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Cuba shamed on press freedom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An international group campaigning for press freedom has put Cuba among the top ten countries where it says restrictions on newspapers and journalists have worsened in the last five years. According to the report, Cuba became one of the world's leading jailers of journalists in the past five years with 29 journalists being imprisoned in 2003 alone in a massive crackdown. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also singled out Cuba as the fifth worst overall in their list of places worldwide where press freedom has deteriorated. Limited coverage In addition to the imprisonments in Cuba, the report claims four foreign journalists were expelled after covering a 2005 political opposition meeting, with a further 10 being barred entry when Fidel Castro became ill in 2006. The report reflects a mixture of relatively open countries that have turned increasingly repressive and traditionally restrictive nations where press conditions, remarkably, have worsened. Why Cuba? According to the CPJ, Cuba is an example of the latter and has been included high in the list because it has ratcheted up press restrictions through widespread imprisonments, expulsions, and harassment over the last 5 years. “The behaviour of all of these countries is deeply troubling, but the rapid retreats in nations where the media have thrived demonstrate just how easily the fundamental right to press freedom can be taken away,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. Three nations in sub-Saharan Africa were also among the countries highlighted as having deteriorating conditions for free-press. Sub-Saharan democracies suffering Ethiopia, Gambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have won praise at times for their transition to democracy. However the CPJ report claims that but they are actually now moving in reverse on press issues. “Democracy’s foothold in Africa is shallow when it comes to press freedom,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. CPJ staff excluded from consideration zones such as Iraq and Somalia, which lack conventional governance and newsgathering. The CPJ's top ten offenders: 1. Ethiopia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Commonwealth targets climate change 
