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China, Cuba, two African nations are top jailers of journalists

Ethiopian crackdown fuels worldwide increase; U.S. is 6th among nations

New York, December 13, 2005—China, Cuba, Eritrea, and Ethiopia are the world’s leading jailers of journalists in 2005, together accounting for two-thirds of the 125 editors, writers, and photojournalists imprisoned around the world, according to a new analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The United States, which is holding journalists in detention centers in Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, rose to sixth among countries jailing journalists, just behind Uzbekistan and tied with Burma, CPJ found.

“Antistate” allegations, including subversion, divulging state secrets, and acting against the interests of the state, were the most common charges used to imprison journalists worldwide. Seventy-eight journalists were jailed under such charges, many by the Chinese and Cuban governments.

A sudden and far-reaching crackdown on the Ethiopian press this fall fueled an increase in the number of journalists jailed worldwide, according to CPJ’s census of those held on December 1, 2005. The global tally is three more than the 122 imprisoned journalists CPJ found in its 2004 census. Twenty-four countries imprisoned journalists in 2005, reflecting an increase from the 20 nations included in the 2004 census.

“We’re disturbed to see the number of jailed journalists rise, and we’re particularly troubled that the list of the worst abusers now includes Ethiopia and the United States,” CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. “Journalists covering conflict, unrest, corruption, and human rights abuses face a growing risk of incarceration in many countries, where governments seek to disguise their repressive acts as legitimate legal processes.”

CPJ’s full list of imprisoned journalists is available at:

http://www.cpj.org/attacks05/pages05/imprison_05.html.

For the seventh consecutive year, China was the world’s leading jailer of journalists, with 32 imprisoned. Fifteen, or nearly half, of the cases in China involve Internet journalists; more than three-quarters of the cases were brought under vague “antistate” laws.

Cuba ranked second, with 24 reporters, writers, and editors behind bars, most of them jailed in the country’s massive March 2003 crackdown on dissidents and the independent press. Eritrea was the leader among African countries, with 15 journalists in prison, many of them held incommunicado in secret jails for reasons the government would not fully explain, according to CPJ research.

Neighboring Ethiopia imprisoned 13 journalists, all of whom were swept up by authorities seeking to quell dissent amid civil unrest in November. Ethiopian police blocked most private newspapers from publishing; raided newspaper offices, confiscating computers, documents and other materials; and issued a “wanted list” of editors, writers, and dissidents.

Uzbekistan ranked fifth among countries, with six journalists in prison. Burma and the United States followed, with five apiece. U.S. detention centers in Iraq were holding four journalists, while the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo held one.

Here are other trends and details that emerged in CPJ’s analysis:

* Forty-one journalists whose work appeared primarily on the Web or in other electronic forms were in jail, accounting for just under one-third of the cases worldwide.

* Nine were charged with criminal defamation, the second most common allegation used to imprison journalists worldwide.

* Another five were jailed for reporting what governments called “false” information.

* No charge was publicly disclosed in 11 cases. The United States and Eritrea each account for five such cases.

* The longest-serving journalists in CPJ’s census were Chen Renjie and Lin Youping, who were jailed in China in July 1983 for publishing a pamphlet titled Ziyou Bao (Freedom Report). Co-defendant Chen Biling was later executed.

One of the imprisoned Chinese journalists, Shi Tao, was honored with CPJ’s 2005 International Press Freedom Award. A freelance journalist for Internet publications and an editor for Dangdai Shang Bao, a business newspaper, Shi is serving a 10-year sentence for “leaking state secrets abroad.” Shi was imprisoned in November 2004 for posting online notes detailing the government’s instructions on how the news media were to cover the 15th anniversary of the military crackdown in Tiananmen Square. The government did not classify the instructions as secret until after the fact.

CPJ is waging a campaign seeking Shi’s release, collecting signatures from prominent journalists and press freedom advocates. Two of three imprisoned journalists honored by CPJ since 2003—Burma’s Aung Pwint and Cuba’s Manuel Vázquez Portal—were freed due in part to the international advocacy campaigns of CPJ and others. The third, Burmese documentary filmmaker Nyein Thit, remains in jail.

CPJ believes that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their jobs. The organization has sent letters expressing its serious concerns to each country that has imprisoned a journalist.

In addition, CPJ sent requests during the year to Eritrean and U.S. officials seeking details in the cases in which journalists were held without publicly disclosed charges. Eritrean officials did not respond directly to CPJ, but Information Minister Ali Abdu told Agence France-Press that the jailings were an internal issue that did not warrant explanation. Journalists jailed in Iraq were deemed security threats by U.S. and Iraqi officials, according to U.S. military officials, but those officials would not disclose specific charges or supporting evidence. A U.S. military spokesman would not discuss the detention in Guantánamo.

CPJ’s list is a snapshot of journalists incarcerated at midnight on December 1, 2005. It does not include the many journalists imprisoned and released throughout the year; accounts of those cases can be found at www.cpj.org <http://www.cpj.org/> . CPJ conducted its annual census one month earlier than in past years to provide a more timely year-end analysis.

CPJ considers journalists imprisoned when governments deprive them of their liberty because of their work. Journalists remain on CPJ’s list until the organization determines with reasonable certainty that they have been released.

Journalists who either disappear or are abducted by nonstate entities, including criminal gangs, rebels, or militant groups, are not included on the imprisoned list. Their cases are classified as “missing” or “abducted.” Details of these cases are also available on CPJ’s Web site.

Journalists who, through their work, attitude or principled stands, have shown a strong commitment to press freedom

The winner is Chinese journalist Zhao Yan, a Beijing researcher for the US daily the New York Times and ex-reporter for the magazine China Reform. He has been imprisoned since 17 September 2004 in Beijing. For supposed fraud and disclosing state secrets. The 43-year-old journalist faces execution for allegedly passing on notes to a New York Times colleague about rumours of tension between the current and former Chinese presidents.  The authorities keep putting off his trial.

A media outlet that exemplifies the battle for the right to inform the public and to be informed

The winner is Afghanistan’s main privately-owned TV station, Tolo TV. It was founded by an Afghan-Australian media group, Moby Capital Partners, and broadcasts very independent news programmes (and also music) that contrast with the dry style of the government TV station. Since Tolo’s October 2004 launch, the religious authorities have called its programmes “immoral and anti-Islamic” and are pressing very hard for the station to be banned.  Despite these threats, Tolo TV continues and has just started the first talk-show for Afghan women, called “Bonu.”

A defender of press freedom

The winner is the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ, formerly SOJON), founded in Mogadishu in 2002 to defend journalists and press freedom in Somalia, which has been torn apart by civil war since 1991. The NUSOJ has tackled dozens of urgent cases, doing investigations and alerting international organisations and media, as well as writing reports on the media conditions in a country ruled by warlords. Its secretary-general and the president of its supreme council were forced to flee Somalia in early September 2005 after being attacked, hounded and threatened by militiamen.

A cyber-dissident prevented from informing the public online

The winner is Massoud Hamid, a 29-year-old journalism student and one of the very few journalists who has managed to take and send abroad photographs of a pro-Kurdish demonstration in Syria. For this he was sent to prison for three years on 10 October 2004 and has spent the first year in solitary confinement. He was tortured several times and beaten on the soles of his feet with a studded whip. His feet are now completely paralysed and he suffers from dizziness and back pain.

By honouring a journalist, a media outlet, a defender of press freedom and a cyber-dissident, Reporters Without Borders and the Fondation de France are alerting people to the wide range of attacks on the right to inform the public and to be informed and to the need to actively support press freedom. Each prize is worth 2,500.Euro.

Since it was set up, the Reporters Without Borders - Fondation de France Prize has been awarded to:  Zlatko Dizdarevic (Bosnia-Herzegovina - 1992), Wang Juntao (China - 1993), André Sibomana (Rwanda - 1994), Christina Anyanwu (Nigeria - 1995), Isik Yurtçu (Turkey - 1996), Raúl Rivero (Cuba - 1997), Nizar Nayyouf (Syria - 1998), San San Nweh (Burma - 1999), Carmen Gurruchaga (Spain - 2000), Reza Alijani (Iran - 2001), Grigory Pasko (Russia - 2002), Ali Lmrabet (Morocco - 2003) and Hafnaoui Ghoul (Algeria - 2004).

Runners-up:

“Journalist” category:

- Daniel Coronell (Colombia)

Outspoken head of the news programme “Noticias Uno” on the TV station Canal Uno, contributor to the magazine Semana  and a critic of President Álvaro Uribe.   He was forced to leave the country for the United States after months of pressure, threats and harassment because he investigated killings in the “peace community” of San José de Apartadó (in the northwestern province of Antioquia).

-Hector Fernando Maseda Gutiérrez (Cuba)

A nuclear engineer who was dismissed by the regime in the late 1980s for “ideological errors” and in the 1990s joined the small independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro. He is also vice-president of the Liberal Democratic Party.  He was arrested in the March 2003 crackdown on dissidents, accused of “undermining the country’s independence and territorial integrity” and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

- Akbar Ganji (Iran)

A journalist with the reformist dailies Sobh-é-Emrouz, Neshat and Asr-é-Azadegan, editor of the weekly Rah-é-No and a symbolic Iranian media figure.  He was given a six-year prison sentence for “undermining state security,” “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic and the holy principles of the regime” and for “making propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”

-Tulkin Karaev (Uzbekistan)

Correspondent for Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and the Iranian radio station Mashhad in the southern town of Karshi and a contact for the rights group The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). He was the target of a witch-hunt by the authorities after the violence in Andijan on 13 May 2005.  He was jailed for 10 days and then left the country.

“Media outlet”:

- Democratic Voice of Burma (Burma)

Norwegian-based radio and TV station founded in 1992 by a group of pro-democracy students who survived the 1988 killings and one of the few sources of news not subject to the military regime’s harsh censorship. Its correspondents in Thailand and informants inside Burma are regularly harassed by the Burmese secret police and the Thai police.

- Serambi Indonesia (Indonesia)

Only six days after the December 2004 tsunami that devastated the province of Aceh, the remaining staff of Serambi Indonesia handed out nearly 10,000 copies of the paper free to the disaster victims. The paper has shown its independence and energy in the face of pressure from the security forces and separatist rebels.

“Defender of press freedom”:

- The Save Independent Radio Movement (Nepal)

The army burst into radio stations on 1 February 2005 and banned independent stations from broadcasting news, putting more than 1,000 journalists out of work in the space of a few weeks.  The journalists formed the Movement, which persuaded dozens of stations to resume

broadcasting news.

- Gemma Damalerio (Philippines)

The wife of journalist Edgar Damalerio has suffered much since he was murdered in May 2002.  She went into hiding for two years to escape the accomplices of the killer (a policemen protected by his superiors) and is now guarded day and night by armed justice ministry agents. However, she has just won a victory with the jailing of her husband's murderer for life. But those behind the killing are still walking free.

"Unlike historians glorified by our military leaders, he had treated history as history and not as an object to be manipulated by racists," said a former Shan student of Than Tun.

He was in Mandalay to attend Ludu Daw Amar's 90th birthday. The immediate cause of his death is still unexplained. He was 83.

Short account of Dr Than Tun's life:

Childhood name: Nga Ti "Kid"

Date of birth: 6 April 1923

Place of birth: Daungyi village, Ngathaingchaung township

Parents: U Hpo Thwe and Daw Thin of Yegyi township

Marital status: Married to Daw Khin Yi, had 4 daughters and 1 son

Home address: 155/Ga-gyi, Yawgi Kyaung Road, Hlaing quarter #11, Hlaing township, Rangoon

1930: attends school

1938: attends Rangoon University    1947   Bachelor degree with History honors

1950: Master degree

1952: Bachelor of Law

1956: Ph.D, London

1958: Lecturer at Rangoon university

1965-82: Professor at Mandalay Arts and Science University

Agreeing to disagree is a fundamental right only of those who live under a democratic system. Under a military dictatorship system, disagreeing or dissident opinion can be seen as a crime.

Today, Burma is still under the yoke of an inhumane military dictatorship. The downfall of Gen. KhinNyunt and the promotion of Gen. Soe Win showed the factional conflict in the military which the generals used to say indivisible army. It's a showdown between the infantry force and the military intelligence service. According to analysts in Rangoon, It's a counter coup in the military. As some people dream, it is not a conflict between soft-line democrats and the hard-line autocrats. It does not show a political reform nor a policy shift of the junta.

People of Burma have shown their opinion very clearly in the 1990 General Elections, in which the National League for Democracy won a landslide victory. That means people disagree with the military dictatorship system. For that reason, the military regards its own people as its opposition and it changes the whole nation into a prison state. The regime never allowed people expressing a different opinion and it tightly controlled all types of media to be its propaganda network.

In the latest history of mankind, no dictator loves to promote the press to be a free media. No dictator loves to allow the existence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, especially the Article 19. On the question of Burma, it is also not an exceptional case and the right to freedom of opinion and expression has been under the boots for over 40 years together with the Article 20 or the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

According to today people's general opinion, the freedom of expression becomes one of the most important human rights issue in these days. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that everyone has the right to freedom of expression. There is no question of difference of race or difference of nationality or difference of religion. Protecting Article 19 is the major challenge to the journalists as well as the democrats of today.

The International Community is pressing the Burmese junta to abandon the autocracy and to go along on a right track of democratic reform. But the junta's Senior General Than Shwe turns a deaf ear to the International Community including his own people and entrenches himself in military absolutism.

Burma's military regime has long been ostracized by Western governments for its poor human rights record. Burma is also notorious for suppression of press and journalism. That's why Burma becomes '' the largest prison for journalists in Asia ''.   The political situation in Burma continues to stall at an impasse between the democratic oppositions and the military regime. The media is strictly censored and political opposition parties are denied permission to have computers or to publish their own bulletins. All the publishers of journals, magazines and publications must apply to get a permission or registration license. A publisher also needs clearance of military authorities which is a testimony of not involving with politics. Actually, this kind of license is no other than a yoke of the dictatorship that put on the shoulder of a writer or a journalist.

It is usual for the SPDC to ban freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and travel. The regime also continues to systematically monitor citizens' movements and communications. They search homes without warrants at any time. They open and check parcels and mails which they suspect. To tap a phone is a common job of the military intelligence personnel. In such a country, no body dares to express his or her opinion fearlessly. To choose a career of journalism in Burma under dictatorship is the most dangerous thing of all. For they have to live under the watchful eyes of the military intelligence service.

Here, for instance, I would like to explain the SPDC or junta's day-to-day administrative system. The basic administration is done by the ward-ship council. Every ward-ship council has a detailed map which shows the situation of all streets, building and houses. If you are a civil servant then your house will be colored green in the map. If you are an NLD or a political dissident, your house is marked with red color. And a house of writer or journalist is painted black. Moreover, every ten-house has one head-man. The ten-house headman must watch the people who live there. He has to inform the situation of those houses to local authorities in daily basic. The military backed USDA members are also the informers of the respective authorities. Therefore, the situation of each family is looked like living in a prison-cell. Because of such system, Burmese people are feeling as if they were prisoners. Then, Burma becomes notorious as a prison state.

Then you may imagine, a journalist in Burma is almost alike a prisoner in his own country. Here, the case of Ne Minn (a former BBC stringer) is a good example. In 1989, according to official Rangoon radio, Ne Minn was charged with spreading false news and sending the anti-government documents to the BBC. He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by a military tribunal in Insein Prison and served 9 years. Ne Min was re-arrested in last February by the MIS accusing him of reporting false news to unlawful organizations outside the country. He and 4 other ex-political prisoners were sentenced to a long-term imprisonment on 7 May 2004.

Another example was about Than Win Hlaing, a writer and journalist, who was secretly thrown into Tha-yet Prison. Ation was taken against him in the summary court under the Publication Act 17/20, and he was sentenced for 7 years imprisonment in June 2000.

He published a book around 1995 titled '' Historic Sculptures that tells the Most Prominent Figures of Burma '', and then in 2000 he republished it as second edition with some rewritten passages.

The second edition was submitted in accord with the censor-board's rules and getting permission from publication scrutiny board or the PSB. The problem was that one of the articles was portrayed about General Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the essence of the article seemed directly criticizing the junta's policies. Although the PSB had already permitted, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) charged the author under the Publication Act 17/20. He was sentenced for 7 years imprisonment in June 2000.

Burma did earn a good reputation for press freedom after it gained independence from Britain between 1948 and 1962. At that time there were over 30 private newspapers and no need to undergo a censorship board. But it was really a short period that came to an end when the military seized power in March 1962.

In the wake of the military coup, the junta nationalized all newspapers and introduced harsh publishing legislation. It also established a Press Scrutiny Board (PSB), which has been imposing the strictest censorship codes on all forms of publications including calendars, advertisements and obituaries.

The military dictators' constant companion or major instrument of censorship is the Printers and Publishers Registration Law of 1962, which was promulgated shortly after the military coup by Gen. Ne Win. According to this law, all forms of books, magazines, periodicals, scripts of songs and films must be submitted to the Press Scrutiny Board (PSB). Believe it or not, even brand-name papers for consumers' goods must be passed through the censorship process.

Manuscripts for books must be submitted to the PSB before printing and again afterwards put forward for checking that no changes have been made. Magazines are more risky that the editors must submit printed-copies for censorship. If the PSB objected an article, the editors have to remove it and rearrange the pages orderly. Sometime it was not allowed to bring out for the respective month blaming every line in the magazine opposed the regime. Tightly controlled by the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), the PSB has full power to decide on both the number of circulation and the content of the publication. Moreover, the cover designs and paintings of the publications must be taken permission separately from the PSB.

If a rejected painting or article brought out, the editor and publisher would deserve a severe imprisonment for breaking the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Law.

In such a manner, Burma has held the title of the world's worst suppressor of the press and journalism for more than forty years,. It still retains its notorious reputation for jailing writers, poets, editors, publishers, photographers and journalists for supporting democratic idea in their writings and publications.

The next example was about the banning of fortnightly Khit-Sann Journal. On 1st September, the military junta's Board of Censorship made a decision to ban the privately-owned Khit-Sann Journal, which covered update international affairs. It was recently summoned and told that the journal was too "pro-American."

The Burmese junta's spokesman said that financial problems had led to Khit-Sann¹s closure. But information obtained by Reporters Without Borders and the BMA showed that the magazine¹s financial situation was healthy. The two organizations have challenged the military junta's denial that the bi-monthly Khit-Sann was closed for political reasons.

The Khit-Sann or New Age Journal was managed and published by Kyaw Win, the chief editor of the periodical. Kyaw Win spent in prison for twice totally 15 years as a political dissident. In 1982, during Ne Win's era, he was thrown into prison for 5 years. And in 1989, while he was taking responsibility as a central executive committee member of the Ever Green Youth Organization, the current junta accused him of in connection with unlawful organization and put him in prison for ten years. After serving his prison terms, he became a staff editor of Thint-ba-wa(Your Life) Magazine together with two prominent writers, Tin Maung Than and Maung Thit Sinn who are now living in exile in the United States.

After Tin Maung Than and Maung Thit Sinn quit from the magazine, he became the chief editor of the Thint-ba-wa Magazine in 2000. But, the magazine was shut down by the PSB without having a good reason. Then he became chief editor of the Khit-Sann or New Age Journal. Due to his supervision, the Journal was also well-established among the intellectuals and young people throughout the country.

Being an editor of the famous Khit-Sann Journal, he is on the watching list of the Military authorities. And in last June, the junta's mouthpiece newspaper (The New Light of Myanmar) published a pro-military article using his pen name (Kyaw Win) on purpose of misunderstanding in the public. Then Kyaw Win made a strong protest to the military authority telling not to break the journalistic code of ethics. His protest was a rare one and it caused annoyance to the authorities.

Afterward, the PSB summoned Kyaw Win and seriously warned that the journal must change its policy of thinking highly upon the United States and the European Union. Actually, it's a little bit strange because the junta's accused him as a communist and kept in jail for ten years in 1990s. But now, it branded him of a pro-western bloc.

In the same month, Shwe-ba-zun, a monthly magazine published in Rangoon, was also banned by the PSB without giving a reason. The Shwe-ba-zun editor-in-chief May Thinn-gyan Hein received an order to stop the magazine, while her September issue magazine was waiting for the PSB's permission. According to an unnamed senior member of PSB, editor May has been learning English at the British Council English Language Center in Yangon. In addition, she has already finished a journalism course sponsored by the Embassy of the United States of America in Yangon.

The next fault is that her father Htun Htun Hein is an elected representative for Naung-cho constituency in Shan State of the National League for Democracy (NLD). It may be a major question of banning the magazine.

The editor is also popular for her realistic news reportages that portrayed misery of the poverty-stricken families of the present days under the regime. According to literati source in Yangon, it's a dirty game of the junta towards freedom of expression.

The next example was about documentary filmmaker Lazing La Htoi who took records of extreme flooding that hit Myitkyina, the capital of the northern Kachin State, in late July. Lazing La Htoi's video included footage of a dead body and an interview with a local resident citing as many as 50 casualties resulting from the flooding, according to CPJ sources. Local authorities arrested him on July 27 while he was copying the footage.

In 1999, two documentary-filmmakers were arrested similar to Lazing La Htoi's case.  Aung Pwint, a documentary filmmaker, editor, and poet, and Thaung Tun, an editor, filmmaker, and poet better known by his pen name, Nyein Thit, were arrested for filming footages in the daily life of poverty-stricken societies in Burma, including miseries in rural areas. The two circulated their documentaries through underground networks. They are still in junta's inhumane jail so far. The two journalists are really deserved to the CPJ's 2004 International Press Freedom Awards

At the same time, the military is trying to deceive the world, as if it were a pro-democracy regime starting to implement the human rights practices. The case was that the regime has prescribed human rights text books for the eighth and the ninth grades students. But, not all 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were included in the text books. It mentions only one-third of the 30 Articles.

The worst is the text does not mention the Article 19 and it emphasizes that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should not be accepted as unquestionable rights. Teachers and students must accept it as relative terms, according to the situation of the country. That means the military regime even does not reluctant to censor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to prolong its military power.

Censorship is imposed in the name of national security. Those found owning pamphlets, books, magazines, cassettes or videotapes that are interpreted as hostile to the ruling junta are arrested and usually serve jail-terms of seven to twenty years.

Although there are some privately owned journals and magazines in Burma, they are subject to an even stricter censorship regulations by the PSB, which can delay their publication by many months.

Some writing never gets permission to be published. To obtain a publishing license, which can be revoked at any time, a would-be publisher has to bribe various military authorities with a great deal of money. Even though, it is still uncertain of getting permission.

So many topics are strictly forbidden for publication. Writers, journalists, poets, cartoonists, photographers, editors and publishers must obey the rules and regulations of the PSB.

All publication-related people must also submit their autobiographies to the Home Ministry. Stories and essays about the poor are never permitted for publication. Articles on sociological crisis, economic difficulties, natural disasters, shipwrecks, train or plane crashes are usually not released.

For instance, at one meeting of the censorship organ of the Home Ministry, warned publishers and editors of journals and magazines that they would face severe punishment if they wrote about the country's banking crisis including the money laundering stories. Similarly, politics and economic crisis as well as misconceived policy of the regime are also taboo subjects for the media and public discussion.

The regime also does not allow public accessing to the Internet, in particular the military intelligence, monitors all incoming and outgoing e-mails. Web mails are blocked by the MIS and people have no chance for advance Information Technology and update news.

Possessing or using a modem or fax machine without government permission is a crime in Burma. The Computer Science Development Law which promulgated on 20th September, 1996 says '' Whoever sets up a computer network or connects a link inside the computer network, without the prior sanction of the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend from a minimum of 7 years to a maximum of 15 years and may also be liable to a fine.''

So it is illegal to own an unregistered modem or fax in Burma. In addition, lack of electricity and expensive charges for Internet services are other factors that block public access to the Internet. Fax machines must be licensed and to obtain a cellular phone permit not only costs $3000 but there is also a years-long queue to apply. Phone lines are often tapped and oversea calls frequently cut. So, not only the journalists but also the average citizens have been disconnected with the outside world intentionally by the regime. That's why Burmese people feel as if they were put into a prison.  

Burma has been notorious as "the world's largest prison for journalists" and over thirty journalists continue to languish in jail so far. The country's most respected journalist and art critic, former editor-in-chief  of the Hanthawadi newspaper and vice-president of the Association of Burmese Writers, 75-year-old U Win Tin, has spent the last fifteen years of his life in prison.

The military practices absolutism over all aspects of freedom in Burma. The junta has never tolerated any democratic opinions or ideas from citizens.

The laws most commonly used by the junta are - - -

- the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act,

- the 1957 Unlawful Associations Act,

- the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Law and

- the 1975 State Protection Law.

Each provides for long periods of imprisonment for citizens judged guilty of criticizing the ruling junta. In addition, the use of systematic torture and summary courts are the major forces backing suppressive laws and decrees.

As freedom of expression depends on the progress of democratization in Burma, international media and human rights watchdogs should keep supporting the democratic movement against military dictatorship. That's why people of Burma asking for genuine sympathy from the International Community. Detaining over 1500 political prisoners, mostly students, intellectuals, lawyers, doctors, journalists and including the Nobel laureate of the nation while denying access to the media, Burma has no hope of changing into a true democratic federal union.

In such a situation, it may be out of question that a free press is the best guarantee for sustaining political and economic reforms in Burma. Free press is also a necessary force to establish transparency and accountability towards a democratic society.

 [The Computer Science Development Law which promulgated on 20th September, 1996]

CHAPTER X

Offences and Penalties

Whoever imports or keeps in possession or utilizes any type of computer prescribed under sub-section(a) of section 26, without the prior sanction of the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend from a minimum of 7 years to a maximum of 15 years and may also be liable to a fine.

Whoever sets up a computer network or connects a link inside the computer network, without the prior sanction of the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend from a minimum of 7 years to a maximum of 15 years and may also be liable to a fine.

Whoever fails to comply with a prohibitory order issued by the Council, or the 'Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs ill respect of the type of computer prescribed under Sub-section(a) of section 26 shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months or with fine or with both.

Whoever commits any of the following acts using computer network or any information technology shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend from a minimum of 7 years to a maximum of 15 years, and may also be liable to a fine:-
(a) carrying out any act which undermines State Security, prevalence of law and order and community peace and tranquillity, national unity, State economy or national culture;
(b) obtaining or sending and distributing any information of State secret relevant to State security, prevalance of law and order and community peace and tranquillity, national unity, State economy or national culture.

Whoever violates any order relating to control issued by the Council under Sub-section(c) and Sub-section (d) of section 7 shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years or with fine or with both.

Whoever imports or exports any type of computer software or any information prescribed by the Council under sub-section (g) of section 7 shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend from a minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 10 years and may also be liable to a fine.

Whoever fails to comply with an order abolishing any computer association, issued by the Council under sub-section (j) of section 7 shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, or with fine or with both.

Whoever attempts or conspires to commit any offence under this law or abets in the commission of such offence shall, on conviction be punished with the same penalty prescribed in this Law for such offence.

Reporters Without Borders - World press freedom ranking 2005

N°      	Country        			Note
1	Denmark        			0,50
-         	Finland        			0,50
-         	Iceland        			0,50
-         	Ireland        			0,50
-         	Netherlands        			0,50
-         	Norway        			0,50
-         	Switzerland        			0,50
8      	Slovakia        			0,75
9        	Czech Republic        			1,00
-        	Slovenia        			1,00
11      	Estonia        			1,50
12      	Hungary        			2,00
-        	New Zealand        			2,00
-        	Sweden        			2,00
-        	Trinidad and Tobago        		2,00
16      	Austria        			2,50
-        	Latvia        			2,50
18     	Belgium        			4,00
-        	Germany        			4,00
-        	Greece        			4,00
21     	Canada        			4,50
-        	Lithuania        			4,50
23      	Portugal        			4,83
24      	United Kingdom        		5,17
25      	Benin        			5,50
-         	Cyprus        			5,50
-         	Namibia        			5,50
28       	El Salvador        			5,75
29       	Cape Verde        			6,00
30       	France        			6,25
31       	Australia        			6,50
-          	South Africa        			6,50
33        	Bosnia and Herzegovina        		7,00
34        	Jamaica        			7,50
-          	Mauritius        			7,50
-          	South Korea        			7,50
37        	Japan        			8,00
-          	Mali        				8,00
39        	Hong-Kong        			8,25
40        	Spain        			8,33
41        	Costa Rica        			8,50
42        	Italy        				8,67
43        	Macedonia        			8,75
44        	USA (American territory)        		9,50
45        	Bolivia        			9,67
46        	Uruguay        			9,75
47        	Israel        			10,00
48        	Bulgaria        			10,25
49        	Mozambique        			10,50
50        	Chile        				11,75
51        	Dominican Republic        		12,25
-          	Taiwan        			12,25
53        	Cyprus (North)        			12,50
-          	Mongolia        			12,50
-          	Poland        			12,50
56        	Croatia        			12,83
57        	Niger        			13,00
58        	Timor-Leste        			13,50
59        	Argentina        			13,67
60        	Botswana        			14,00
-          	Fiji        				14,00
62        	Albania        			14,17
63        	Brazil        			14,50
-          	Tonga        			14,50
65        	Serbia and Montenegro        		14,83
66        	Ghana        			15,00
-          	Panama        			15,00
68       	Nicaragua        			15,25
69       	Paraguay        			15,50
70       	Romania        			16,17
71       	Congo        			17,00
-          	Guinea-Bissau        			17,00
-          	Seychelles        			17,00
74       	Moldova        			17,50
-         	Tanzania        			17,50
76       	Angola        			18,00
-         	Honduras        			18,00
78       	Burkina Faso        			19,00
-         	Senegal        			19,00
80       	Uganda        			19,25
81       	Lesotho        			19,50
82       	Central African Republic        		19,75
83       	Cameroon        			20,50
-        	Liberia        			20,50
85        	Kuwait        			21,25
86        	Guatemala        			21,50
87        	Ecuador        			21,75
88        	Comoros        			22,00
89        	Malawi        			22,75
90        	Burundi        			23,00
-        	Cambodia        			23,00
-        	Qatar        			23,00
-        	Venezuela        			23,00
-        	Zambia        			23,00
95        	Togo        			23,75
96        	Jordan        			24,00
97        	Madagascar        			24,50
98        	Turkey        			25,00
99        	Georgia        			25,17
100        	Kosovo        			25,75
-        	United Arab Emirates        		25,75
102        	Armenia        			26,00
-        	Gabon        			26,00
-        	Guinea        			26,00
-        	Indonesia        			26,00
106        	India        				27,00
107        	Thailand        			28,00
108        	Lebanon        			28,25
109        	Chad        			30,00
-        	Kenya        			30,00
111        	Kyrgyzstan        			32,00
112        	Ukraine        			32,50
113        	Malaysia        			33,00
-        	Tajikistan        			33,00
115        	Sri Lanka        			33,25
116        	Peru        				33,33
117        	Haiti        				33,50
118        	Swaziland        			35,00
119        	Kazakhstan        			36,17
-        	Morocco        			36,17
121        	Djibouti        			37,00
122        	Rwanda        			38,00
123        	Bahrein        			38,75
-        	Nigeria        			38,75
125        	Afghanistan        			39,17
126        	Sierra Leone        			39,50
127        	Mauritania        			40,00
128        	Colombia        			40,17
129        	Algeria        			40,33
130        	Gambia        			41,00
131        	Ethiopia        			42,00
132        	Palestinian Authority        		42,50
133        	Equatorial Guinea        		44,00
-        	Sudan        			44,00
135        	Mexico        			45,50
136        	Yemen        			46,25
137        	United States of America (in Iraq)        	48,50
138        	Russia        			48,67
139        	Philippines        			50,00
140        	Singapore        			50,67
141        	Azerbaijan        			51,00
142        	Bhutan        			51,50
143        	Egypt        			52,00
144        	Côte d'Ivoire        			52,25
145        	Syria        				55,00
146        	Democratic Republic of Congo        	57,33
147        	Tunisia        			57,50
148        	Maldives        			58,50
149        	Somalia        			59,00
150        	Pakistan        			60,75
151        	Bangladesh        			61,25
152        	Belarus        			61,33
153        	Zimbabwe        			64,25
154        	Saudi Arabia        			66,00
155        	Laos        				66,50
-        	Uzbekistan        			66,50
157        	Iraq        				67,00
158        	Vietnam        			73,25
159        	China        			83,00
160        	Nepal        			86,75
161        	Cuba        			87,00
162        	Libya        			88,75
163        	Burma        			88,83
164        	Iran        				89,17
165        	Turkmenistan        			93,50
166        	Eritrea        			99,75
167        	North Korea        			109,00