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FREEDOM HOUSE: AZERBAIJAN PRESS IS MOST RESTRICTED IN CAUCASUS
12:40, 2 May, 2013
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS: The International Organization Freedom
House published a new report on the freedom of the press in the world,
stating that the most restricted press in Caucasus is in Azerbaijan.
This was reported by Azaldiq Newspaper, according to Armenpress. The
Azerbaijani indicator decreased by two points in the connection of the
acts of violence against the journalists, as well as the legislative
changes restricting access to information.
According to the report, the situation is very bad in North Korea and
Turkmenistan, followed by Uzbekistan and Belarus. Armenia and Georgia
are registered in the list of the most significant advances in press
freedom rankings.
The full report is as follows:
"Ongoing political turmoil produced uneven conditions for press freedom
in the Middle East in 2012, with Tunisia and Libya largely retaining
their gains from 2011 even as Egypt slid backward into the Not Free
category. The region as a whole experienced a net decline for the year,
in keeping with a broader global pattern in which the percentage of
people worldwide who enjoy a free media environment fell to its lowest
point in more than a decade. Among the more disturbing developments
in 2012 were dramatic declines for Mali, significant deterioration
in Greece, and a further tightening of controls on press freedom in
Latin America, punctuated by the decline of two countries, Ecuador
and Paraguay, from Partly Free to Not Free status.
These were the most significant findings of Freedom of the Press
2013: A Global Survey of Media Independence, the latest edition of an
annual index published by Freedom House since 1980. While there were
positive developments in Burma, the Caucasus, parts of West Africa, and
elsewhere, the dominant trends were reflected in setbacks in a range
of political settings. Reasons for decline included the continued,
increasingly sophisticated repression of independent journalism
and new media by authoritarian regimes; the ripple effects of the
European economic crisis and longer-term challenges to the financial
sustainability of print media; and ongoing threats from nonstate
actors such as radical Islamists and organized crime groups.
The trend of overall decline occurred, paradoxically, in a context of
increasingly diverse news sources and ever-expanding means of political
communication. The growth of these new media has triggered a repressive
backlash by authoritarian regimes that have carefully controlled
television and other mass media and are now alert to the dangers of
unfettered political commentary online. Influential powers-such as
China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela-have long resorted to a variety of
techniques to maintain a tight grip on the media, detaining some press
critics, closing down or otherwise censoring media outlets and blogs,
and bringing libel or defamation suits against journalists. Russia,
which adopted additional restrictions on internet content in 2012,
set a negative tone for the rest of Eurasia, where conditions remained
largely grim. In China, the installation of a new Communist Party
leadership did not produce any immediate relaxation of constraints
on either traditional media or the internet.
In fact, the Chinese regime, which boasts the world's most intricate
and elaborate system of media repression, stepped up its drive to limit
both old and new sources of information through arrests and censorship.
As a result of declines in both authoritarian and democratic settings
over the past several years, the proportion of the global population
that enjoys a Free press has fallen to its lowest level in over a
decade. The report found that less than 14 percent of the world's
people-or roughly one in six-live in countries where coverage of
political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed,
state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not
subject to onerous legal or economic pressures. Moreover, in the
most recent five-year period, significant country declines have far
outnumbered gains, suggesting that attempts to restrict press freedom
are widespread and challenges to expanding media diversity and access
to information remain considerable.
There were some promising developments during the year to partially
offset these worrisome trends. Positive movement occurred in a number
of key countries in Asia (Afghanistan and Burma), Eurasia (Armenia
and Georgia), and sub-Saharan Africa (Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Malawi,
Mauritania, Senegal, and Zimbabwe), as well as in Yemen. Many advances
occurred in the context of new governments that either rolled back
restrictive legal and regulatory provisions or allowed greater space
for vibrant and critical media to operate. Particularly noteworthy
was the continued dramatic opening in Burma, which registered the
survey's largest numerical improvement of the year due to people's
increased ability to access information and the release of imprisoned
bloggers and video journalists, among other factors.
Of the 197 countries and territories assessed during 2012, a total of
63 (32 percent) were rated Free, 70 (36 percent) were rated Partly
Free, and 64 (32 percent) were rated Not Free. This balance marks a
shift toward the Not Free category compared with the edition covering
2011, which featured 66 Free, 72 Partly Free, and 59 Not Free countries
and territories.
The analysis found that less than 14 percent of the world's
inhabitants lived in countries with a Free press, while 43 percent had
a Partly Free press and 43 percent lived in Not Free environments. The
population figures are significantly affected by two countries-China,
with a Not Free status, and India, with a Partly Free status-that
together account for over a third of the world's nearly seven billion
people. The percentage of those enjoying Free media in 2012 declined
by another half point to the lowest level since 1996, when Freedom
House began incorporating population data into the findings of the
survey. Meanwhile, the share living in Not Free countries jumped by
2.5 percentage points, reflecting the move by populous states such
as Egypt and Thailand back into that category".
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
12:40, 2 May, 2013
YEREVAN, MAY 2, ARMENPRESS: The International Organization Freedom
House published a new report on the freedom of the press in the world,
stating that the most restricted press in Caucasus is in Azerbaijan.
This was reported by Azaldiq Newspaper, according to Armenpress. The
Azerbaijani indicator decreased by two points in the connection of the
acts of violence against the journalists, as well as the legislative
changes restricting access to information.
According to the report, the situation is very bad in North Korea and
Turkmenistan, followed by Uzbekistan and Belarus. Armenia and Georgia
are registered in the list of the most significant advances in press
freedom rankings.
The full report is as follows:
"Ongoing political turmoil produced uneven conditions for press freedom
in the Middle East in 2012, with Tunisia and Libya largely retaining
their gains from 2011 even as Egypt slid backward into the Not Free
category. The region as a whole experienced a net decline for the year,
in keeping with a broader global pattern in which the percentage of
people worldwide who enjoy a free media environment fell to its lowest
point in more than a decade. Among the more disturbing developments
in 2012 were dramatic declines for Mali, significant deterioration
in Greece, and a further tightening of controls on press freedom in
Latin America, punctuated by the decline of two countries, Ecuador
and Paraguay, from Partly Free to Not Free status.
These were the most significant findings of Freedom of the Press
2013: A Global Survey of Media Independence, the latest edition of an
annual index published by Freedom House since 1980. While there were
positive developments in Burma, the Caucasus, parts of West Africa, and
elsewhere, the dominant trends were reflected in setbacks in a range
of political settings. Reasons for decline included the continued,
increasingly sophisticated repression of independent journalism
and new media by authoritarian regimes; the ripple effects of the
European economic crisis and longer-term challenges to the financial
sustainability of print media; and ongoing threats from nonstate
actors such as radical Islamists and organized crime groups.
The trend of overall decline occurred, paradoxically, in a context of
increasingly diverse news sources and ever-expanding means of political
communication. The growth of these new media has triggered a repressive
backlash by authoritarian regimes that have carefully controlled
television and other mass media and are now alert to the dangers of
unfettered political commentary online. Influential powers-such as
China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela-have long resorted to a variety of
techniques to maintain a tight grip on the media, detaining some press
critics, closing down or otherwise censoring media outlets and blogs,
and bringing libel or defamation suits against journalists. Russia,
which adopted additional restrictions on internet content in 2012,
set a negative tone for the rest of Eurasia, where conditions remained
largely grim. In China, the installation of a new Communist Party
leadership did not produce any immediate relaxation of constraints
on either traditional media or the internet.
In fact, the Chinese regime, which boasts the world's most intricate
and elaborate system of media repression, stepped up its drive to limit
both old and new sources of information through arrests and censorship.
As a result of declines in both authoritarian and democratic settings
over the past several years, the proportion of the global population
that enjoys a Free press has fallen to its lowest level in over a
decade. The report found that less than 14 percent of the world's
people-or roughly one in six-live in countries where coverage of
political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed,
state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not
subject to onerous legal or economic pressures. Moreover, in the
most recent five-year period, significant country declines have far
outnumbered gains, suggesting that attempts to restrict press freedom
are widespread and challenges to expanding media diversity and access
to information remain considerable.
There were some promising developments during the year to partially
offset these worrisome trends. Positive movement occurred in a number
of key countries in Asia (Afghanistan and Burma), Eurasia (Armenia
and Georgia), and sub-Saharan Africa (Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Malawi,
Mauritania, Senegal, and Zimbabwe), as well as in Yemen. Many advances
occurred in the context of new governments that either rolled back
restrictive legal and regulatory provisions or allowed greater space
for vibrant and critical media to operate. Particularly noteworthy
was the continued dramatic opening in Burma, which registered the
survey's largest numerical improvement of the year due to people's
increased ability to access information and the release of imprisoned
bloggers and video journalists, among other factors.
Of the 197 countries and territories assessed during 2012, a total of
63 (32 percent) were rated Free, 70 (36 percent) were rated Partly
Free, and 64 (32 percent) were rated Not Free. This balance marks a
shift toward the Not Free category compared with the edition covering
2011, which featured 66 Free, 72 Partly Free, and 59 Not Free countries
and territories.
The analysis found that less than 14 percent of the world's
inhabitants lived in countries with a Free press, while 43 percent had
a Partly Free press and 43 percent lived in Not Free environments. The
population figures are significantly affected by two countries-China,
with a Not Free status, and India, with a Partly Free status-that
together account for over a third of the world's nearly seven billion
people. The percentage of those enjoying Free media in 2012 declined
by another half point to the lowest level since 1996, when Freedom
House began incorporating population data into the findings of the
survey. Meanwhile, the share living in Not Free countries jumped by
2.5 percentage points, reflecting the move by populous states such
as Egypt and Thailand back into that category".
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress