Burma named worst country to be a blogger
Posted on May 2, 2009
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Imprisioned Burmese blogger Ny Phone Latt
Burma has been named at the top of a list of the ten worst countries to be a blogger compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
In a new report, they note, “With a military government that severely restricts Internet access and imprisons people for years for posting critical material, Burma is the worst place in the world to be a blogger.”
With the increasing popularity of blogs, CPJ’s executive director Joel Simon says bloggers are at the vanguard of the information revolution. But, he notes governments are getting better at censoring the Internet and restricting access, while some countries have also jailed bloggers.
Burmese blogger Nay Phone Latt was sentenced to twenty and a half years in jail for publishing a cartoon of junta leader General Than Shwe (see: Bloggers unite for Nay Phone Latt). His sentence was later reduced on appeal to 12 years (see: Nay Phone Latt’s sentence reduced).
The military junta has also jailed popular comedian and blogger, Zarganar, who was often critical of the regime.
Also on the CPJ list were Iran, China, Cuba, Turkmenistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Egypt and Vietnam.
Simon said, “The governments on the list are trying to roll back the information revolution, and, for now, they are having success.”
The report was released to mark World Press Freedom Day, on May 3.
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