His daily was definitively suspended and the court prohibited him from practising as a journalist for five years. Yet many titles still dare not address subjects such as fighting among those vying for power, or corruption at high levels. Some journalists who have refused self-censorship and partisan approaches have had to give up their profession or leave the country. The resumption of violence at the end of the year bodes ill for the emergence of a press truly independent from rival clans seeking power. In Israel, Kuwait and Lebanon the press enjoys more effective freedom than in neighbouring countries.
Pressure exists but is economic rather than political.
Paradoxically, it is in Lebanon that the only journalist killed in this region in 1999 died. Ilan Roe, correspondent in northern Israel for the state-owned Israeli radio station Kol Israel, was a victim in South Lebanon of an attack for which the Hezbollah claimed responsibility. The journalist was interviewing soldiers in the area controlled by the ALS, Israel's back-up force in South Lebanon. Two countries, Morocco and Jordan, experienced political upheaval in 1999 following the death of their monarchs. In both cases the young kings, aware of the implications of political reform and an improvement in the human rights situation, have encouraged the development of a more independent press.