13 Sept 2006

Predators of Press Freedom

On Reporters without Borders:
"There are instigators and powerful people behind press freedom violations whose responsibility is not always apparent. Whether presidents, ministers, chiefs of staff, religious leaders or the heads of armed groups, these predators of press freedom have the power to censor, imprison, kidnap, torture and, in the worst cases, murder journalists. To better expose them, Reporters Without Borders has produced these portraits."

Like in Burma:
Than Shwe
Head of government

 The paranoid head of the military council that has ruled the country since 1988, he decided to transfer the national capital to the remote central plateau, making it even harder for journalists to do their job. The council imposes prior censorship on all publications. Than Shwe has a personal hatred of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and 75-year-old veteran journalist Win Tin, who has been in prison since July 1989. He also maintains a blacklist of more than 50 foreign journalists banned from the country.   Source: Reporters sans frontières - Belarus

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