NEW YORK, April 30 (Reuters) - The leaders of Nigeria, Myanmar, Belarus, Cuba and Indonesia were among 10 "enemies of the press'' named on Thursday by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The New York-based non-profit organization that seeks to safeguard press freedom said the list of leaders from around the world were selected "for their relentless campaigns of suppression of journalists.''
"All of these 10 individuals are intent upon suppressing any independent media voice, through whatever means necessary,'' CPJ executive director William Orne Jr. said in a statement.
"They are collectively responsible for unabating press freedom abuse that has penalized hundreds of journalists through physical attack, imprisonment, censorship, harassment and even murder.''
Issued to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the list names: Nigeria's military ruler General Sani Abacha; Myanmar's military ruler General Than Shwe; Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko; Cuba's President Fidel Castro; Indonesia's President Suharto; Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov; Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi; Tunisia's President Zine Abdine Ben Ali; China's President Jiang Zemin and Jordan's Prime Minister Abd al-Salam al-Majali.
CPJ singled out Gen. Abacha. It said there were 21 journalists imprisoned in Nigeria, more than any other African nation. CPJ cited February's murder of Guardian newspaper editor Tunde Oladepo and the life sentence of Diet editor Niran Malaolu as "warnings to journalists not to criticize Abacha's stage-managed referendum to secure his succession unopposed.''
Abacha is widely expected to stand unopposed in presidential elections August 1 after he secured the backing of all five registered parties as the sole candidate last week.
In citing Myanmar, the group said there were no independent newspapers in the southeast Asian country and fax machines, photocopies and computer modems were illegal.
The CPJ accused Belarus president Lukashenko of waging an "ongoing, Soviet-style campaign against independent and foreign media'' by closing down a newspaper and silencing personnel at Russian Television.
The CPJ said the media in Cuba remained state controlled and independent journalists were frequently detained and beaten.
In Indonesia, the CPJ said President Suharto was preventing independent coverage of politics and business by arresting reporters or driving them into hiding. REUTERS
19:55 04-30-98