FOTP 2013 Full Report

October the government denied several international journalists entrance to the country, ahead ofthe ninth Asia-Europe People’s Forum, and others reported intimidation and harassment for theircoverage of the event.The number of media outlets continues to grow. There are around 24 regularly printednewspapers, all government-affiliated. Privately owned magazines, primarily from Chinesebackedcompanies, covering general interest, health, and other nonpolitical issues, have emergedin recent years. Newspaper and other print media circulation figures remain extremely weak dueto low literacy rates and an insufficient distribution infrastructure outside the capital, Vientiane.The government is eager to boost Laos’s information and communication technologycapabilities, and advancements in this sector have resulted in an increase in television and radiostations. Nearly all 32 television stations and 44 radio stations are government run, thoughcompanies are increasingly permitted to buy airtime and run privately produced content. Chinaand Vietnam have provided much of the investment in the broadcast infrastructure. A fewcommunity radio programs, covering mostly local interest stories, have sprung up with the helpof international development organizations. Foreign television and radio services, such as Voiceof America and Radio Free Asia, broadcast in Laos without disruptions. A number of citizenswatch Thai television and radio, and wealthier individuals have access to satellite television.Nearly 11 percent of the population accessed the internet in 2012, and Lao-languagecontent, though minimal, is growing. Young Laotians are increasingly taking to social media todiscuss social issues. The state controls all internet service providers. The government’stechnical ability to monitor the internet is limited, though sporadic reports of blocking webactivity have surfaced. However, the government’s efforts to consolidate internet infrastructureto a single gateway, as well as other initiatives, signal interest in adopting the censorship policiesand technologies of its neighbors, Vietnam and China.LatviaStatus: FreeLegal Environment: 6Political Environment: 12Economic Environment: 10Total Score: 28Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 22,F 23,F 26,F 26,F 27,FLatvia’s constitution protects freedoms of speech and the press, and the government generallyupholds these rights in practice. Libel remains a criminal offense. While in previous yearsjournalists rarely faced criminal prosecution, European Parliament member Aleksandrs Mirskisaccused journalist Gunta Sloga of libel for publishing a 2009 report that questioned the merit ofhis military experience. After a lengthy legal process, Sloga was acquitted in July 2011, butMirskis appealed the judgment, and at the end of 2012 the case was pending before the SupremeCourt. Incitement to racial and ethnic hatred, as well as anti-Semitic speech, is prohibited. InApril 2012, the National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP) initiated an administrativeprocedure against Radio NABA over anti-Semitic comments that aired on one of its weekly238