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Press freedom in danger
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- Created on Thursday, 03 May 2012 00:00
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Press freedom in danger
Nineteen journalists have been killed and more than 160 imprisoned since January 2012. DW rounds up expert views on the situation around the globe in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day.
The upheaval in the Arab world has led to dramatic changes, but it hasn't necessarily made life easier for journalists. The degree of press freedom varies strongly from country to country, said Michael Rediske, on the board of Reporters without Borders Germany.
Reporters without Borders releases an annual “Press Freedom Ranking.” The current list contains 179 countries. The authors surveyed academics/scientists/researchers, lawyers, and human rights activists, in addition to journalists, to rank each country.
The high expectations that came with the Arab Spring still haven't been met in some countries. Rediske thinks Egypt is a good example of this problem. “People had high hopes for Egypt, [but] it has moved down on our list because the military government has enacted new emergency laws and has once again limited press freedom,” he said.
{sidebar id=10 align=right}The list also considers the danger journalists risk by working in these countries in its rankings.
“The Arab Spring sparked huge conflicts,” said Rediske. “Journalists have to report on scene, which is, of course, where they're most likely to be attacked by these governments.” Tunisia has become less dangerous since the Arab Spring, whereas the violence in Syria has made it as dangerous as Iraq was a few years ago. Subsequently, many journalists have been killed there.
Eritrea comes in last place
The countries with the least press freedom move to the very bottom of the list. Eritrea had the lowest ranking this year.
“Eritrea is absolutely the worst place for journalists,” said Pierre Ambroise, who covers Africa for Reporters without Borders. Eritrea's ranking does not surprise him, considering that the government abolished freedom of the press 10 years ago. “Today, journalists work for the state media and have to print what the Ministry of Information tells them to. Anyone who tries to defy the state lands in jail,” he said.
{sidebar id=11 align=right}Reporters without Borders also found fault with Angola, despite its flourishing economy. The government exercises too much influence on the media.
Journalist and human rights activist Rafael Marques writes about Angola's limited press freedom on his blog www.makaangola.org. “Two of the most influential people in the Angolan regime are among the owners of the only private television broadcaster in Angola, TV Zimbo,” he wrote. Marques' Blog is one of this year's finalists for the Deutsche Welle Blog Awards (BOBs).
Michael Rediske noted some positive news about the state of press freedom in Africa. “For the first time, we have two African countries in our list of the top 20 countries for press freedom, namely Namibia and the Cape Verde Islands,” he said. Their high rankings come from their political stability.
China sends the most journalists to prison
In Asia, China causes the most worry. According to Reporters without Borders, no other country in the world has imprisoned more journalists and bloggers.
Chinese censors are currently focusing most of their attention on the Internet. Their greatest annoyance has been a social media website similar to Twitter called “Weibo”. About 300 million Chinese have at least one Weibo account.
“The Internet and options like Weibo give people the chance to express themselves more than ever before in the history of China,” said blogger Jeremy Goldkorn, who lives in China.
A new law requires Weibo users to register with their real names. The legislation still hasn't gone into effect.
Goldkorn has seen regulation of Internet use grow stronger through censorship in China. Aside from the Weibo-law, censorship has limited itself to traditional methods, such as shutting down websites. When a power struggle was taking place within China's Communist Party, the government disabled the comment function for three days on social media websites similar to Twitter.
The problems stems from more than just one website or trying to control public opinion on politics. ”We're dealing with a tsunami of information that didn't exist before,” Goldkorn said.
If not censorship, then intimidation and violence
Government censorship was not always the root cause of this year's lowest rankings. Reporters without Borders found numerous examples of powerful third parties around the globe that silenced journalists. A substantial multifaceted media landscape emerged in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. There are now about 170 private radio and more than 60 private television broadcasters.
Nevertheless, Reporters without Borders complains that the Taliban and warlords restrict journalism through intimidation tactics.
Journalists in Latin America must also deal with intimidation, which can turn violent. Reporters without Borders blames the raging battles between rival drug cartels and the military for silencing journalists.
The latest example comes from Brazil. Four journalists have been murdered since the beginning of 2012. Décio Sá was the most recent victim. The 42 year old blogger wrote about corruption and organized crime.
Can a song contest change press freedom?
Azerbaijan will host the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time ever. Some hope that the increased media attention will loosen control of the press' voice. A large number of international journalists cover the annual music spectacle. More than 100 million people tune into the event every year.
Michael Klehm of the German Journalists Association told DW that the Eurovision Song Contest won't change Azerbaijan's relationship with the press. “The media might be able to report more freely for a short period of time," he said. "But after they're gone, Azerbaijan will go back to its old habits. I don't believe that it will have a lasting effect.”
Europe and Press Freedom
Europe has not been immune to restrictions on press freedom. Journalists in Belarus and Russia continue to struggle for their own right to report freely.
Alexander Lukaschenko's regime monitors the media in Belarus closely. President Viktor Yanukovich's influence has become so strong that large state broadcaster can barely report objectively/impartially.
Russia also limits news coverage on private channels. Many parts of the media belong to rich companies that have close ties to the Kremlin.
Klehm considers Europe's level of press freedom high in comparison to the rest of the world. Of course, there's always “room for improvement,” he said. Even in Germany, the plan to store telephone and Internet data long-term has journalists concerned. They're worried about the implications for protecting their sources.
Eight European countries earned the top rankings on the Reporters without Borders' press freedom list this year. They are Finland, Norway, Estonia, the Netherlands, Austria, Iceland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Germany is number 16.
Autor: Marco Müller/kms
Editor: Jessie Wingard
Source: Deutsche Welle
No commentsLegal aid bill is law - the fight back starts now
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- Created on Thursday, 03 May 2012 00:00
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Legal aid bill is law - the fight back starts now
Now the legal aid bill is law, how do we preserve access to justice?
Jon robins
There were parts of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (Laspo) that were "not just bad but actually wicked", Lord Bach told his fellow peers last Tuesday. I met Bach who led the opposition savaging of the Bill straight after it finished its passage through parliament.
{sidebar id=11 align=right}"We got it through," crowed Jonathan Djanogoly as we pass on the way to the Lords' canteen. It has to be said the legal aid minister was exhibiting the kind of body language that landed him in such hot water in the Commons last month. It has been close to 18 months since the government published its legal aid green paper; and the government has managed to get a hugely controversial bill, savaged by the Lords, on to the statute books pretty much intact.
Bach says the legislation puts "Britain back at least 25 years". Few would disagree that the former Labour justice secretary has lived up to his rather excellent Twitter handle (@Fightbach); but, frankly, the fight has only just started. Bach's singular focus on defending social welfare law should be commended. The legal aid bill was a sprawling legislative monster that threw together many competing interests. The danger was that the arguments around preserving "poverty law" would be drowned out by vested interests with deeper pockets and to a certain extent it has.
But the ideas behind social welfare law received a fair airing and much sympathy in the Lords, largely thanks to Bach. As the former criminal defence barrister put it, his fellow peers hated the bill.
The great sadness is that it made such little difference. Yes, important amendments were made but they were at the edges – and that is not to diminish the significance of the concessions around, for example, domestic violence. But the bottom line is that the proposals aim to remove £350m of £2.2bn legal aid scheme - and they do that (in large part) by scrapping social welfare law.
So the legal aid bill got royal assent this week. One battle ends and another more pressing one begins: how to preserve the idea of access to justice in a pretty devastated post-Laspo landscape. "Laspo becoming law is not just a cut, that would be manageable,' writes Julie Bishop on legalvoice.org.uk. "It is the removal of free advice across the spectrum of poverty law."
LegalVoice is a new online magazine aimed at all professionals committed to access to justice that has the support of most, if not all, the representative groups. And, yes, we are acutely aware of the irony of launching a legal aid magazine at a time when the government has introduced the biggest cuts to the scheme since it was set up as a vital part of the welfare state.
Legal aid is a safety net to which all citizens are entitled, argues Bishop. It is vital that the legal not-for-profit sector survives. It is not clear how. We hope the site will serve as a forum for an exchange of ideas, as well keeping legal aid practitioners up-to-date with all the changes coming their way. We are a not-for-profit organisation - our start-up costs have been met by City firms Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Freshfields.
I wrote recently in my Guardian blog about how law centres must adapt or die and, in particular, how Rochdale and Islington are responding by taking on private clients. It's not the only way. For example, Hackney Community Law Centre has been serving a deprived but vibrant community in East London for almost 40 years. (By the way, Hackney reports that it is took on 52% more cases over the last 12 months than it did in its previous year for housing, welfare benefits and debt.)
The centre has decided to "fight back" by raising its profile in the local Hackney community – "'popularising the concept of the law centre", as centre manager Sean Canning puts it. It makes a lot of sense. It plans to launch Community Law Shops, taking law to the community and making sure it has a visible presence in libraries and local colleges. We need to popularise the concept of "access to justice". The fight back starts now.
Jon Robins runs thejusticegap.com and edits legalvoice.org.uk
Source: The Guardian UK
The twin sisters who share a HUSBAND (and he’s also married to their cousin)
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- Created on Wednesday, 02 May 2012 00:00
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The twin sisters who share a HUSBAND (and he’s also married to their cousin)
Darger quartet live together and have 24 children between them
Twins married in Mormon ceremonies, while cousin became legal wife
Joe Darger alternates between each of their bedrooms every evening
He wants to change attitudes and even get polygamy decriminalised
By Simon Tomlinson
From their brunette hair to their dress sense, twin sisters Vicki and Valerie Darger have a number of things in common.
But the 42-year-olds share more than just their looks - they are both married to the same man.
The sisters are in a polygamous marriage with Joe, 43, who is also wed to a third woman - their cousin Alina.
The Dargers, who are fundamentalist Mormons from Salt Lake City, Utah, live together in a large family home and have 24 children between them.
Vicki, currently a stay-at-home mother, has been married to Joe, who runs a construction company, for 22 years.
Valerie joined the family as his third wife in 2000.
In the eyes of their Fundamentalist Mormon religion, all three women are equally married to Joe.
They each have their own bedroom, and Joe alternates between the three rooms each evening.
Valerie, who works in the family cleaning business with Alina, 43, said: 'The fact that Joe was married to Vicki didn't bother me at all. I took it as a sign he would be a good husband for me as well.
'As teenagers, Vicki and I liked some of the same guys. I thought it might even be good if we married the same man.'
Vicki added: 'I know that some people are uncomfortable at the thought of two sisters sharing a husband.
'But there's a good chance if a husband is compatible with one sister, he'll be well matched with another.'
Brave Joe was just 18 when he began dating Vicki and her cousin Alina at the same time and married them in a joint Mormon ceremony in 1990.
The following day, Alina became his legal wife when they married again at a ceremony under state law, while Vicki acted as witness.
'Even in our community joint courtships are rare,' said Vicki. 'We knew we were taking on a huge challenge and responsibility.
'The accepted pattern in our culture is for a couple to prove themselves first in a monogamous marriage, before taking on the challenges of a second wife.'
Describing their joint dates, Joe said: 'Since Alina and Vicki were close friends and were interested in pursuing me together, the best thing I could do was to nurture that combined friendship.
'I was attracted to both girls and knew that individual relationships would develop in time.'
Vicki and Alina had been married to Joe for ten years when they both encouraged him to start pursuing a relationship with Vicki's twin Valerie.
Valerie had just gone through a divorce after her marriage to an older man Donald, who had six wives, broke down due to his gambling and abusive treatment.
One evening, while Valerie and her five children were staying with the Darger family, she felt a sudden spark of chemistry with Joe.
Joe admitted: 'I had a connection with Valerie, but the fact she was Vicki's twin was weird - they both had the same mannerisms. But Vicki opened my mind to it.'
Alina added: 'I was excited at the prospect of Val becoming part of our family. I had a genuine love and concern for her and wanted her to be the happiest she could possibly be.'
Joe and Valerie married in another Mormon service in their home, with Vicki and Alina standing beside them, and celebrated with a family meal.
The Dargers were investigated by state authorities several years ago for their beliefs and attempted to keep their plural marriage secret for many years.
But two years ago, they decided to talk about their relationship to raise awareness, and to try to overcome prejudices against their religion and lifestyle.
Although polygamy is generally illegal in all 50 states, practitioners are almost never prosecuted unless there is evidence of abuse, statutory rape, welfare fraud, or tax evasion.
The three wives and their husband have co-written a book 'Love Times Three', and some of their adult children also contributed to the story.
'We hope that by talking about our way of life, polygamy will step closer to being an accepted lifestyle and the laws that criminalise it might change,' said Joe.
Source: Dailymail UK
Boris Johnson's campaign uses offices of firm that paid no tax for three years
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- Created on Wednesday, 02 May 2012 00:00
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Boris Johnson's campaign uses offices of firm that paid no tax for three years
Lycamobile's Canary Wharf site has been used for phone canvassing sessions for the Back Boris 2012 campaign"
Rajeev Syal
Boris Johnson's campaign for re-election as mayor of London has been utilising the offices of an international mobile phone company that has paid no corporation tax in Britain for three years.
{sidebar id=11}Lycamobile's Canary Wharf offices have been used on at least five occasions to conduct and co-ordinate telephone canvassing sessions for the Back Boris 2012 campaign.
The latest available figures show the company did not pay any tax between 2008 and 2010, despite generating a turnover of between £47m and £88m.
The disclosure will embarrass Johnson's campaigners, who have sought to put the issue of tax at the centre of their campaign and accused Ken Livingstone of dodging tax.
Lycamobile gave the Conservative party £136,180 in the current quarter and £40,000 in the quarter before that, making the company the Tories' third biggest donor over this period.
Neither the Back Boris campaign nor the company has responded to requests to clarify whether the use of the offices has been declared as a donation to the Electoral Commission, or will be declared after the election. A spokesman for the Back Boris campaign said: "All donations are dealt with strictly in accordance with electoral laws."
The Back Boris website shows that on at least five occasions, the campaign team called for volunteers to attend Lycamobile's offices in the Docklands in east London.
Last month, the campaign called for supporters to meet at Lycamobile's Wallbrook Building in E14. "To help keep London moving in the right direction, come join a great group of Boris Backers as we ring voters to share Boris's record and listen to their priorities for the capital. We'll be calling from our new call centre near Canary Wharf," it reads.
Johnson lavished praise upon Lycamobile at the company's fifth birthday last July. He told journalists that Lycamobile was as dynamic as London itself and joked that its mobile phone technology was "unhackable". The footage of Johnson is now on YouTube.
The company's accounts are nearly two years late and it has been threatened with dissolution by Companies House. At the end of March, Lycamobile persuaded the regulator to suspend the move.
The company has insisted it has not paid taxes because it was "growing the business" and therefore had not generated taxable income.
The company was founded by Subaskaran Allirajah, an entrepreneur who is pictured on his website with prominent politicians including the development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, and the business secretary, Vince Cable.
Curiously, executives from the company attended a fundraising benefit for Livingstone in a Mayfair restaurant where they discussed the possibility of giving £100,000 – but no money has been handed over.
The company had an £88m turnover in 2010, the latest year for which accounts are available. In 2009 the firm took in £47m and in 2008 it received £2.7m. However, because Lycamobile reported losses, the firm has been tax-free: it did pay £8,000 in 2008, but this was refunded in 2009.
Allirajah controls another company, Lycatel, that sells cheap international calling cards. Between 2008 and 2010 Lycatel had a turnover of £260m, but again paid no tax.
{sidebar id=10 align=right}Cheap international calls are big business, as low-paid migrant workers look for the best rates to phone home.
In July, Lycamobile issued an advertisement claiming: "Call India, Pakistan and Bangladesh landlines for only 1p a minute". The Advertising Standards Authority banned this misleading ad for playing down the way Lycamobile rates increase after 15 minutes. In February, Lycamobile faced censure for issuing leaflets offering "1/2p a minute" international calls.
A Lycamobile spokesman has previously claimed that the company paid all taxes due. The delay in publishing this year's accounts was, he said, a result of a "very thorough" audit by Ernst & Young. "This has caused a delay in finalising the 2011 annual statements. These statements have now been completed and are awaiting final audit sign-off," he told the Guardian last week.
The company says it has generated and paid taxable receipts in the UK of over £54m in VAT as well as National Insurance and PAYE contributions.
Regarding the discussion of a donation to Livingstone's campaign, the spokesman added: "It is only natural that a company staffed by thousands of individuals of varying political backgrounds and conscious of representing those differing views is then free to attend events organised by any political party or none."
Source: The Guardian UK
Mali coup leader rejects West African troop deployment
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- Category: DateLines
- Created on Sunday, 29 April 2012 00:00
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Mali coup leader rejects West African troop deployment