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DangerousAssignments covering the global press freedom struggle Spring | Summer 2006 www.cpj.org China’s Hidden Unrest Protests against land grabs and graft are roiling the countryside. As Beijing crushes dissent, it silences the press … Critics or Traitors in Ethiopia? Committee to·Protect Journalists Exploiting the Prophet Cartoons CONTENTS Dangerous Assignments Spring|Summer 2006 Committee to Protect Journalists AS IT HAPPENED Executive Director: Ann Cooper The top press freedom stories. 2 Deputy Director: Joel Simon IN FOCUS By Alexis Arieff Dangerous Assignments A “rattled” Kenyan government burns newspapers. 3 Editorial Director: Bill Sweeney Senior Editor: Robert Mahoney FIRST PERSON By Bassam Sebti Designer: Virginia Anstett An Iraqi reporter keeps a low profile. 4 Printer: Photo Arts Limited Proofreader: Joe Sullivan CPJ REMEMBERS By Jihad Ballout Atwar Bahjat reported for all Iraqis. 6 Committee to Protect Journalists Board of Directors Q&A By Maya Taal A U.S. press lawyer on secrets, sources, and wiretaps. 7 Honorary Co-Chairmen: Walter Cronkite COMMENTARY By Alex Lupis Terry Anderson Putin props up a Belarusian dictator. 8 Chairman: Paul E. Steiger Andrew Alexander, Franz Allina, FEATURES Christiane Amanpour, Dean Baquet, Tom Brokaw, Josh Friedman, Anne COVER STORY Garrels, James C. Goodale, Cheryl The Unseen Rebellion By Kristin Jones Gould, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Gwen Ifill, Steven L. Isenberg, Jane Kramer, Across rural China, corruption and land seizures are prompting David Laventhol, Anthony Lewis, tens of thousands of protests. But the nation’s greatest political David Marash, Kati Marton, Michael crisis is nearly invisible as central authorities wage a media Massing, Geraldine Fabrikant Metz, Victor Navasky, Andres Oppenheimer, crackdown that harkens back to the aftermath of Tiananmen Square. 10 Burl Osborne, Charles L. Overby, Clarence Page, Norman Pearlstine, Drawing Fire By Ivan Karakashian Erwin Potts, Dan Rather, Gene Roberts, Yemeni editor Mohammed al-Asaadi sought context in the debate Sandra Mims Rowe, John Seigenthaler, over the Prophet Muhammad cartoons. Like others worldwide, Paul C. Tash, and Mark Whitaker he found intolerance. 16 Published by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 330 Seventh The 10 Most Censored Countries Graphic by Justin Goldberg Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, N.Y. Whose president is a “god”? What was banned because of Valentine 10001; (212) 465-1004; [email protected]. ads? And where on earth have all the libraries been closed? . 20 Find CPJ online at www.cpj.org. ‘Poison,’ Politics, and the Press By Julia Crawford Ethiopian journalists are accused of heinous crimes such as treason and genocide, but a toxic political climate is at the root of the charges. 22 Bad Blood in Turkey By Robert Mahoney Journalist Hrant Dink means no insult when he urges Turks to examine their history, but nationalist lawyers are ready to take offense. 26 g n i m UPDATE By Abi Wright o a i X Daniel Pearl’s murder remains an open case. 29 i A On the cover: The Chinese government shut MISSION JOURNAL By Joel Simon down news coverage of demonstrations in the Persuading Colombia’s president to back the press. 32 village of Taishi last September, but activists and journalists sought ways to document the DISPATCHES By Shawn W. Crispin unrest. Our cover image, showing police out in A reporter vanishes on an Indonesian island. 34 force, is taken from a documentary by Chinese professor Ai Xiaoming. The Chinese titling in ON THE WEB By Sophie Beach the image states: “Public security organs can China goes online to defend censorship. 38 issue a warning or detain for less than 15 days.” KICKER By Mick Stern . 40 Dangerous Assignments 1 AS IT HAPPENED IN FOCUS a y o k u M s a m o A look at recent red-letter cases from the CPJ files… h T / s r e t u e R December attacks in the border city of Nuevo charges of collaborating with insur- Laredo. gents, citing a lack of evidence. Hus- y c 5 Pakistani reporter sein was held without charge for 11 n e Indonesia’s Supreme g 9 A Hayatullah Khan disap- months. o t Court overturns the o h pears after being seized p s s criminal libel convic- e r by armed assailants. The P n tion of Bambang Hary- May a e abduction comes days p o r murti, editor of Tempo u E after his reporting con- Marking World Press Freedom Day, o magazine. In what is 3 tradicts official accounts of an explo- p m e CPJ names the 10 Most Censored T considered a landmark sion that killed a senior al-Qaeda com- ruling, the court finds that civil libel Countries. North Korea heads the dis- mander. laws should apply. honor roll. (Graphic, page 20.) I 21 Ethiopia indicts more than a dozen journalists on charges of treason after March civil unrest prompts a massive crack- down on the independent press and the As They Said 19-28 More than two dozen journal- political opposition. (Story, page 22.) ists are arrested in Belarus while cov- m ering postelection demonstrations. “No one in China is jailed for i z A d January President Aleksandr Lukashenko, whose expressing their views.” i y y —Chu Maoming, Chinese Embassy a re-election was tainted by irregulari- S / P 3 CPJ reports that 47 journalists were ties, cracks down on independent cov- spokesman, to CPJ. More than 30 A killed in connection with their work in erage. (Story, page 8.) Chinese journalists are in prison 2005. More than 100 journalists died for their work, CPJ research 30 Jill Carroll, a free- shows. m on duty over the past two years, the i z lance reporter working A deadliest such period in a decade. d i y for The Christian Science y “I have no doubt that Iran and a S / 17 A Chinese court sentences Zhu Monitor, is freed in P Syria have gone out of their A Wanxiang to 10 years in prison and Baghdad after being way to inflame sentiments and P Wu Zhengyou to six years after they A held by kidnappers for have used this for their own pur- NAIROBI, Kenya sought to report on rural unrest in nearly three months. Carroll is among poses. The world ought to call the southeast province of Zhejiang. 40 journalists who have been abducted them on it.” (Related story, page 10.) in Iraq. —U.S. Secretary of State Condo- leezza Rice to reporters. Rice hortly after midnight on March 2, I can waste you!” Government forces Standard CEO Tom Mshindi said February April accused the two nations of exploit- police commandos stormed Kenya’s also raided the offices of the Kenya that the raids were part of Kenyan Soldest newspaper and private tele- Television Network (KTN), detaining authorities’ “growing intolerance” of ing controversy over published vision station, both owned by the Stan- staff and confiscating tapes and com- the media in general and The Stan- 1 Guatemala’s highest court strikes 4 The BBC says Niger is blocking its caricatures of the Prophet Muham- dard Group. The raids came two days down laws that criminalize expres- coverage of malnutrition in the central mad. (Related story, page 16.) puter hard drives. dard—which had published a string after several Standard journalists were sions deemed offensive to public offi- region of Maradi. The government The raids were widely covered by of exposés on official corruption— arrested for publishing “alarming” local media and the extensive foreign in particular. The media outlets cials. The country joins the growing pulls accreditation from a BBC crew “We’ll make sure we don’t hold statements in a story about political press that uses Nairobi as a hub to resumed normal activities later that ranks of Latin American nations that and bars officials from talking about someone for six or eight months.” machinations within President Mwai have eliminated desacato, or disre- the problem. —U.S. Maj. Gen. John Gardner to cover eastern Africa. While Informa- day, but the raids made waves within Kibaki’s troubled ruling coalition. spect, laws. Reuters in announcing a new policy tion Minister Mutahi Kagwe initially the Kenyan media, among Africa’s CBS cameraman Abdul 6 to promptly review detentions of Police disabled the printing press denied reports that the government largest and most diverse, and the Assailants storm the Mexican news- Ameer Younis Hussein 6 journalists by U.S. troops in Iraq. at The Standard, herded employees had ordered the police action, National opposition. On March 7, thousands of paper El Mañana, firing assault rifles is freed a year after he At least seven journalists were outside, and set fire to thousands of Security Minister John Michuki later Kenyans marched in Nairobi to and tossing a grenade. Reporter Jaime was detained by U.S. jailed for prolonged periods with- copies of the day’s edition. The rival said the raids were carried out to demand Kibaki’s resignation. “To hell Orozco is injured in the assault, the forces in Iraq. An Iraqi out charge in 2005. Nation newspaper reported that one protect state security. “If you rattle a with the snake government,” one P latest in a series of drug-fueled A court acquits him on hooded officer shouted to terrified snake, you must be prepared to be bit- placard read. I Standard workers: “I can smoke you! ten by it,” he warned. —Alexis Arieff 2 Spring | Summer 2006 Dangerous Assignments 3 FIRST PERSON o t a H d e m m a h o M / P Heading into Danger A An Iraqi reporter must hide his profession even as he is compelled to follow its demands. By Bassam Sebti Sebti, 26, is a special correspondent for doesn’t know who I am or what I do.