Press Freedom Under Attack Worldwide

Français Press freedom violations including attacks on journalists continue to mount worldwide, the World Association of Newspapers said in its half-year review of global press freedom that paints a bleak picture in much of the world.

The report, presented Saturday to the Board of the Paris-based WAN, shows press freedom under attack in dozens of countries on every continent. Twenty-eight journalists and other media workers have been killed since December 2008, with six of them killed in the Palestinian Territories, which emerged as the deadliest place for journalists in the last six months.

The report, which can be found here [1], said:

Americas

Journalists in Latin America who report on corruption work in a climate of fear and intimidation. In Central America, a culture of impunity allows many who commit murder and other crimes against journalists to escape justice.

Mexico remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to practice their profession. Since 2000, 30 journalists have been killed and a further eight remain missing. The attacks have increased recently and the government has made no progress instituting legal reforms.

In the United States, the House of Representatives introduced a new version of the Global Online Freedom Act on 6 May in an effort to prevent US companies from "cooperating with repressive governments in transforming the Internet into a tool of censorship and surveillance."; If passed, it would be a welcome advancement in internet freedom.

Twenty-three journalists continue to languish in prison in Cuba.

Middle East and North Africa

Press freedom violations continue to mount in the Middle East and North Africa. Autocratic governments use repressive media laws to silence journalists, making self-censorship common in the region. Bloggers have also increasingly faced court cases, arrests, intimidations and killings, for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

In Iraq, which has long been a deadly place for journalists, security measures in the past six months have improved, allowing foreign and local journalists to report more openly and safely. But the violence that has characterized the recent history of Iraq continues to have implications for media - 225 journalists and media workers have been killed in the past six years.

Conditions for the media in the Palestinian Territories worsened over the past six months due to the Israeli-led offensive in Gaza in December and January and a surge of intimidation from Hamas and Fatah against journalists. Between 27 December 2008 and 17 January 2009, six journalists were killed, and three media houses were bombed under the allegation that they were being used as a propaganda tool for Hamas.

In Saudi Arabia, an estimated 400,000 internet sites are blocked, with journalists and bloggers facing severe punishment for discussing political, social or religious issues that are viewed as "indecent"; or contrary to the state or its system. In April, the government imposed severe restrictions on internet cafes, requiring their owners to install secret surveillance cameras and to register users names and identity numbers.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Governments throughout the region continue to use repressive laws to charge journalists with defamation, sedition and for "disrupting public order";. Censorship, both self-censorship and government imposed, has downgraded the quality of much of Africa's media. Conflicts, opposition party election campaigns and taboo subjects are at times absent from media or skewed to fit the interests of government.

Press freedom has declined in Senegal, largely due to an increase in authoritarian policies created by President Abdoulaye Wade. In Nigeria, the government continues to intimidate and sanction journalists who report on alleged cases of government corruption.

In Sudan, the government is intensifying its campaign to intimidate journalists and others who criticise the authorities. In Eritrea, 14 journalists remain behind bars in secret jails.

Reporting conditions have improved in Kenya since the post-election violence that rocked the country last year, but intimidation and a culture of impunity still exist.

Somali journalists work in one of the world's most volatile environments - media houses are frequently closed and violence has become a daily fixture. Since the start of the year, two journalists have been killed, three have been seriously injured and several others arrested.

Poor conditions have remained for the media and journalists in Zimbabwe. Newspapers printed abroad are still subject to heavy import taxes and high printing paper prices, nearly bankrupting papers such as The Zimbabwean and the inclusive government has yet to institute democratic media reforms.

Europe and Central Asia

Freedom of the press continues to be challenged in various parts of Europe and Central Asia. Death threats against, or prosecution of, journalists reporting on conflicts, war crimes and organised crime remain disturbingly common in some countries. In several EU countries, authorities are increasingly failing to respect the right of journalists to protect the confidentiality of sources. Anti-terrorism legislation is also affecting freedom of expression and governments seem to be using these laws for their own political purposes.

The United Nations Human Rights Council, sitting in Geneva, adopted a new resolution on "defamation of religion"; which has significant press freedom implications and it can be used by authoritarian governments to prevent discussion or publication of legitimate religious and cultural issues. A list of recent cases can be found at here [2].

In the Czech Republic, new laws jail sentences of up to five years or a fine of up to 5 million Czech crowns (about 185,000 Euros) for journalists using certain sources of information such as records of police telephone tapping. I

Journalists who report on the mafia in Italy continue to receive threats of violence and several are working under police protection.

The media environment in Turkey remains fragile. In addition to banning publication of two Kurdish dailies, authorities handed down a fine for alleged tax fraud to the Dogan Media Group, the country's largest, for delayed payment of a tax on a sale of shares to German publishers Axel Springer. The Dogan Group denies the charges and the case is widely seen as retribution for critical reporting on the government.

Asia

In Asia, independent media continue to face an array of obstacles, mainly in the form of hostile governments and internal conflicts. China's mass censorship and repression of independent media, Sri Lanka's civil war, and Nepal's resort to violence against the press are only some of the key challenges facing press freedom in the region.

Since December, press freedom has been deteriorating in Afghanistan. As the country nears its presidential election, due in August, pressures and violence against the press have been increasing.

In Burma, press freedom advocates and journalists still face long prison sentences and extensive censorship. In March, the ruling military junta prepared to implement an online censorship committee that would have access to all online articles and be empowered to edit them directly.

Chinese authorities continue to arrest, intimidate, and sentence journalists. In One month alone, media was barred from covering a taxi strike, a Tibetan printer was sentenced to seven years in jail, more than 20 reporters were arrested, foreign websites were blocked, and two journalists were assaulted for their reporting.

The full report is available at www.wan-press.org/article18140.html [3].

The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom and the professional and business interests of newspapers world-wide. Representing 18,000 newspapers, its membership includes 77 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 122 countries, 12 news agencies and 11 regional and world-wide press groups.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr [4]