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FREEDOM HOUSE REPORT : Press Freedo



Subject: FREEDOM HOUSE REPORT : Press Freedom Worldwide 

COUNTRY RATINGS 
      Press Freedom Worldwide 
SOURCE:FREEDOM HOUSE
      January 1, 1999 



                                            LEGEND

      A = Laws and regulations that influence media content; scale:
broadcast, 0-15;  print,  0-15 

      B = Political pressures and controls on media content;   scale:
broadcast, 0-15; print,  0-15 

      C = Economic influences over media content; scale: broadcast, 0-15;
print,  0-15 

      D = Repressive actions (killing journalists, physical violence,
censorship, self-censorship, arrests, etc.); scale:
      broadcast, 0-5;  print,  0-5 

                         RATING:  free:  0-30;  partly free:  31-60;  not
free:  61-100 

                                       KEY TO THE CHART
                                         A
                                              B
                                                    C
                                                         D
                                                              Rating
                       Broadcast
                                         00
                                              00
                                                    00
                                                         00
                                                              00
                       Print
                                         00
                                              00
                                                    00
                                                         00
                                                              F(ree)




      Afghanistan This is probably the most severely restrictive country in
the world. An edict issued this year by
      religious police ordered the disposal of all television sets, VCRs,
and videocassettes within 15 days. The only
      Afghani TV station was shut down by the Taliban in 1996. 
      15     15    15     5     100 
      15     15    15     5     NF 

      Albania High production and import taxes, lack of advertising sources,
and lack of capital for equipment have
      created a bad economic and political environment for media. The media
law of 1997 is vague and does not
      revoke legal restrictions on the media. Potential for abuse and
intervention by the government still exists. Poor
      business management and a lack of trained journalists aggravate the
situation for press freedom in Albania. 
      8     11     5      1     56 
      8     11     10    2     PF 

      Algeria Journalists were consulted about a new information law, but
the draft did not provide sufficient
      guarantees of press freedom. Suspended newspapers did not resume
publishing. State monopoly on printing has
      not been lifted. The government threatened to suspend four newspapers
if they did not quickly settle debts with
      the state printer. The papers had been alleging abuse of power.
Islamists as well as the government threaten and
      attack news media. Journalists faced sentencing for publishing threats
and insults. One journalist, missing after
      being arrested by men in police uniform, was allegedly interrogated
and tortured. 
      15     15     10     0     83 
      13     10     15     5     NF 

      Angola There is limited freedom of information in areas controlled by
the government or UNITA. Journalists are
      threatened, harassed, and practice self-censorship in the few
newspapers which publish regularly. A journalist
      from the government-owned Journal de Angola was gunned down in June.
Several journalists were detained and
      accused of spying for opposition forces. Killings of journalists from
1995 remain unsolved. 
      15     13     7     2     74 
      15     13     7     2     NF 

      Antigua-Barbuda Major radio and television are state-owned. Two other
radio stations and the cable TV
      service are owned by the family of the island's long-time political
leader. News broadcasts are dominated by this
      political orientation. A small daily newspaper, independently owned,
faces economic as well as political pressures,
      and is frequently prevented from securing official information. 
      15     15     1     1     46 
      3       9       1     1     PF 

      Argentina The Senate commission for criminal matters approved a report
suggesting penalties of up to three
      years' imprisonment for journalists using hidden cameras or tape
recorders, or publishing information obtained
      from a third party who has used such methods. Another draft imposes
new taxes on magazines, cable TV, and
      advertising. The Supreme Court ordered a publisher to print a letter
written in reply to an article. It was reported
      that the minister of justice and security for Buenos Aires had
withheld information from a paper called "a bad daily
      newspaper which publishes permanent and unnecessary attacks against
me." Journalists were harassed,
      threatened, censored, fined, detained, and sacked in attempts to
stifle freedom of expression. A journalists' group
      cited the threat to press freedom by "the accelerated process of
concentration of media ownership." 
      6     7     3     2     41 
      5     9     5     4     PF 

      Armenia Freedom of the press has been substantially curtailed by the
government. All print, radio, and television
      media must register with the ministry of justice. Papers routinely
permit government censors to review material,
      and self-censorship is common to avoid suspension. There are over 120
television and radio stations registered.
      There are two state-owned TV channels and a number of private cable
broadcasters. There are also two
      independent radio stations in Yerevan. Scores of private newspapers
claim to be independent or openly affiliated
      with political parties. 
      8     8     6     0     56 
      8    13   13    0     PF 

      Australia The government respects the right to freedom of the press in
practice. While some political influence is
      exercised over national television, there are numerous, diverse
independent broadcast outlets. Journalists may be
      required by law to reveal sources. Economic power is reflected in the
concentration of ownership of the media,
      cross-ownership among media, and foreign-ownership of the press. To
address these problems the government
      has taken strict regulatory control to limit foreign ownership. The
self-monitoring Australian Press Council
      effectively addresses complaints against the media and challenges to
press freedom. 
      1     1     1     0     10 
      1     1     5     0     F 

      Austria National and local radio and television are mainly state-owned
but are generally protected from political
      interference by broadcasting law. Legal restrictions on the media on
morality or national security grounds are
      rarely invoked. Neo-Nazi groups occasionally harass and threaten
journalists. 
      3     2     0     0     12 
      3     2     2     0     F 

      Azerbaijan President Aliyev signed a decree abolishing official
military censorship. He called for the creation of
      an alternative body to protect state secrets. No law currently
regulates radio or TV, though licensing of broadcast
      media was proposed by the Cabinet of Ministers. Authorities still
retain leverage over individual journalists and
      independent media outlets. Thirty-five journalists who attempted to
cover a banned demonstration in September
      were beaten, and many had equipment confiscated. Several publications
were threatened with fines under the
      criminal code. During presidential elections, electronic and print
media devoted most coverage to the ruling party.
      The most important medium is the first state TV channel, AzTV-1, which
is the only broadcaster received
      throughout the republic. It generally provided free access to all
candidates, as required by the election law.
      Dozens of journalists were beaten, at least ten were arrested, and one
was fined for "moral damage" against a
      police official. 
      11     10     5       2     73 
      10     15     15     5     NF 

      Bahamas The political opposition criticizes the government freely and
frequently. Three daily and several weekly
      newspapers, all privately owned, express a variety of views on issues
of public interest, including varying degrees
      of criticism of the government and its policies. Foreign newspapers
and magazines are readily available. There is a
      government-run radio station and three privately owned radio
broadcasters. The country's sole television station,
      the state-owned Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas, presents a
variety of views, although opposition
      politicians claim with some justification that their views do not
receive as extensive coverage as those of the
      government. 
      1     2     1     0     7 
      1     1     1     0     F 

      Bahrain Freedom of speech and the press are sharply restricted.
Privately-owned newspapers refrain from
      criticizing the regime, while radio and television are
government-owned and offer only official propaganda. The
      government continued to prohibit the publication or broadcast of
information from the State Security Court in the
      trial of 18 accused of arson and possessing explosives. 
      13     12     7       0     69 
      13     13     10     1     NF 

      Bangladesh The media face more than 21 restrictive laws, dating from
1861 to 1991, which restrict freedom.
      The government also influences the print media by adjusting sales
quotas on newsprint and providing government
      advertising to friendly media. Radio and television are state
monopolies. BBC and CNN telecasts are received
      and sometimes censored. Cable television is often attacked as
"un-Islamic." Privatization of radio is being
      discussed. Nine major newspapers, owned by prominent families or the
Awami League, provide mostly bland
      support for their owners' positions and little editorialization. One
journalist was killed. His newspaper regularly
      featured articles exposing gang activity, political corruption, and
human rights abuses. At least 20 journalists were
      assaulted while covering political activities such as strikes, and
many were arrested and charged with threatening
      state security or for "indecent" news. Other newspaper offices were
raided and ransacked, with materials
      confiscated. 
      5     13      8      0     59 
      5     12     12     4     PF 

      Barbados State-owned television has a monopoly but regularly carries
political views critical of the government.
      Two of five radio stations are also owned by the government. Critics
sometimes accuse the government of
      discouraging reporting on sensitive issues. The two independent daily
newspapers nevertheless oppose
      government policy on occasion. 
      1     6     3     0     16 
      1     2     3     0     F 

      Belarus President Lukashenka signed amendments to the law on the
media, and the administrative offense code.
      These exacerbate one of the most restrictive press laws in Europe. The
government-appointed committee has
      ultimate power over the press. Registration requirements have been
tightened, criminal libel laws widened in
      scope, import and export of publications deemed to damage the
political and economic interests of the public has
      been prohibited, and the list of contents which newspapers are
required by law to publish has been enlarged. The
      government announced that state officials were officially forbidden to
make official documents and comments
      available for publication in the independent media. The National
Assembly amended the criminal code to make
      public insult or slander of the president punishable by up to four
years of prison or two years of hard labor. The
      association of journalists reports that the rights of journalists are
violated "constantly." About 500 mostly local
      newspapers and 39 magazines have been privatized. Independent
newspapers, however, have been severely
      harassed and restricted by censorship, intimidation of journalists,
and arbitrary fines and taxation. The government
      is the owner and chief financial backer of nine major publications. A
number of small privately-owned television
      stations are local operations that broadcast entertainment. The
government controls most of the distribution of
      national newspapers. Newspaper offices were robbed, journalists
arrested and interrogated, papers were
      threatened with closure, journalists were refused access to trials and
government sessions, and one NTV talk
      show was canceled because its host called Lukashenka a "boor." 
      13     14     5       5     80 
      14     13     11     5     NF (upgrade is technical adjustment only) 

      Belgium The government runs several radio and television networks but
does not control program content.
      Programs are supervised by a civilian board drawn from representative
political, linguistic, and opinion groups.
      Private radio and television operate with government licenses. The
transmitter of Radio Campus-Bruxelles, a
      university-based independent station, was seized at the request of the
Flemish community. 
      1     1     0     2     9 
      1     2     2     0     F 

      Belize Freedom of the press is guaranteed constitutionally, but the
authorities may make exceptions in the
      interests of defense, public safety, public order, morality, or public
health. There are six privately owned weekly
      newspapers, half of which are directly affiliated with major political
parties. The first privately owned commercial
      radio station began to broadcast in 1990. Radio call-in programs
freely criticize the government and speak on
      political matters. There are eight privately owned TV stations. Though
the Broadcasting Corporation of Belize is
      nominally independent, the government exerts influence over the BCB's
two radio stations through financial
      subsidies. BCB studios are used by the government to produce partisan
propaganda. The government is the
      largest buyer of radio and television time. Half of the six privately
owned weekly newspapers (no dailies) are
      subsidized by political parties. Journalists may seek greater access
to official information through the freedom of
      information act. 
      4     4     5     0     25 
      2     5     5     0     F 

      Benin A government body oversees media operations and requires
broadcasters to submit weekly lists of
      planned programs and publishers to provide copies of all publications.
The media generally do not comply. About
      a dozen private newspapers criticize the government freely and often,
but their effect on public opinion is limited
      because of their urban concentration. The majority of Beninese are
illiterate. Private radio and television stations
      began broadcasting in December 1997. The government, however,
continues to own and operate the media most
      influential in reaching the public. Most news programming covers
government officials' activities. Two journalists
      were sentenced to six month prison terms for slander after a minister
took issue with the publication of an article
      accusing him of misappropriating funds. 
      9     5     4     0     30 
      3     4     5     0     F 

      Bhutan Freedom of speech is restricted, and criticism of the king is
not permitted, except indirectly during
      National Assembly discussions. The state-owned weekly Kuensel,
Bhutan's only regular publication, is
      government-controlled and mainly offers pro-regime propaganda.
Satellite dishes are banned. Government
      ministries regularly review editorial material and have the power to,
and regularly do, suppress or change content.
      All private television reception is banned in the country. Since 1989
all television antennas and satellite receiving
      dishes have been ordered dismantled. 
      15     15     10     0     80 
      14     14      8      4     NF 

      Bolivia Journalists are still bound by the 1925 press law, under which
it is a criminal offense punishable by up to
      two years in prison to defame or slander public officials (the
sentence can be doubled if the official in question is
      the president, vice president, or a cabinet minister). While physical
attacks on journalists have become increasingly
      rare, legal action remains a serious threat. Journalist associations
are working with legislators to update the press
      law in 1999. 
      4     3     2     0     18 
      4     3     2     0     F 

      Bosnia-Herzegovina The Dayton Accords give peacekeeping forces the
authority to regulate broadcast media,
      and censor or suspend media that consistently violate the spirit of
the accords. This has been used sparingly. The
      federal code criminalizes libel, and has been used against several
newspapers. Laws are inadequate to protect
      independent media. About 25% of the newspapers are privatized, and
some state-run papers are partially
      privatized. Two TV and several radio stations in the Muslim area are
private. In the Croat area, the commercial
      HTV strongly supports the HDZ party, promotes hatred and intolerance
and, though private, receives aid from
      local authorities. In the Serb area, private broadcasters are aided by
political parties. There are several
      foreign-funded media, including the Open Broadcast Network (OBN) which
is harassed by the government. Due
      to financial constraints on the print media, TV and radio are the main
source of news, and they are closely aligned
      with the ruling parties. Journalists have great difficulty in getting
news. The distribution system has private and state
      controls. There were at least three cases—two print, one
TV—of harassed journalists. 
      9     10     8     1     56 
      9     7     10     2     PF 

      Botswana Charges made two years earlier against journalists were
dropped for insufficient evidence. A media
      consultative council was formed to press for an FOI act, and formalize
access to official information. 
      6     6     4     0     30 
      5     4     5     0     F 

      Brazil The laws are relatively favorable for press freedom, but the
dominating commercial control of O Globo in
      both print and broadcast seriously limits the diversity of news and
opinion. In addition, one FM radio was shut
      down without a legal warrant, and a print and a TV journalist were
shot to death in separate incidents. 
      3     5     5     5     35 
      3     8     3     3     PF 

      Brunei This hereditary sultanate lacks the democratic means to change
the government or provide free access to
      information or a free flow of news. The sole privately-owned newspaper
practices self-censorship on political and
      religious issues. The state-owned radio and television operate the
only local broadcast media, and their services
      are uncritical of the government. A cable network offers international
programming. 
      14     15      5      0     74 
      14     15     11     0     NF 

      Bulgaria The president vetoed a radio and TV law which stipulated that
only Bulgarian could be used; he also
      rejected a ban on prime time ads. State TV is the only network
covering the whole country, while a few private
      networks cover smaller regions only. One paper was bombed, a
journalist was splashed with acid, and the bank
      account of one paper was blocked for its criticism. Laws permit
imprisonment for libel. All print media are private.
      There are more than 60 private radio stations. German publishers
control about 80% of the print press market.
      The government controls the printing and distribution of newspapers. 
      7     6     5     1     39 
      5     3     7     5     PF 

      Burkina Faso Though the media are freer than in many African
countries, the murder of a weekly journalist who
      was also president of the independent newspaper association caused
concern. He had published articles critical of
      the authorities, accusing the head of state's brother of complicity in
a murder. 
      10     6     3     0     39 
      5       6     7     2     PF 

      Burma The State Peace and Development Council continued to exercise
absolute control over domestic media
      and expanded its control expelling or detaining six foreign reporters
who were critical or who interviewed Aung
      San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader under house arrest. 
      15     15     15     2     97 
      15     15     15     5     NF 

      Burundi Regional ethnic hatreds and outright war continued to
destabilize Burundi. Copies of a Hutu party paper
      were seized, and a press agency was shut down by intelligence agents. 
      15     15      5      3     83 
      15     15     10     5     NF 

      Cambodia Since journalists, including foreign correspondents, reported
the recent elections as flawed, the
      government has threatened to shut down two local newspapers and expel
foreign reporters. One journalist close
      to the local Communist party was shot. 
      7     15     5     2     62 
      8     15     5     5     NF 

      Cameroon Laws applying prison terms for "insults" and libel are widely
used to restrain journalists. Some are
      arrested or detained, serve terms, are released, and then rearrested.
A climate of fear and restraint prevails. One
      man received two years in prison and a heavy fine for "spreading false
information." A paper was suspended for
      six months. Two journalists were assaulted while reporting; five were
arrested on separate charges. 
      15     5         7     5     77 
      15     15     10     5     NF 

      Canada Despite its tradition of broad press freedom, Canada permitted
surveillance of a broadcaster
      investigating police corruption. Two newspaper reporters were
wiretapped by police. A Quebec paper was
      harassed over the language issue. A CBC reporter's home was broken
into after a report on Hell's Angels. And a
      reporter, critic of the Sikhs, was shot to death. 
      1     2     1     2     16 
      2     2     3     3     F 

      Cape Verde Press laws promise full freedom for journalists, but
reality is quite different. State-controlled radio,
      television, and the press do not adequately reflect the multiparty
political system. Most independent newspapers
      suffer from financial pressures. They do, however, criticize
government policies and officials, who sometimes use
      strict libel laws to attack journalists. One commercial radio station
was suspended apparently for political reasons.

      5     5     5     0     33 
      5     7     5     1     PF 

      Central African Republic The regime is slow to permit opposition
voices to appear on state-run media. These
      are mouthpieces of the ruling regime. About a dozen private newspapers
are published from time to time. They
      provide a variety of views on political and social issues, including
criticism of government policies. The new
      UN-sponsored Radio Minurca provides non-partisan educational programs,
and rebroadcasts international news.

      12     12     5     0     60 
      12     11     8     0     PF