One in 6 jailed journalists are held without charge

Census shows an overall decline; China remains the leading jailer

New York- One in six journalists jailed worldwide are being held without any publicly disclosed charge, many for months or years at a time and some in secret locations, the New York based press freedom watch dog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found in a new analysis.
CPJ’s annual worldwide census of imprisoned journalists found 127 behind bars on December 1, a decrease of seven from the 2006 tally. The drop is due in large part to the release this year of 15 Ethiopian journalists who were either acquitted or pardoned of antistate charges stemming from a broad government crackdown on the press. CPJ and others had waged an intensive advocacy campaign on their behalf.
China, which has failed to meet its promises to improve press freedom before the 2008 Olympics, continued to be the world’s leading jailer of journalists, a dishonor it has held for nine consecutive years. Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, and Azerbaijan round out the top five jailers among the 24 nations that imprison journalists.
Antistate allegations such as subversion, divulging state secrets, and acting against national interests remain the most common charge used to imprison journalists worldwide, CPJ found. About 57 percent of journalists in the census are jailed under these charges, many of them by the Chinese and Cuban governments.
The proportion of journalists held without any charge at all increased for the third consecutive year. Eritrea and Iran account for many of these cases, but the United States has used this tactic as well. U.S. authorities have not filed charges or presented evidence against Al-Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj, held for more than five years at Guantánamo Bay, or Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, held in Iraq for more than 19 months. The U.S. military said in November that Hussein’s case would be referred to Iraqi courts for prosecution but continued to withhold details explaining the basis for the detention.
“Imprisoning journalists on the basis of assertions alone should not be confused with a legal process. This is nothing less than state-sponsored abduction,” the CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “While we believe every one of these 127 journalists should be released, we are especially concerned for those detained without charge because they are often held in abysmal conditions, cut off from their lawyers and their families.”
The practice of holding journalists without charge has eroded basic standards of fairness and accountability. Iranian authorities, for example, jailed Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand in July, but they have yet to file formal charges or bring the editor before a judge. Kaboudvand’s lawyer has not been allowed to see him or review the government’s case. Eritrean authorities will not even confirm whether the journalists in its custody are alive or dead. At least 19 journalists worldwide are being held in secret locations, CPJ found, with Eritrea the worst offender in this regard.
Continuing a decade-long trend, Internet journalists make up an increasing proportion of CPJ’s census. Bloggers, online editors, and Web-based reporters constitute about 39 percent of journalists jailed worldwide. Print journalists make up the largest professional category, accounting for about half of those in jail.
The rise of Internet journalism and its risks are evident in China, where 18 of the 29 jailed journalists worked online. China’s list includes Shi Tao, an award-winning journalist serving a 10-year sentence for e-mailing details of a government propaganda directive to an overseas Web site. The Internet giant Yahoo supplied account information to Chinese authorities that led to Shi’s 2004 arrest and triggered an ongoing debate over corporate responsibility.
China continues to rely heavily on the use of vague antistate charges, imprisoning 22 journalists on accusations such as “inciting subversion of state power.” Despite China’s 2001 promises to the International Olympic Committee that it would ensure “complete media freedom,” its leaders continue to jail reporters and operate a vast system of censorship, CPJ found in a special report in August. CPJ has urged the IOC and the Games corporate sponsors to hold Beijing accountable to its word.
Journalists who either disappear or are abducted by non-state entities, including criminal gangs, rebels, or militant groups, are not included on the imprisoned list. Their cases are classified as ‘missing’ or ‘abducted’.

Details of this story available on CPJ's Web site.

Industrialization is not the answer to Africa’s poverty

BY MATHIAS KULUBYA
IN LONDAN

I wish to offer an alternative view to The Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s argument that industrialization is the prime answer to Africa’s severe poverty and social transformation. Industrialization is not the key to alleviating poverty in Africa or in a single poor and developing country. It is integrated development plans including upgrading our transport systems, hospitals, provision of decent housing, identification documents and security that can do so.

The proponents of industrialization forget the basic tenets in International Economics of comparative advantage and economies of scale. This is not an era to work hard but to work smart. Consider this: Premark, a British company, is the cheapest clothing store thanks to exploiting close to 2.2 million Bangladeshi factory workers who earn about £10 a month.

It is, therefore, cheaper to build factories in the third world to provide opportunities for the west to develop their environment and turn former industrial sites into housing. The countryside in England is so beautiful that you sometimes wonder whether all the talk about Uganda's beauty is just meant to lull us into our small world.

President Museveni has interacted with top-notch billionaires like Richard Branson, Bill gates and others who could easily sign investment cheques without draining our treasury. why then does he have to deal with poorly-funded businessmen who need free land?

Business is not charity but a profit-making venture using today's collaborators with capitalism. What brings money and investment capital is worthwhile products and Uganda needs repackaging itself better. Every project in the UK, for example, goes through the relevant councils not the executive arm of government.

What are our labor unit costs and the necessary infrastructure to support these discovered beliefs in industries as the key to Africa's poverty alleviation and employment growth? Do we have comparative advantage against China and India in manufacturing from textile to processing?

The reasoned and researched answer is no. There are alternative ideas to counter the government reasoning of giving away our land without an integrated development programme including building new hospitals, schools, roads and railway extensions. Uganda is in an enviable position in Africa having lakes Victoria, Kyoga, Albert, Edward and the second longest river in the world including being closer to the Congo basin.

However, we have failed to manage these resources for our generation and the future generations. It costs $25m to get each household in Uganda to have tap water! The swamps and forests which used to filter our wells are being lost to investors and haphazard property developments.

Richard Branson recently announced close to $2 billion to invest in reducing carbon emissions and bio- gas, ethanol related industries.

We can use our position in Africa close to the desert to fight for a portion of these funds in the global fight to save the world from climate changes. Commercial farming is preferable to industries once again using our water resources.