(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release: Vienna, 30 April 2004 On World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2004, IPI Urges United States to Review Visa Policy for Foreign Journalists Integral to every democracy and civil society, the journalism profession remains one of the most dangerous with 64 journalists killed in 2003, and […]
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release:
Vienna, 30 April 2004
On World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2004, IPI Urges United States to Review Visa Policy for Foreign Journalists
Integral to every democracy and civil society, the journalism profession remains one of the most dangerous with 64 journalists killed in 2003, and 27 killed so far in 2004. Many of these deaths were the result of direct targeting by those who wish to prevent journalists from exposing their activities.
All over the world, journalists have been reporting from zones of conflict and covering political events for the international community. In such times, the need for information is at its greatest, but journalists have experienced repression, or paid with their lives for doing their job – the seeking and imparting of information.
In many parts of the world access to information for journalists is limited. Aside from war zones, countries in transition have also been a cause for concern. The ten new countries joining the European Union (EU) on 1 May 2004 will be expected to uphold the freedom of expression standards advocated by the EU.
Furthermore, journalists have faced harassment in countries usually at the forefront of democracy. In addition to the problems in EU-member Italy, where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi controls much of the country’s media, the United States has made it harder for foreign journalists to enter the country.
Foreign journalists are currently excluded from the U.S. Visa Waiver Program for Visitors from Friendly Countries under which visitors from 27 countries can enter the United States for business or pleasure without a visa if they intend to stay for less than 90 days. Historically, working journalists have been excluded from the Visa Waiver Program because they could obtain long-term visas with ease and because customs officials routinely waived them in without the need for long-term visas.
Since March 2003, U.S. customs officials have taken a harder line against journalists. Numerous foreign journalists travelling to the United States have been stopped at U.S. borders, refused entry and deported forcibly to their home countries because they did not have an “I-visa”, which all foreign journalists are required to have. Journalists from Australia, Austria, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom, among other countries whose citizens do not need visas, were detained and expelled for failing to have a valid visa. In many cases, they were treated like common criminals; some were handcuffed, kept in holdover cells, and prevented from making telephone calls.
IPI is working with the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) to resolve the problem and to make travel for journalists easier. Journalist groups from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK have already joined the IPI-led campaign.
On World Press Freedom Day, IPI calls on governments around the world to accept the right of journalists to report freely on events, and to do everything possible to ensure the safety of journalists.
