"Independent media have expanded and diversified in Afghanistan, though the country remains a precarious and hazardous place for journalists and media organisations. Nine journalists have been killed between January 1, 2007 and the writing of these lines (though one case remains a little unclear), w
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hile abductions, physical violence, threats and intimidation against journalists continue with worrying frequency. While the establishment of a number of print, broadcast and online media outlets creates an atmosphere of hope for the growth of free media in the country, attacks on journalists, death threats and intimidation from armed insurgency owing allegiance to the Taliban continue. Worryingly, there has also been an increasing trend of official and governmental sources, not to mention the various armed groups that continue to have immense influence in the national houses of parliament, to threaten and harass media and media workers. The threats are clearly intended to silence debate about the new Afghanistan, and to stifle the development of an independent and critical media through which such debate would be conducted.
Religious hardliners continue to apply pressure on the Government of President Hamid Karzai to impose or support harsh measures against individuals and institutions who do not bow to fundamentalist ideas about the direction of Afghan society. This is despite the clear guarantee in Afghanistan’s Constitution of the right of citizens to freedom of expression. The most prominent example is that of Sayed Parvez Kambakhsh, a young journalist with the Jahan-e-Naw weekly and a student at Balkh University, Mazar-e-Sharif, who was sentenced to death after a four-minute closed-door hearing in January 2008, on charges of blasphemy." (Page 3)
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"This study considers the conflicts in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, primarily looking at restrictions, highlighting similarities and differences and drawing some general conclusions about the ways in which authorities and combatants restrict freedom of expression. It also sets out international stand
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ards pertaining to freedom of expression and information relevant to conflict situations." (Introduction)
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"The challenge to press freedom in Thailand in 2003 was much more critical than the year before. Since the Thai Rak Thai party took power in 2001, press-freedom violations have become much more obvious, and the situation was expected to worsen in 2004, the last year of the current government’s fou
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r-year term. Conflict of interests — between the government’s administrative responsibility and the business interests of political groups within the ruling party — has come into the picture. This has been most noticeable in the area of media and telecommunication business — the Thai Rak Thai’s main financial base. The media industry has been experiencing a high level of interference as acquisition of shares in media companies by groups and individuals with links to politicians or political parties has become common. To date, interference in media has come in various forms, including through content. This situation has become worrisome, putting at risk the country’s independent media and press freedom in Thailand. The violation of press freedom can be described as both structural and cultural. It poses a threat to the media’s system and makeup even as it reflects the media organizations’ weak structures, which have proved too accessible to outside interference. As a result, there has evolved a submissive culture that is vulnerable to intimidation." (Overview, page 1)
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