10 World Leaders Are Named ‘Enemies of the Press’
The leaders of Nigeria, Myanmar, Belarus, Cuba and Indonesia were among 10 “enemies of the press” named Thursday by the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.
The New York-based nonprofit organization that seeks to safeguard press freedom said the leaders from around the world were selected “for their relentless campaigns of suppression of journalists.”
“All of these 10 individuals are intent upon suppressing any independent media voice, through whatever means necessary,” CPJ Executive Director William Orne Jr. said in a statement.
“They are collectively responsible for unabated press-freedom abuse that has penalized hundreds of journalists through physical attack, imprisonment, censorship, harassment and even murder.”
Issued to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the list names: Nigeria’s military ruler Gen. Sani Abacha; Myanmar’s military ruler Gen. Than Shwe; Belarus President Alexander G. Lukashenko; Cuba’s President Fidel Castro; Indonesia’s President Suharto; Turkmenistan President Saparmurad A. Niyazov; Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi; Tunisia’s President Zine el Abidine ben Ali; China’s President Jiang Zemin and Jordan’s Prime Minister Abdul Salam Majali.
CPJ said 21 journalists were imprisoned in Nigeria, more than any other African nation.
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