Si vibaya tukajipongeza kwa hizi hatua chache
THISDAY REPORTER
Sunday, October 21 2007
Dar es Salaam
TANZANIA has jumped 33 positions in new rankings measuring the level of press freedom in 169 countries around the world and published this week by Reporters Without Borders.
According to the 2007 index, Tanzania is now perceived to have a much higher degree of press freedom than all other countries in East Africa. The country is ranked 55th overall, a notable improvement compared to its 88th position last year.
In this years index, Kenya is ranked at 78, Uganda (97), Burundi (127) and Rwanda (147).
And elsewhere across the world, Eritrea has replaced North Korea in last place in the 169-country index.
There is nothing surprising about this, Reporters Without Borders said. Even if we are not aware of all the press freedom violations in North Korea and Turkmenistan, which are second and third from last, Eritrea deserves to be at the bottom.
It is noted that the privately-owned press in Eritrea has been banished by authoritarian president Issaias Afeworki and the few journalists who dare to criticise the regime are sent off to prison camps.
According to Reporters Without Borders, four Eritrean journalists have already died in detention and we have every reason to fear that others will suffer the same fate.
It says outside Europe - in which the top 14 countries are located - no region of the world has been spared censorship or violence towards journalists.
Of the 20 countries at the bottom of the index, seven are Asian (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, China, Burma, and North Korea); five are African (Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Somalia and Eritrea); four are in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Palestinian Territories and Iran); three are former Soviet republics (Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan); and one is in the Americas (Cuba).
We are particularly disturbed by the situation in Burma (ranked 164th), Reporters Without Borders said. The military juntas crackdown on demonstrations bodes ill for the future of basic freedoms in that country. Journalists continue to work under the yoke of harsh censorship from which nothing escapes, not even small ads.
It continues: We also regret that China (163rd) stagnates near the bottom of the index. With less than a year to go to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the reforms and the releases of imprisoned journalists so often promised by the authorities seem to be a vain hope.
War is largely responsible for the low position assigned to some countries. It is said that the increase in fighting in Somalia (159th) and Sri Lanka (156th) has made it very hard for journalists to work, several have been killed and censorship stepped up as clashes became frequent as the belligerents refuse to recognise journalists rights and accuse them of supporting the other side.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the Internet is occupying more and more space in the breakdown of press freedom violations. Several countries fell in the ranking this year because of serious, repeated violations of the free flow of online news and information, it says
THISDAY REPORTER
Sunday, October 21 2007
Dar es Salaam
TANZANIA has jumped 33 positions in new rankings measuring the level of press freedom in 169 countries around the world and published this week by Reporters Without Borders.
According to the 2007 index, Tanzania is now perceived to have a much higher degree of press freedom than all other countries in East Africa. The country is ranked 55th overall, a notable improvement compared to its 88th position last year.
In this years index, Kenya is ranked at 78, Uganda (97), Burundi (127) and Rwanda (147).
And elsewhere across the world, Eritrea has replaced North Korea in last place in the 169-country index.
There is nothing surprising about this, Reporters Without Borders said. Even if we are not aware of all the press freedom violations in North Korea and Turkmenistan, which are second and third from last, Eritrea deserves to be at the bottom.
It is noted that the privately-owned press in Eritrea has been banished by authoritarian president Issaias Afeworki and the few journalists who dare to criticise the regime are sent off to prison camps.
According to Reporters Without Borders, four Eritrean journalists have already died in detention and we have every reason to fear that others will suffer the same fate.
It says outside Europe - in which the top 14 countries are located - no region of the world has been spared censorship or violence towards journalists.
Of the 20 countries at the bottom of the index, seven are Asian (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, China, Burma, and North Korea); five are African (Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Somalia and Eritrea); four are in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Palestinian Territories and Iran); three are former Soviet republics (Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan); and one is in the Americas (Cuba).
We are particularly disturbed by the situation in Burma (ranked 164th), Reporters Without Borders said. The military juntas crackdown on demonstrations bodes ill for the future of basic freedoms in that country. Journalists continue to work under the yoke of harsh censorship from which nothing escapes, not even small ads.
It continues: We also regret that China (163rd) stagnates near the bottom of the index. With less than a year to go to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the reforms and the releases of imprisoned journalists so often promised by the authorities seem to be a vain hope.
War is largely responsible for the low position assigned to some countries. It is said that the increase in fighting in Somalia (159th) and Sri Lanka (156th) has made it very hard for journalists to work, several have been killed and censorship stepped up as clashes became frequent as the belligerents refuse to recognise journalists rights and accuse them of supporting the other side.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the Internet is occupying more and more space in the breakdown of press freedom violations. Several countries fell in the ranking this year because of serious, repeated violations of the free flow of online news and information, it says