, except for RTV-Asonga, the

private radio and television network owned by the presidentsson, Teodorino Obiang Nguema. A handful of private newspapersofficially exist but rarely publish due to financial and politicalpressure. An exiled press freedom group ASOLPEGE-Libre saysthe only publication that appears regularly is a pro-governmentmagazine published in Spain and financed by advertising revenuefrom companies operating in Equatorial Guinea, mainly NorthAmerican oil companies. The group says the government hasforced all private companies to pay for advertising spots on statebroadcast media. It describes state broadcasters as pure

governmental instruments in the service of the dictatorship,dedicated uniquely and exclusively to political narcissism and theideological propaganda of the regime in place. The U.S. StateDepartment reported in 2005 that foreign celebrity and sportspublications were available for sale but no newspapers, and thatthere were no bookstores or newsstands. Foreign correspondentshave been denied visas or expelled without official explanation.

Lowlights: State-run Radio Malabo broadcasts songs warningcitizens that they will be crushed if they speak against the

regime. During parliamentary elections in 2004, state mediacalled opposition activists "enemies" of the state. State radio hasdescribed Obiang as the countrys God who has all power overmen and things.


5. LIBYA

Leader: Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, unchallenged in power since

a bloodless 1969 coup.

How censorship works: Libyas media are the most tightlycontrolled in the Arab world. The government owns and controlsall print and broadcast media, an anachronism even by regionalstandards. The media dutifully reflect state policies and do notallow news or views critical of Qaddafi or the government.


11/21

Satellite television and the Internet are available, but thegovernment blocks undesirable political Web sites. The Internet isone of the few avenues for independent writers and journalists,but the risks are exceedingly high. Dayf al-Ghazal al-Shuhaibi,who wrote for London-based opposition Web sites, was found shot

in the head in Benghazi last year. No one has been charged withthe murder, which has sent an unmistakable message to would-be critics. In addition, Internet writer Abdel Razek al-Mansouriwas jailed in reprisal for online writings critical of thegovernment.

Lowlight: In 1977, Qaddafi laid out his ideas for Libyas culturalrevolution in The Green Book. On the press he wrote, The pressis a means of expression for society: it is not a means ofexpression for private individuals or corporate bodies. Therefore,

logically and democratically, it should not belong to either one ofthem.

6. ERITREA


How censorship works: Eritrea is the only country in sub-SaharanAfrica without a single private media outlet. More than four years

after a vicious crackdown shuttered a fledgling independentpress, the governments repressive policies have left the tinyHorn of Africa nation largely hidden from international scrutinyand with almost no local access to independent information. Aprivileged few have access to the Internet. The handful of foreigncorrespondents in the capital, Asmara, are subject to intensivemonitoring by authorities.

Lowlight: At least 15 journalists have been jailed or otherwisedeprived of their liberty. Most are held incommunicado in secret

detention centers. When CPJ sought information about theimprisoned journalists in fall 2005, Information Minister Ali Abdoutold Agence France-Presse, Its up to us what, why, when, andwhere we do things.

7. CUBA


12/21


How censorship works: The Cuban constitution grants theCommunist Party the right to control the press; it recognizes

freedom of speech and the press in accordance with the goals ofthe socialist society. The government owns and controls allmedia outlets and restricts Internet access. News is carried onfour television channels, two news agencies, dozens of radiostations, at least four news Web sites, and three mainnewspapers representing the views of the Communist Party andother mass organizations controlled by the government. Themedia operate under the supervision of the Communist PartysDepartment of Revolutionary Orientation, which develops andcoordinates propaganda strategies. Cuba remains one of the

worlds leading jailers of journalists, second only to China, with 24independent reporters behind bars. Those who try to work asindependent reporters are harassed, detained, threatened withprosecution or jail, or barred from traveling. A small number offoreign correspondents report from Havana but Cubans do notsee their reports. Officials grant visas to foreign journalistsselectively, often excluding those from outlets deemed unfriendly.

Lowlight: The government organizes demonstrations known as"repudiation acts" outside the homes of independent journalists.

Government supporters congregate around the homes, intimidatethose inside and prevent them from leaving or receiving visitors.

8. UZBEKISTAN



journalists, human rights activists, and the political opposition.Karimovs regime uses an informal system of state censorship toprevent the domestic media from reporting on widespread policetorture, poverty, and an Islamic opposition movement.Uzbekistan has also distinguished itself among the former Sovietrepublics as the leading jailer of journalists, with six behind barsat the end of 2005.


13/21

Lowlight: After troops killed hundreds of antigovernmentprotesters in the city of Andijan in May 2005, Karimovs regimecracked down on foreign media. The BBC, Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty, and the Institute for War & Peace Reporting

were forced to close their Tashkent bureaus. A dozen foreigncorrespondents and local reporters working for foreign media hadto flee the country.


9. SYRIA

Leader: President Bashar al-Assad, who took over upon his

fathers death in 2000

How censorship works: The media are under heavy state controland influence. Some newspapers and broadcast outlets are inprivate hands but are owned by regime loyalists, or are barredfrom disseminating political content. Some private and partynewspapers offer mild criticism of some government policies orthe Baath party, but they are largely toothless. State papers andbroadcasters remain unflinchingly supportive of the regime. Thepress law maps out an array of restrictions against the media,

including a requirement that periodicals obtain licenses from theprime minister, who can deny any application not in the publicinterest. The regime has harassed critics through arrests orwarnings.

Lowlights: State repression has spawned newspapers so blandthat even a top government official, the late Interior MinisterGhazi Kenaan, once called Syrias news coverage "unreadable."Despite efforts to privatize the press, newspapers that overstepthe mark in their criticism are shut down or their editions

confiscated.

10. BELARUS

Leader: President Aleksandr Lukashenko, elected 1994; last re-elected in March 2006 in polls the European Union called deeplyflawed.


14/21

How censorship works: Most broadcast and print outlets areowned by the government, and they are effusive in their praise ofLukashenko. Nominally independent radio and television stationsavoid politically sensitive subjects. The state has shuttered

dozens of independent newspapers in recent years, and the fewthat remain have been subjected to a government onslaught:Lukashenkos administration has pressured state printing housesnot to print critical newspapers, barred the post office and statenewspaper distributor from distributing independent publications,seized entire press runs of independent newspapers, and setprison penalties of up to five years for criticizing the president.

Lowlight: More than two dozen domestic and foreign journalistswere jailed during the tumultuous presidential campaign, most

while covering antigovernment rallies staged after the vote.Reporters were often charged with hooliganism for being at therallies.Belarus locater map

CPJ staff judged countries according to 17 benchmarks. CPJestablished the criteria after consultation with experts in thefields of press freedom, human rights, and media law. In order toappear on this list, countries had to meet at least nine of the 17criteria. The benchmarks included: absence of independent

media; existence of formal censorship regulations; state controlof all media; state-sponsored violence against journalists;

jamming of foreign news broadcasts; restrictions on Internetaccess; limits on journalists mobility; interference in theproduction and distribution of publications; and existence of lawsforbidding criticism.

1. NORTH KOREA

Leader: Kim Jong Il, chairman, National Defense Commission, in

power since his father Kim Il Songs death in 1994

How censorship works: North Korea has wedded the traditionalConfucian ideal of social order to the Stalinist model of anauthoritarian communist state to create the worlds deepestinformation void. All domestic radio, television, and newspapersare controlled by the government. Radio and television receivers


15/21


16/21

practice of featuring corrupt and lopsided news and lies. TheVoice, a Rangoon-based weekly, was suspended in May 2005 aspunishment for an innocuous front-page story about Vietnamswithdrawal from Burmas New Year water festival, which the juntafound embarrassing.

3. TURKMENISTAN

Leader: Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, elected 1991 anddeclared President for Life in 1999

How censorship works: Niyazov has isolated the country from therest of the world and created a cult of personality declaringhimself Turkmenbashi, father of the Turkmen. The state ownsall domestic media and Niyazovs administration controls them by

appointing editors and censoring content. Niyazov personallyapproves the front-page content of the major dailies, whichalways include a prominent picture of him. In 2005, the stateclosed all libraries except for one that houses the presidentsbooks, and banned the importation of foreign publications. Thestate media heap fulsome praise on Niyazov as they ignoreimportant stories on AIDS, prostitution, unemployment, poverty,crime, and drugs. A handful of local and foreign correspondentswork for foreignprimarily Russiannews agencies, but theirfreedom to report is minimal.

Lowlight: State television displays a constant, golden profile ofNiyazov at the bottom of the screen. Newscasters begin eachbroadcast with a pledge that their tongues will shrivel if theirreports ever slander the country, the flag, or the president.

Turkmenistan Locater Map

4. EQUATORIAL GUINEA

Leader: President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, in powersince a coup in 1979

How censorship works: Criticism of Obiangs brutal regime is nottolerated in the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa. Allbroadcast media are state-owned, except for RTV-Asonga, the


17/21

private radio and television network owned by the presidentsson, Teodorino Obiang Nguema. A handful of private newspapersofficially exist but rarely publish due to financial and politicalpressure. An exiled press freedom group ASOLPEGE-Libre saysthe only publication that appears regularly is a pro-government

magazine published in Spain and financed by advertising revenuefrom companies operating in Equatorial Guinea, mainly NorthAmerican oil companies. The group says the government hasforced all private companies to pay for advertising spots on statebroadcast media. It describes state broadcasters as puregovernmental instruments in the service of the dictatorship,dedicated uniquely and exclusively to political narcissism and theideological propaganda of the regime in place. The U.S. StateDepartment reported in 2005 that foreign celebrity and sportspublications were available for sale but no newspapers, and that

there were no bookstores or newsstands. Foreign correspondentshave been denied visas or expelled without official explanation.

Lowlights: State-run Radio Malabo broadcasts songs warningcitizens that they will be crushed if they speak against theregime. During parliamentary elections in 2004, state mediacalled opposition activists "enemies" of the state. State radio hasdescribed Obiang as the countrys God who has all power overmen and things.


5. LIBYA

Leader: Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, unchallenged in power sincea bloodless 1969 coup.

How censorship works: Libyas media are the most tightlycontrolled in the Arab world. The government owns and controlsall print and broadcast media, an anachronism even by regional

standards. The media dutifully reflect state policies and do notallow news or views critical of Qaddafi or the government.Satellite television and the Internet are available, but thegovernment blocks undesirable political Web sites. The Internet isone of the few avenues for independent writers and journalists,but the risks are exceedingly high. Dayf al-Ghazal al-Shuhaibi,who wrote for London-based opposition Web sites, was found shot


18/21

in the head in Benghazi last year. No one has been charged withthe murder, which has sent an unmistakable message to would-be critics. In addition, Internet writer Abdel Razek al-Mansouriwas jailed in reprisal for online writings critical of thegovernment.

Lowlight: In 1977, Qaddafi laid out his ideas for Libyas culturalrevolution in The Green Book. On the press he wrote, The pressis a means of expression for society: it is not a means ofexpression for private individuals or corporate bodies. Therefore,logically and democratically, it should not belong to either one ofthem.

6. ERITREA


How censorship works: Eritrea is the only country in sub-SaharanAfrica without a single private media outlet. More than four yearsafter a vicious crackdown shuttered a fledgling independentpress, the governments repressive policies have left the tinyHorn of Africa nation largely hidden from international scrutinyand with almost no local access to independent information. Aprivileged few have access to the Internet. The handful of foreign

correspondents in the capital, Asmara, are subject to intensivemonitoring by authorities.

Lowlight: At least 15 journalists have been jailed or otherwisedeprived of their liberty. Most are held incommunicado in secretdetention centers. When CPJ sought information about theimprisoned journalists in fall 2005, Information Minister Ali Abdoutold Agence France-Presse, Its up to us what, why, when, andwhere we do things.

7. CUBA


How censorship works: The Cuban constitution grants theCommunist Party the right to control the press; it recognizes


19/21

freedom of speech and the press in accordance with the goals ofthe socialist society. The government owns and controls allmedia outlets and restricts Internet access. News is carried onfour television channels, two news agencies, dozens of radiostations, at least four news Web sites, and three main

newspapers representing the views of the Communist Party andother mass organizations controlled by the government. Themedia operate under the supervision of the Communist PartysDepartment of Revolutionary Orientation, which develops andcoordinates propaganda strategies. Cuba remains one of theworlds leading jailers of journalists, second only to China, with 24independent reporters behind bars. Those who try to work asindependent reporters are harassed, detained, threatened withprosecution or jail, or barred from traveling. A small number offoreign correspondents report from Havana but Cubans do not

see their reports. Officials grant visas to foreign journalistsselectively, often excluding those from outlets deemed unfriendly.

Lowlight: The government organizes demonstrations known as"repudiation acts" outside the homes of independent journalists.Government supporters congregate around the homes, intimidatethose inside and prevent them from leaving or receiving visitors.

8. UZBEKISTAN



journalists, human rights activists, and the political opposition.Karimovs regime uses an informal system of state censorship toprevent the domestic media from reporting on widespread policetorture, poverty, and an Islamic opposition movement.Uzbekistan has also distinguished itself among the former Soviet

republics as the leading jailer of journalists, with six behind barsat the end of 2005.

Lowlight: After troops killed hundreds of antigovernmentprotesters in the city of Andijan in May 2005, Karimovs regimecracked down on foreign media. The BBC, Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty, and the Institute for War & Peace Reporting


20/21

were forced to close their Tashkent bureaus. A dozen foreigncorrespondents and local reporters working for foreign media hadto flee the country.


9. SYRIA

Leader: President Bashar al-Assad, who took over upon hisfathers death in 2000

How censorship works: The media are under heavy state controland influence. Some newspapers and broadcast outlets are inprivate hands but are owned by regime loyalists, or are barred

from disseminating political content. Some private and partynewspapers offer mild criticism of some government policies orthe Baath party, but they are largely toothless. State papers andbroadcasters remain unflinchingly supportive of the regime. Thepress law maps out an array of restrictions against the media,including a requirement that periodicals obtain licenses from theprime minister, who can deny any application not in the publicinterest. The regime has harassed critics through arrests orwarnings.

Lowlights: State repression has spawned newspapers so blandthat even a top government official, the late Interior MinisterGhazi Kenaan, once called Syrias news coverage "unreadable."Despite efforts to privatize the press, newspapers that overstepthe mark in their criticism are shut down or their editionsconfiscated.

10. BELARUS

Leader: President Aleksandr Lukashenko, elected 1994; last re-

elected in March 2006 in polls the European Union called deeplyflawed.

How censorship works: Most broadcast and print outlets areowned by the government, and they are effusive in their praise ofLukashenko. Nominally independent radio and television stationsavoid politically sensitive subjects. The state has shuttered


21/21

dozens of independent newspapers in recent years, and the fewthat remain have been subjected to a government onslaught:Lukashenkos administration has pressured state printing housesnot to print critical newspapers, barred the post office and statenewspaper distributor from distributing independent publications,

seized entire press runs of independent newspapers, and setprison penalties of up to five years for criticizing the president.

Lowlight: More than two dozen domestic and foreign journalistswere jailed during the tumultuous presidential campaign, mostwhile covering antigovernment rallies staged after the vote.Reporters were often charged with hooliganism for being at therallies.Belarus locater map

CPJ staff judged countries according to 17 benchmarks. CPJestablished the criteria after consultation with experts in thefields of press freedom, human rights, and media law. In order toappear on this list, countries had to meet at least nine of the 17criteria. The benchmarks included: absence of independentmedia; existence of formal censorship regulations; state controlof all media; state-sponsored violence against journalists;

jamming of foreign news broadcasts; restrictions on Internetaccess; limits on journalists mobility; interference in theproduction and distribution of publications; and existence of laws

forbidding criticism.

ap bio ch.6 notes

Documents