The 1980s
Government actions against journalists, 1980 to 1989
8 recorded incidents dated 1980 to 1989, by continent and region.
Africa
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2, 1985 | South Africa bans television and photographic coverage of unrest under a state of emergency | South Africa | Shutdowns and blocking | P. W. Botha | Reversed (June 1, 1990) |
Asia
Eastern Asia
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 31, 1980 | South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controls | South Korea | Licensing and closure of outlets | Chun Doo-hwan | Reversed (June 1, 1987) |
| June 14, 1989 | China expels foreign journalists and restricts coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests | China | Expulsion and visa denial | Li Peng | Sustained (January 1, 1990) |
South-eastern Asia
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 18, 1988 | Burma's new military government tightens pre-publication press controls after seizing power | Myanmar | Prior restraint | Saw Maung | Ongoing (January 1, 1989) |
Europe
Eastern Europe
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 13, 1981 | Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight | Poland | Shutdowns and blocking | Wojciech Jaruzelski | Reversed (July 22, 1983) |
Northern Europe
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1988 | United Kingdom bars broadcasters from airing Sinn Féin members' own voices | United Kingdom | Licensing and closure of outlets | Margaret Thatcher | Reversed (September 16, 1994) |
North America
Caribbean
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Haiti's Duvalier government arrests and deports Radio Haiti-Inter staff, driving its director into exile | Haiti | Expulsion and visa denial | Jean-Claude Duvalier | Reversed (February 1, 1986) |
Northern America
| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 25, 1983 | United States military bars journalists from the invasion of Grenada | United States | Access bans | Ronald Reagan | Reversed (April 1, 1985) |