Committee to Protect Journalists - Laos

Attacks on the Press 2003: Asia Analysis

2004-03-11T17:08:15Z

Across Asia, press freedom conditions varied radically in 2003, from authoritarian regimes with strictly regulated state-controlled media in North Korea and Laos, to democratic nations with outspoken and diverse journalism in India and Taiwan. Members of the media throughout the region struggled against excessive government interference, outdated press laws, violent attacks, and imprisonment for their work on the Internet. Five journalists were killed in the Philippines, Asia's most dangerous country for the press. Meanwhile, 39 journalists remained behind bars in China.

JOURNALISTS AND TRANSLATOR RELEASED FROM PRISON

2003-07-10T16:00:00Z

New York, July 10, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release today of Belgian journalist Thierry Falise, French cameraman Vincent Reynaud, and their American translator and guide, Rev. Naw Karl Mua. Their release comes one week after the three were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for their alleged involvement in the murder of a village security guard.

"We are delighted that Laotian authorities have finally freed these journalists," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "But the fact that they were arrested and prosecuted on trumped-up murder charges is a stark reminder of the extreme measures the Laotian government will take to deter independent reporting. Press conditions in Laos are among the worst in the world."

JOURNALISTS AND TRANSLATOR RELEASED FROM PRISON

2003-07-09T16:00:00Z

New York, July 9, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release today of Belgian journalist Thierry Falise, French cameraman Vincent Reynaud, and their American translator and guide, Rev. Naw Karl Mua. Their release comes one week after the three were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for their alleged involvement in the murder of a village security guard.

"We are delighted that Laotian authorities have finally freed these journalists," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "But the fact that they were arrested and prosecuted on trumped-up murder charges is a stark reminder of the extreme measures the Laotian government will take to deter independent reporting. Press conditions in Laos are among the worst in the world."

LAOTIAN COURT SENTENCES JOURNALISTS AND THEIR TRANSLATOR TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON

2003-06-30T16:00:00Z

New York, June 30, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is outraged that two journalists and their American translator were convicted today by a Laotian court in Phonesavan, a town in the northeastern Xieng Khuang province. Although it is unclear what the charges were, CPJ has confirmed that Belgian journalist Thierry Falise, French cameraman Vincent Reynaud, and American Naw Karl Mua, were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.

CPJ concerned about journalists' safety

2003-06-11T16:00:00Z

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the safety of two European journalists and their American guide who were arrested last week by Laotian authorities: Thierry Falise, a Belgian free-lance photographer and reporter; Vincent Reynaud, a French free-lance photographer and cameraman; and Naw Karl Mua, a U.S. citizen of ethnic Hmong origin who was working with the two journalists as a guide and translator. Falise and Reynaud are well-regarded, professional journalists based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Attacks on the Press 2002: Asia Analysis

2003-03-31T17:10:45Z

The vicious murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan focused international attention on the dangers faced by journalists covering the U.S. "war on terror," yet most attacks on journalists in Asia happened far from the eyes of the international press. In countries such as Bangladesh and the Philippines, reporters covering crime and political corruption were as vulnerable to attack as those reporting on violent insurgency. Seven journalists were killed in 2002 for their work in Asia.

Attacks on the Press 2002: Laos

2003-03-31T17:05:10Z

Although Laos is an increasingly popular destination for budget travelers, it is not a very hospitable place for journalists. The ruling Communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party, which brooks no dissent, owns all of the country's media outlets.

Attacks on the Press 2002: North Korea

2003-03-31T17:03:40Z

Shortly after U.S. president George W. Bush arrived in South Korea's capital, Seoul, in February 2002 for a state visit, the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, reported a miracle: that a cloud in the shape of a Kimjongilia, the flower named after the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, had appeared over North Korea. "Even the sky above the Mount Paektu area seemed to be decorated with beautiful flowers," KCNA said. The piece was a whimsical effort to trump news of Bush's visit to the other side of the divided Korean peninsula, according to The New York Times.

Attacks on the Press 2001: Asia Analysis

2002-03-26T17:11:55Z

Journalists across Asia faced extraordinary pressures in 2001. Risks included reporting on war and insurgency, covering crime and corruption, or simply expressing a dissenting view in an authoritarian state.

CPJ's two most striking indices of press freedom are the annual toll of journalists killed around the world and our list of journalists imprisoned at the end of the calendar year. Asian countries registered disproportionately high on both counts--with more journalists killed in Afghanistan than in any other country, and China once again the world's leading jailer of journalists. Nepal, shockingly, took second place on the imprisoned list, with 17 journalists detained as of December 31, 2001, due to a sweeping crackdown on the Maoist insurgency that had severe implications for the press.

Attacks on the Press 2001: Laos

2002-03-26T17:05:40Z

With a growing reputation as a haven for Western travelers looking for a less-developed, more "authentic" Asian experience, tiny landlocked Laos is slowly emerging from the cocoon of isolation in which it has dwelt since the communist victory in 1975. Unfortunately, openness to visitors has not translated into tolerance of free expression, and the country's press remains among the most restricted in Asia.

Attacks on the Press 2000: Asia Analysis

2001-03-19T17:10:30Z

DESPITE PRESS FREEDOM ADVANCES ACROSS ASIA IN RECENT YEARS, totalitarian regimes in Burma, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Laos maintained their stranglehold on the media. Even democratic Asian governments sometimes used authoritarian tactics to control the press, particularly when faced with internal conflict.

Sri Lanka, for instance, imposed harsh censorship regulations during the year in order to restrict reporting on the country's long-running civil war. And in countries with a vibrant independent press, including India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia, journalists were frequently subjected to physical assault and intimidation.

Attacks on the Press 2000: Laos

2001-03-19T17:05:05Z

CELEBRATIONS OF A QUARTER CENTURY OF COMMUNIST RULE, a wave of bomb attacks, and signs of internal dissent all contributed to foreign media interest in Laos in 2000, which in turn spurred the government to reassert its control of information and the press.

In July, Laotian viewers were able to tune in live Thai television coverage of a border raid by supporters of an heir to the former royalist government of Laos. The official media castigated the Thai journalists' coverage of the siege for lending credibility to what it termed banditry, but the incident highlighted the increasing difficulty of maintaining a regime of information control in Laos.

Laos: Government issues strict new Internet regulations

2000-10-27T16:00:00Z

October 27, 2000

His Excellency Khamtay Siphandone
President, Lao People's Democratic Republic
Office of the President
Samsantay Road
Vientiane, Laos

FAX: 856-21-22-36-38

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by your government's efforts to restrict the exchange of news and information over the Internet.

A notice published in the October 26 edition of the Vientiane Times, a government newspaper, warned people "not to use the Internet in the wrong way" and included a number of rules governing online content. The guidelines had been circulated a few days earlier by the Khao Sane Pathet Lao (KPL) news agency, which stated that those who disregard the rules "will be warned, educated, fined, expelled, or prosecuted according to the law," as reported by The Associated Press.

Laos: Australian TV crew censored

2000-07-12T04:00:00Z

April 6, 2000

His Excellency Gen. Khamtay Siphandone
President, Lao People's Democratic Republic
Office of the President
Lane Xang Avenue
Vientiane, Laos
VIA FAX: +856-21-214-208

Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is disturbed by the efforts of Lao authorities to censor news coverage of last week's explosion at a restaurant in the capital city, Vientiane.