Thursday, October 13, 2011

'Arab spring' revolutions fail to provide greater press freedom



The Guardian

"The fall of repressive regimes in north Africa and the Middle East, in the so-called Arab spring, has failed to usher in greater press freedom, according to a global media organisation.

A report by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) says "little progress" has been made in legislating to protect the freedom of the press in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

"Promises of change have... brought little improvement in terms of media freedoms," it says.

The report also points to the continuing press clampdowns in countries where revolts have failed to dislodge repressive regimes.

It says that in Syria a "media blackout helped obscure the full extent of the regime's brutal crackdown." In Yemen, it said that "journalists were deliberately targeted in March as state-orchestrated violence erupted in response to calls demanding President Saleh step down."

And in Bahrain, the authorities - "with help from their Saudi neighbours, have systematically hunted down, imprisoned and reportedly tortured bloggers and freedom of expression activists who participated in pro-reform demonstrations earlier in the year."...."

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