Record number of journalists jailed in 2012

The Committee to Protect Journalists survey for 2012 shows that the number of imprisoned journalists worldwide reached a record high. The CPJ has identified 232 journalists imprisoned in 2012. This is 53 more than in 2011.

CPJ began surveys of journalists in jail around the world in 1990. Governments often use charges of terrorism or other offenses against the state to silence any voices critical of the government.

Turkey is at the top of the CPJ list for jailing journalists There are at least 49 journalists in jail in Turkey. Along with Iran and China, the second and third worst jailers of journalists, Turkey makes use of vague anti-state laws to silence dissenting voices. Both in China and in Turkey, as well as Iran, the laws are used against dissenting minorities.

Anti-state charges such as terrorism, treason, and subversion were the most common charges against journalists. In 2012 at least 132 journalists are being held around the world on these types of charges.

After China, the fourth and fifth worst countries for jailing the press were Eritrea, the small African country, and Syria. Many journalists have been jailed without either charges being brought or any due process. A number are detained in secret prisons. During the period of U.S. renditions, Syria was often used as a place where terror suspects were interrogated and tortured There are 63 journalists being held throughout the world with no charges publicly disclosed against them.

The final five nations in the top ten nations jailing journalists are, in order: Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia. In the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, authorities often use charges such as hooliganism and drug possession unrelated to journalism to jail those critical of the regime. In many cases, CJP found these charges to be fabricated.

In Turkey many of the journalists held are Kurdish reporters and editors often charged with terrorism or anti-government plots. CJP found that Turkish statutes are broadly worded so that reporters covering banned groups or investigating sensitive topics can themselves face charges. Mehmet Birand of Kanal D TV in Istanbul said that the statutes make no distinction between journalists who are simply expressing their views and those who aid terrorism. Among those imprisoned in Turkey is Tayip Temel who edited the sole Kurdish language daily who is charged with belonging to a banned organization.

China, too, uses anti-state charges to jail those expressing dissident views or even providing coverage of protests by ethnic minorities. 32 of the journalists held in China are either Tibetans or Uighurs jailed for covering the ethnic tensions that escalated in 2008. Included is Dhondup Wangchen , a documentary film producer. Wangchen filmed a documentary about Tibetans living under Chinese rule.

CPJ claims that Eritrea iis the worst at abusing due process. The country holds 28 journalists, the fourth largest number in the world, even though Eritrea is a small African nation. None of these journalists have even been charged with a crime. The President Isaias Afwerki refuses to reveal anything about the jailed journalists. As many as five are believed to have died in custody, but the government refuses to confirm anything.

The complete CPJ report has many more detailed descriptions of the situation of jailed journalists. Crushing dissent takes priority over press freedom in many areas of the world.

UN demands Eritrea pullback from Djibouti border.

This conflict no doubt is a minor irritant to the US and in this case France both of whom use the tiny country as a giant military base.
This is from antiwar.com.


UN demands Eritrea pullback from Dijbouti border
UN demands that Eritrea pull back troops from Djibouti border, near Red Sea shipping lanes
EDITH M. LEDERERAP News
Jan 14, 2009 16:43 EST
The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday unanimously demanded that Eritrea quickly pull its troops back from the Djibouti border and acknowledge the dispute with its Horn of Africa neighbor in an important area overlooking critical Red Sea shipping lanes.

In June, the Security Council condemned Eritrea for launching an attack against the tiny port nation of Djibouti, a key U.S. ally in the war on terrorism, which the U.S. said left 44 Djiboutian soldiers dead and many more missing.
The council had called for a cease-fire and urged the two countries to withdraw their forces from the border. Djibouti did, but Eritrea did not.
The council's resolution Wednesday expressed "deep concern" that Eritrea has not withdrawn its forces and has refused to engage in dialogue with Djibouti or accept the offers of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the African Union and others to help resolve the dispute.
The council demanded that Eritrea "comply immediately" with its order to pull back its troops and start talking to resolve the conflict. It gave Eritrea five weeks to take action.
Uncertainty over the Djibouti-Eritrea border also led to hostilities twice in the 1990s. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, and their border is also in dispute.
In October, Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh warned the council that Eritrea's occupation of Djibouti's territory could lead to war again. He urged the council "to do everything possible" to persuade Eritrea to leave the territory it has occupied since March.
Eritrea had accused the United States of instigating the conflict.
More than 1,200 U.S troops are stationed in Djibouti, which hosts the base for an anti-terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa. France, which sponsored Wednesday's resolution, also has a base in Djibouti, its former colony.
In a letter to the council on Monday, Eritrea's U.N. Ambassador Araya Desta called the accusations against his country "unfounded."
"Eritrea has not occupied any land that belongs to Djibouti and it cannot accept a resolution that demands the `withdrawal of its forces' from its own territory," Desta said.

More fighting in Mogadishu

The overthrow of the Islamic government has plunged the capital back into anarchy. The Ethiopians are now facing a possible new conflict with Eritrea. No doubt the Ethiopians are confident that they will win out since they have the support of the US in arming and training their troops.

Fifth day of fighting in Somali capital
Insurgents battle Ethiopian troops backing government

Salad Duhul
Associated Press


Sunday, April 22, 2007


MOGADISHU, Somalia — Insurgents and Ethiopian troops backing Somali government forces fought gunbattles on Sunday during a fifth day of fighting in the Somali capital that was less intense than the previous two days.

A government official, however, warned on Sunday that it planned a major offensive against the insurgents soon and wanted Mogadishu residents to move from insurgent strongholds.

Two main hospitals said they admitted 26 civilians wounded during Sunday’s fighting. The casualties by midmorning contrasted sharply with the toll from the previous day, when the Elman Human Rights Organization and hospital officials said heavy fighting in northern and southern Mogadishu killed at least 52 people and wounded 120.

Sunday’s fighting was mainly in the southern Mogadishu neighbourhood of Tawfiq, with Somali government forces capturing Tawfiq Hotel that has been owned by a businessman sympathetic to the insurgents, said Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle.

“People in Mogadishu should vacate their homes which are located near the strongholds of terrorists and we will crack down on insurgents and terrorists very soon,” Jelle told The Associated Press on the phone.

Saturday’s violence was the worst in recent years, said Sudan Ali Ahmed, the chairman of the Elman Human Rights Organization.

“I call on the both sides to stop the fighting and shelling without any condition,” to save civilian lives, he told the AP by telephone.

In a separate development that could increase tension in the Horn of Africa, Eritrea suspended its membership of a regional body that mediated the Somali conflict.

The region is already tense because of the unresolved border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia that has seen the two countries go to war in the past. In recent months, the Somalia conflict has also been seen as a proxy war between the two, with each backing rival sides.

Eritrea suspended its membership of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development because of “a number of repeated and irresponsible resolutions” the organization has passed “that undermine regional peace and security,” the Eritrean Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Saturday.

“As such, the Eritrean government deemed it fit not to be party to developments that hold one accountable both legally and morally,” said the statement.

It did not make any direct reference to Somalia. But in recent years, the seven-nation Intergovernmental Authority on Development has spent most of its time trying to resolve conflicts such as Somalia, rather than focus on economic development for which it was set up.

U.S. officials have named Eritrea as a supporter the months-old insurgency in Mogadishu, something Eritrea has denied.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.

The transitional government was formed in 2004 with UN help, but has struggled to extend its control over the country.