The Not-So-Free Press, Worldwide [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
After giving an interview to Afghanistan [3]'s Tolo TV in which she called the Afghan parliament "worse than a stable or a zoo," because "at least there you have a donkey that carries a load and a cow that provides milk," Malalai Joya [4] was suspended from Parliament. Joya, a young lawmaker and rights activist, has been threatened by warlords, while Afghan officials have sought to intimidate Tolo TV [5]. Human Rights Watch [6] is calling for [7] Joya to be reinstated. In Thailand [8], the government is closing down community radio stations, allegedly for using "illegal frequencies." Rights activists say the shut-downs are at least partially due to stations having aired interviews with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [9]. In Iraq [10], local journalists and news organizations, along with the Committee to Protect Journalists [11], are protesting the government's ban on journalists reporting from attack scenes. Lastly, the OpenNet Initiative found that [12] 25 of 40 countries it studied "block Web sites for political, social or other reasons." The "most extensive filters" are imposed by China [13], Iran [14], Myanmar, Syria [15], Tunisia and Vietnam.