Al-Tajammu [Archives:2005/842/Press Review]
9 May 2005
Main headlines
– Renewal and extension for Hunt Company rejected
– Sales tax law squanders citizens' rights and grants authorities to officials
– More than 20 Yemeni journalists stage sit-in
– Prince Abdullah's Euro-American tour and heated messages carried to Damascus
The newspaper published on its front page a statement by the International Committee for Journalists Protection. The statement of the committee described the climate of press in Yemen as contradictory between what the authority claims and what it practices on the ground. It said Yemeni journalists are forced to practice self-monitoring of their writings, criticizing the authority's strong control over radio and TV stations and not granting licenses for establishing other private radio and TV stations. The committee also says, in its annual report on the world day of freedom of press, president Ali Abdullah Saleh has promised the removal of the criminal description of press violations, but nevertheless after three months of his declaration, a court judgment of a one-year imprisonment was issued against a journalist because he had published articles not in favour with the way the president had dealt with the armed insurgency and his newspaper was suspended for six months. The report has added that that is the contradicting climate under which Yemeni journalists are practicing their profession. The authorities say they want to develop freedom of press but at the same time they issue a severe law against press as a weapon threatening journalists who disturb them.
He reported review samples of violations against Yemeni journalists, among which the verdicts of preventing journalist Saeed Thabit from working in press for six months and imprisonment of journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani for one year.
It added that after the case of al-Khaiwani many journalists said they felt they were forced to practice self-monitoring on their writings and press correspondents said they were taking very cautious stands to not directly criticize the overages of tribal tensions, as they would attract undesirable interest by officials. The government also practices certain pressures on journalists such as being contacted by security members to convince them not to cover certain issues.
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