CPJ
Criticizes S.
Sudan, Light on
Lanka, Mali
& UN,
Censorship
Ignored?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 12,
updated --
When the
Committee to
Protect
Journalists
put
its "Attacks
on the Press"
report online,
under the
heading
Africa there
were pages on
Tanzania and
Swaziland, for
example, but
none
on South Sudan
or Mali.
CPJ's
Joel Simon
began the
February 12
"launch" press
conference
by explaining
why it was
held at the
United Nations
(he cited
countries
trying to use
the UN to
control the
Internet).
Inner City
Press when
called on
asked if CPJ
thinks the UN
Peacekeeping
missions
in South Sudan
and Mali do
enough to
combat
crackdowns on
the press
there, for
example the
Salva Kiir
government
seizing a
complete issue
of the Juba
Monitor, and
theats against
MaliActu.
Mohamed
Keita
of CPJ
responded that
South Sudan is
"not free,"
adding that
investigative
reporting is
particularly
risky,
contrary
to what Kiir's
foreign
minister said
recently in
London.
On
Mali, Keita
stated that
things were
better in 2013
than 2012; he
said
during the
election CPJ
reached out to
the MINUSMA
mission and
they
were
responsive (to
threats that
never
materialized).
But what about
the threats
against
MaliActu, for
reporting on
corruption?
This has
not been
answered.
Nor
when Inner
City Press
asked about
Sri Lanka, for
example the
murder
of journalist
Mel
Gunasekera,
was an answer
given. Joel
Simon had
said Asia
expert Bob
Dietz had not
come because
the podium had
only
three places;
he promised to
revert with an
answer on Sri
Lanka on
which unlike
China he said
he was not
prepared. [See
update below.]
Though
it has been
questioned to
CPJ before,
Simon
automatically
gave the
first question
to the United
Nations
Correspondents
Association,
which itself
has sought to
get
investigative
Press thrown
out of the
UN.
Now
we wonder,
including on
behalf of the
new Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
what CPJ
thinks of the
UN bureau
chief of
Reuters, with
essentially a
permanent seat
on UNCA board,
mis-using the
Digital
Millennium
Copyright Act
to get
Google to
block access
to a leaked
anti-Press
complaint to
the UN from
its search.
Isn't that
censorship?
Watch this
site.
CPJ's
Nina Ognianova
criticized
Turkey, where
a new law
allows the
blocking
of web sites
without a
court order --
exactly what
the Reuters
bureau
chief has
done. CPJ's
Sherif Mansour
spoke about
the Al Jazeera
staff
detained in
Egypt -- on
which @FUNCA_info
previously
tweeted this,
particularly
with regard to
Peter Greste
with which it
has previously
corresponded.
All for one
and one for
all. But
sometimes the
most
insidious
threats to
press freedom
come "from
within - and
should be
confronted.
Watch this
site.
Update:
On Sri Lanka,
CPJ did
revert, with
this:
"@innercitypress
We're
investigating
Mel's case. So
far, the
murder doesn't
appear
work-related,
as per sources
we've talked
to."
Inner
City Press asked
a follow up:
"Does CPJ
think free
press issues
should be in
#UN HRC
process in
March?" Watch
this site.