14 Jun 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Geneva today for the start of a 17-day tour of Europe, visiting the continent for the first time in 24 years. The politician, who returned to the southeast Asian country in 1988 and has led its pro-democracy movement, was restricted from leaving Burma for her speaking out against the country’s brutal military regime. During her trip, Suu Kyi will accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won in 1991, but could not collect at the time because of fears of being prevented from re-entering Burma. The activist was this year elected to the country’s Parliament.
4 Apr 2012 | Asia and Pacific, News and features
The election of Aung San Suu Kyi was another step in Burma’s advance to democracy. But journalists are aware that the small gains made by the media could be taken back. Tom Fawthrop reports
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24 Oct 2011 | Middle East and North Africa, News and features
Tunisians flocked to voting stations yesterday in the country’s first-ever free elections, but only the cultivation of an independent media will safeguard democracy and free expression, writes Rohan Jayasekera
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25 Jun 2010 | Index Index, minipost
The BBC and Facebook websites have been partially blocked. The news comes just a month after the authorities began installing tracking software on publicly accessible computers in Vietnam. The software is designed to track user’s activity for 30 days. Local reports suggest that the software has been installed to monitor the number of people accessing digital content discussing democracy, justice, peace and freedom, issues which are counter to the political objectives of the communist state. Internet users in Ho Chi Minh City told the Asia News agency that the government was attempting to block all “radical” sites.
