Armies of Liberation

(MCR)While ABC’s Peter Jennings pegged the crowd, for Bill Clinton’s Philadelphia appearance with John Kerry, at “as many as thirty thousand [30,000] people,” CBS’s Byron Pitts on Monday night touted “an estimated crowd of some one hundred thousand [100,000] supporters.” Pitts relayed how Clinton’s mission was to “remind supporters of the good old days when employment was up, the deficit was down and a Democrat was in the White House.” Pitts failed to remind viewers that when Clinton ran for re-election in 1996, the unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent, just two-tenths lower than today’s rate.

As much as we bristle at the media bias in the US against President Bush, and the left is still up in arms that Indymedia’s servers were seized, there’s a vast gulf to cross to real censorship.

ifex.org”>IFEX: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked North Korea as the world’s worst country for journalists for the past three years. For a country whose government believes the duty of all journalists is to publicise the “greatness” of President Kim Jong-il and demonstrate the “superiority of North Korean socialism,” independent reporting is virtually non-existent.

A new RSF report, “Journalism in the service of a totalitarian dictatorship,” reveals that at least 40 journalists have been subjected to “re-education” or sent to concentration camps for such errors as misspelling a senior official’s name.

The ruling party controls all news media and forces all journalists to work according to a “permanent information plan,” which sets four priorities for reporting, says RSF. These include praising the President, extolling the “superiority of North Korean socialism,” denouncing “imperialist and bourgeois corruption” and accusing foreign powers of plans to invade the country. only non-governmental news sources are foreign-language radio stations which broadcast in the Korean language. Radio and television sets in North Korea are pre-set to state media frequencies and those who listen to foreign radio stations risk imprisonment. Read the full report here (pdf).

In RSF’s 2004 global press freedom index, North Korea ranks alongside Cuba, Burma, China and Vietnam as the world’s worst places for journalists. The index rates countries according to the degree to which independent media are persecuted or censored. This year, the worst performing countries are located in East Asia and the Middle East. See:article.

This is the worldwide round up for last week:
ALERTS ISSUED BY THE IFEX CLEARING HOUSE DURING THE PAST WEEK

18 OCTOBER 2004
Somalia – Self-proclaimed president’s militia threaten and shoot at journalist in Mogadishu (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61980/

Côte d’Ivoire – French peacekeepers rescue missing journalist from rebel zone (CPJ) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61982/

Zimbabwe – Justice, legal and parliamentary affairs minister says government will not allow opposition party access to public media (MISA) – alert update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61983/

Peru – Journalists and camera operators assaulted (IPYS) – action alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61984/

Indonesia – IFJ welcomes Press Council decision (IFJ) – press release/alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61985/

International – CPJ to present press freedom awards to journalists from Belarus, Burma, Burundi and the United States (CPJ) – press release

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61987/

Macedonia – ARTICLE 19 issues second memorandum on draft access to information law (ARTICLE 19) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61988/

Zimbabwe – Bill to tighten media law introduced (MISA) – alert update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61989/

Iran – Human Rights Watch calls for release of journalist and Internet writer Omid Memarian (Human Rights Watch) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61990/

Russia – Killers go free 10 years after Moscow journalist’s murder (CPJ) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61991/

Belgium/Europe – IFJ vows to continue fight for protection of sources in Tillack case (IFJ) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61993/

19 OCTOBER 2004
International – Newspaper organisations protest United Nations examination of editorial quality (WAN) – press release

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61994/

Philippines – Radio commentator killed (IFJ) – press release/alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61995/

Togo – Government promises to guarantee journalist’s safety following death threats (RSF) – alert update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61996/

Peru – Local government officials force their way into radio station (IPYS) – action alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/61998/

Greece – Sports journalist victim of violent attack (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62000/

Iraq – IFJ and Media Alliance welcome release of Australian journalist in Iraq (IFJ) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62002/

Belarus – Russian journalist attacked outside Minsk government office and detained by police (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62004/

Turkey – RSF raises concerns about press freedom situation; journalist held for 12 hours at Istanbul anti-terrorist police headquarters (RSF) – press release/alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62006/

Namibia – Court protects witness’s identity (MISA) – alert update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62008/

Iran – Journalist released after more than 18 months in prison (RSF) – press release/alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62011/

20 OCTOBER 2004
Nepal – Detained journalist released, another journalist attacked (CEHURDES) – alert update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62013/

Colombia – Newspaper vendor killed in Santa Marta (FLIP) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62014/

Peru – “La Voz de Bagua Grande” radio station owner and journalist threatened (IPYS) – action alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62017/

Liberia – Arrest warrant issued against journalist (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62022/

Venezuela – Journalist receives death threats (IPYS) – action alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62040/

Sri Lanka – Four years after his murder, journalist Mayilvaganam Nimalarajan’s family demands justice (RSF) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62042/

Sri Lanka – Grenade attack on television station (FMM) – press release/alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62044/

Venezuela – Authorities raid three radio stations and a cable television station in Maracaibo (IPYS) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62046/

Ukraine – Defamation case ruling threatens sole opposition television station (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62047/

Israel/Palestine – IPI report says press freedom deteriorating (IPI) – press release/alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62058/

21 OCTOBER 2004
Iraq – Facts on Iraq: Numbers show growing, evolving dangers in covering conflict (CPJ) – press release/alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62059/

United Kingdom/United States – IPI condemns British authorities’ seizure of two Indymedia Web servers (IPI) – action alert update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62060/

Kazakhstan – Court decision puts pressure on newspaper (Adil Soz) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62062/

Peru – Journalists forced to flee from El Estrecho, capital of Putumayo district (IPYS) – action alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62064/

Iran – European online press rally to the support of five imprisoned online journalists (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62068/

Belarus – Journalist killed (IPI) – action alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62070/

Colombia – Journalist under threat of attack in Popayán (FLIP) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62071/

Burma – New military government suspends 17 publications (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62075/

Spain – ETA renews threats against journalists (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62077/

Belarus – RSF voices alarm over wave of press attacks during elections (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62081/

22 OCTOBER 2004
Sierra Leone – Justice minister threatens to jail editor (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62083/

China – “New York Times” researcher formally arrested (CPJ) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62085/

Burma – SEAPA warns of worsening press conditions following prime minister’s dismissal (SEAPA) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62086/

Fiji Islands – Photographer assaulted by parliamentary guard (PINA) – press release/alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62087/

Serbia and Montenegro – ANEM managing board withdraws nominations for Broadcast Council members (ANEM) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62088/

South Africa – FXI’s Anti-Censorship Programme releases fourth progress report on state of freedom of expression – press release

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62089/

United States – Two reporters suspended for attending anti-Bush concert (RSF) – alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62090/

Kazakhstan – Journalist faces harassment from police (Adil Soz) – action alert

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62092/

The Gambia – Cabinet decides to revoke controversial media law (CPJ) – press release/update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62093/

Azerbaijan – Journalist Rauf Arifoglu sentenced to five years in prison (RSF) – alert update

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62097/

International – CJFE to present International Press Freedom Awards to African journalists, Tara Singh Hayer Memorial Award to missing Franco-Canadian journalist (CJFE) – press release

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/62098/

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