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Showing posts with label egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label egypt. Show all posts

Monday, 21 February 2011

Panama and Egyptian Journalists

Being a Journalist can be a very hard life, but it seems here in the Uk the laws are generally quite favourable to us and despite a slightly tainted image in the eyes of the public, we don't have the worst reputation in the country(i'm looking at you politicians). I hope to make this a regular blog post where i keep you up to date in the world of Journalism.

The Republic of Panama is the southernmost country of Central America.
It is believed that around half of all Journalists in Panama have been involved in a defamation charge. If found guilty, they face a 1 year prison sentence, or a large fine.
The weaker laws in Panama(compared with the UK) means that weath and power have a larger voice.

has spoken against the political power which has affectedte rghts of journalists. An example given is of two tv reporters recieving a prison sentence despite thier reports on government documents(regarding corruption inthe immagration offices) being truthful and 'accurate'.

Very detailed, extensive coverage of the story can be found here if your interested in learning more about Panama, including a call for an asylum.

Egypt's Journalists hope for less censorship
Throughout Mubaraks reign in egypt, the journalists had restrictions and censorship which they fee they may finally be free of.

Jean-Francois Julliard, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general, hopes for "the creation of a real democracy in which journalists...are no longer afraid to express their views, in which diversity of ideas and opinions no longer entails any risk of imprisonment, and in which the right to receive and impart news and information is truly respected.”

Mahamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa coordinator, explained that after Mubarak's announcement 'a military officer went up to the reporter and handed him a professional camera with a massive lens'.

Mubarak's resingation lead to journalists(such as blogger Abdul Kareen) being released. He was originally expected to serve 4 years in prison for what he was writing, but his freedom shows signs of hope for journalists in Egypt.

Friday, 11 February 2011

Egypt - Mubarak Resigns

It's been an exciting few weeks, and an even more exciting couple of days for the people of Egypt.

Finally, Hosni Mubarak has resigned as President of Egypt. The announcement was met with cheers and celebration from those that have spent many days ensuring that he no longer had power.
Mubarak was the 4th President of Egypt, and was in power since 1981. It took 18 days of protesting to finally get Hosni to stand down. The BBC claims that Mubarak has survived six assasination attempts during his reign.

Many believed that Mubarak was going to announce it was announced that he would make a speech late thursday night(10/02/11). However, Hosni refused to step down and 'give in to foriegn pressure'. Instead, the now former president opted to transfer some power to his deputy Prime Minister Omar Suleiman. But it seems, the only responsibility he handed to Suleiman was to announce the presidents resignation, and leaving power with the army.

Mubarak's refusal to step down sooner had angered the protesters further on thursday night as they waved their shoes in the air and chanted things like 'He must leave'. With fears of violence erupting through Egypt, it was no surprise that Mubarak had finally seen sense. One journalist on Aljazeeras english news channel suggested it could have become 'One of the most violent revolutions in the history of the world'.

President Obama spoke of the transition of power, stating that i would not yet be clear if it
is 'immediate, meaningful or sufficient'.
The president went on to say it 'is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world'


To follow the build up to is announcement as well as videos and pictures, i recommend the bbc website.

http://www.blogger.com/www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12433045

'...the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people...'
President Barack Obama