Kuchma listed among top 10 enemies of the press worldwide (05/09/99)

Kuchma listed among top 10 enemies of the press worldwide

by Judith Leynse

NEW YORK - The leaders of Yugoslavia, China, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia head the list of the Top 10 Enemies of the Press, named by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). President Leonid Kuchma is No. 6 on the list. Singled out for their unrelenting and often brutal suppression of the press as documented by CPJ, they were identified on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3.

Yugoslavia's president, Slobodan Milosevic, was named the press's worst enemy. Also cited were Jiang Zemin of China, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and Zine Abdine Ben Ali of Tunisia. Others in CPJ's annual ranking are: Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, Alberto K. Fujimori of Peru and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

"These 10 individuals have been disastrous for independent journalism," said Ann K. Cooper, CPJ's executive director. "A free press informs, but their regimes have knowingly acted to suppress information through countless violations against journalists, including censorship, imprisonment, physical attack and even murder."

The list of 1999 Enemies of the Press follows.

1. Yugoslavia's President Slobodan Milosevic: Suppression of the press through intimidation, assault, crippling fines and license denials - all codified in a draconian media law imposed in October - is a prime weapon in Mr. Milosevic's arsenal of control. Intensified with the onset of the NATO bombardment, Mr. Milosevic's repression of all independent media has quelled every opposition voice, imperiled journalists' lives and filled the airwaves with hate speech.

2. China's President Jiang Zemin: The confluence in 1999 of the 10th anniversary of the government-ordered massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic led Mr. Jiang to renew Beijing's hard-line attitudes toward the press. He presided over worsening conditions for politically independent journalists in the last year as the Communist Party's propaganda department shut down several newspapers, magazines and book publishing houses, and threatened many others for challenging party orthodoxy. Jailing of journalists continues, and, in an ominous development, an Internet entrepreneur was imprisoned for providing e-mail addresses to a dissident online magazine.

3. Cuba's President Fidel Castro: A crackdown by Mr. Castro on independent press eroded any hope for improvement generated by the visit of Pope John Paul II last year. Mr. Castro represses independent journalists to the point of extinction, forcing them to flee the country to avoid detention and arrest seemingly for even thinking about covering a trial of dissidents or a public demonstration that would reflect unfavorably on his complete control. Since January, at least 28 independent journalists were detained and one was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, bringing the number of jailed journalists to four. A new press law criminalizes free speech and imposes harsh sentences on anyone deemed guilty of serving U.S. interests against Cuba, which precludes any contact with foreign media.

4. Democratic Republic of Congo's Laurent Kabila: Expectations that Mr. Kabila would bring greater freedom to the country formerly known as Zaire vanished once he seized power and unleashed an unremitting barrage of attacks on the press. No journalist is immune from Mr. Kabila's intolerance for opposing views. Using the threat of a rebel takeover to justify his actions, he has created a reign of terror for scores of journalists through his penchant for blaming his military failures on the independent press. Since his takeover, more than 70 journalists have been detained without charge, imprisoned, attacked or harassed.

5. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi: Retaining his title as Africa's leading jailer of journalists - there were 12 in prison at the end of 1998, and another 20 incarcerated during the year - Mr. Meles repeatedly employs his technique of decimating the press by arresting and imprisoning any independent journalist, often without charge. His tactics, encoded in a press law that provides broad means for silencing the media, drive independent-minded journalists from the profession, and from the country. Those persevering in their craft suffer dire consequences.

6. Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma: Using tax and libel laws as instruments of his hostility to journalists, Mr. Kuchma runs roughshod over any expression of opposition. His tacit acceptance of violence against the press has encouraged bombings of newspaper offices, assaults on reporters and editors, and a general climate of fear and self-censorship. His tax policies force print and broadcast outlets without foreign support to seek financial aid from businesses and politicians who then extort favorable publicity. Crushing fines forced three newspapers to shut down in recent months.

7. Tunisia's President Zine Abdine Ben Ali: The climate of fear created by a decade of rule by this dictator who masks his actions with a veneer of purported human rights achievement has transformed what was once a respectable press into one of the most restricted in the Arab world. Tunisian journalists who dare to veer from a path of strict self-censorship face swift reprisal in the form of dismissal from jobs, severing of phone and fax lines, restrictions on travel and intimidation by state agents. Mr. Ben Ali brooks no dissent in his self-styled police state, banning foreign publications and blocking access to websites - including CPJ's - offering information critical of the country's dismal rights record.

8. Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad: Like a master puppeteer, Mr. Mahathir pulls the strings of the major media, mostly owned or controlled by his ruling coalition, to perpetuate his power. Strict licensing requirements are in force, self-censorship by journalists of news deemed negative or derogatory is rewarded, and foreign press are closely monitored and frequently harassed. Despite journalists' valiant attempts at free expression through the Internet and efforts by opposition newspapers to report on public outrage over the imprisonment of Anwar Ibrahim, his reform-minded former deputy, Mr. Mahathir continues to manage the flow of mainstream domestic news coverage.

9. Peru's President Alberto K. Fujimori: A systematic state-run campaign to discredit Peru's independent press bears the stamp of Mr. Fujimori's "infotatorship." His intelligence arm has engaged in assassination plans, death threats, wiretapping, surveillance and smear tactics to harass and imperil journalists, often forcing or ordering them into exile. Investigative reporters looking into government corruption and collusion between drug traffickers and the military have been hit with charges of espionage, treason and terrorism invoked to discredit and deter their work.

10. Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak: A siege of jailings under the provisions of the Mubarak-approved press law and the censorship and closure of newspapers marked a sharp deterioration in the climate for press freedom in his one-man 18-year rule. In 1998 CPJ documented the first cases of journalists imprisoned in Egypt for libel, including two for reporting on profiteering by the family of a government official. Dozens more face imprisonment on pending libel charges. Government censorship of publications registered abroad elicited this endorsement from Mr.Mubarak: "Any newspaper published from outside Egypt can be banned if it does not abide by Egyptian social values and seeks to stir up sectarian rift."

The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, non-profit organization that works to safeguard press freedom around the world. Its annual survey, "Attacks on the Press in 1998," is available at http://www.cpj.org/.

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