Across the region, from Mauritania to Iran, governments sought to control or silence independent and dissenting voices in the media. Political violence provided the backdrop for government restrictions on the press in Algeria and Turkey, where authorities continued efforts to quash independent reporting of two of the region’s bloodiest conflicts. In Algeria, the press routinely reported on the horrific massacres of innocent civilians, but fear of reprisal and the sheer difficulty of gathering information kept journalists from identifying the perpetrators. Indeed, the government’s grip on "security"-related information and its restrictions on the local and foreign press have kept most news about the Algerian conflict out of the public’s reach and have shaken confidence in the state. "Censorship and the manipulation of the press creates a climate of suspicion," wrote Algerian political scientist Lahouari Addi in late 1997. "People have lost confidence in the forces of law and order; they openly accuse the government of complicity with those who slit the throats of small children. Only freedom of information will restore the credibility of the police and army and prevent further massacres of innocents."

Calls for greater freedom of information could also be heard in Turkey among critics of the 13-year military conflict with Kurdish insurgents in the southeast. Like their Algerian counterparts, Turkish journalists faced ongoing state efforts to silence independent coverage of the costly conflict. The threat of prosecution under Turkey’s press laws as well as restrictions on the freedom of movement of journalists in the southeast and in northern Iraq continued to deny the public alternative news and opinion about the state’s counter-insurgency campaign.

In Saudi Arabia, Libya, Tunisia, Iraq, and Syria, the state is in total command of the broadcast media and press, allowing no outlets for dissenting voices, while the Palestinian press, in its fourth year under Palestinian Authority rule, has become steadily more submissive to the heavy-handed practices of authorities. In countries where privately owned and independent media push the limits of government-sanctioned views, they faced direct pressure from the state, in the form of legislation and executive decrees. In May, Jordan’s King Hussein put his stamp of approval on a draconian press law that virtually eliminated the country’s burgeoning and often-raucous weekly newspapers, increasingly known for their independent reporting on government policies and other sensitive political issues. In Lebanon, the government of Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri instituted prior censorship of news and political programs broadcast abroad by satellite, while the media remain subject to broadcast and press laws that restrict news content. Press laws in Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, and Yemen enable authorities to prosecute journalists for reporting on alleged government corruption and other controversial domestic issues.

International and Arabic satellite networks have become an increasingly popular alternative for news and information for residents of Tehran, Damascus, and Algiers, providing a means to circumvent government-imposed restrictions on the flow of information. Internet use has begun to spread gradually in many countries throughout the region despite government efforts to limit its use. Although the Internet remains largely beyond the reach of most people because of factors such as cost and literacy, independent daily and weekly newspapers in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Yemen have gone online. The Internet has also allowed people throughout the region to read daily European and U.S. newspapers, offering them a window to see the world beyond their borders. In several countries, however, Internet access is banned, unavailable, or closely monitored by the state. Efforts now underway by member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council to restrict Internet access to politically "subversive" information—similar to tactics adopted recently in Singapore—signal a troubling trend.

Still, journalists, concerned citizens, and political opposition groups continue to challenge government attempts to muzzle free expression. In Jordan, when opposition parties boycotted the country’s parliamentary elections in November, their complaints included the restrictive new press law. In December, Lebanese university students and professionals took to the streets to protest the government’s censorship of political programming on television. And throughout the region, freedom of expression remained high on the agenda of the blossoming human rights movement.

CPJ and other international organizations have sought greater collaboration with local nongovernmental organizations to pressure the region’s governments for change. In July, CPJ led a group of international press freedom organizations and local journalists groups in three days of talks with the new Turkish government of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to urge the government to release the country’s imprisoned journalists and end state harassment of the press. Yilmaz pledged that his government would make press freedom a priority and would initiate reform of the country’s harsh laws that govern the press. In perhaps the year’s most positive development, following the mission, the parliament passed a limited amnesty bill that resulted in the release of seven jailed editors, including Ocak Isik Yurtçu, a 1996 winner of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award. (For more on CPJ’s work in Turkey see, "CPJ's 1997  Turkey Campaign: Background and Chronology, part of the special report, "Anatolian Achipeligo.")