(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a 25 November 2002 WAN press release: Moscow, Russia, 25 November 2002 For immediate release Press Freedom Deteriorates World-Wide in 2002: WAN The global press freedom situation has deteriorated in the past year, with an alarming number of journalists killed or in prison, the World Association of Newspapers said Monday […]
(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a 25 November 2002 WAN press release:
Moscow, Russia, 25 November 2002
For immediate release
Press Freedom Deteriorates World-Wide in 2002: WAN
The global press freedom situation has deteriorated in the past year, with an alarming number of journalists killed or in prison, the World Association of Newspapers said Monday in its annual review of press freedom world-wide.
“In those countries with long-standing freedom of expression problems, there is no or very little progress and, in some areas where progress has been identified (Namibia, West Africa, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and East Europe), recent developments make it very clear that there is still a long way to go for the media,” WAN said in a report to its Board, meeting Monday in Moscow, Russia.
Forty-one media professionals have been killed so far in 2002, with Colombia again the most deadly place for journalists (10), Russia in second position (4), and Mexico (3) and the Philippines (3) also hard hit.
At least 119 journalists remain in jail, against 111 at the same time last year. Nepal was the country with most journalists in prison (24), followed by Eritrea (18), Burma (15), China (11) and Iran (10).
“These depressing statistics should not, however, hide certain positive breakthroughs, like in Benin and Ghana, probably the two countries on the African continent, together with South Africa, with the highest level of press freedom,” WAN said in the report, which also said improvements had been registered in Somalia, Sudan, Peru and Afghanistan.
The report said the national press in Russia had seen a rise in the level of professionalism, though there remain “very serious problems” in the regions. In China, where there is no press freedom, there is nevertheless “a growing ambition among newspapers to develop professional operations, financially and editorially, and it is an important task to assist in this process, which will inevitably bring wider limits for freedom of expression with it,” the review said.
The full report can be found on the WAN web site at http://wan-press.org/globalreview/.
Region by region, the report said:
–In Africa, the Eritrean and Zimbabwean governments have launched a real war against journalists and independent media, resorting to daily arrests, prosecution, harassment, and censorship.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, hopes of a serious improvement of the situation for the press have been stifled despite a presidential pardon for journalists, and serious problems continue in Togo, Rwanda, Nigeria, Liberia, Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso.
In Namibia, Zambia, Angola and Swaziland, independent media have been restricted “in the national interest”. In Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, the situation has improved with the release of imprisoned journalists serving long prison terms.
–In the Americas, the fight against terrorism in the United States has led to a reflection on the tasks of the free press, concluding in self-criticism against the uncritical, patriotic role some news media played after the 11 September attacks. There are still problems for the press in obtaining access to information about the prisoners kept at the Guantanamo military base.
“It is always serious when freedom of the press is being hindered in one of the countries that have been a cornerstone of freedom of expression,” says the report. “One should, however, not lose one’s sense of proportion and it is still in Latin America that press freedom violations are increasingly
numerous.”
Ten journalists have been killed so far this year in Colombia, three in Mexico, one is Bolivia and one in Venezuela. Cuba remains exceedingly repressive, while Venezuelan President Chavez continues to raise concern with repeated attacks on the press.
The situation in several Latin American countries — Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua — has worsened, while clear improvements have been seen in Chile and Peru.
–In Asia, Nepal is the biggest jailer of journalists in the wake of a harsh crackdown against a Maoist insurgency, while China also remains on the list of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists. Bangladesh continues to prove extremely dangerous for journalists, Vietnam has no place for press freedom, and North Korea and Burma are as closed as any societies on earth.
“In some countries of South-East Asia where press freedom is usually respected, there is a fear that restrictions might come back, like in Indonesia. A positive development has taken place in Sri Lanka,” where the long-running civil war has seen peace initiatives.
–Among the problems in Europe and Central Asia, journalists have been assaulted in Belarus and in Ukraine. In Russia, journalists have been murdered when investigating corruption and organised crime. Several Central Asian countries have used the war against terrorism to stifle the media.
In Poland, the government has attempted to clamp down on the Rzcezpospolita newspaper and new legal proposals on ownership will make it difficult for private media to thrive. The same tendencies toward stronger state control can be seen in Romania, Yugoslavia, Moldova and Macedonia.
–The Middle East and North Africa are still dominated by authoritarian regimes and too few changes have been noticed since the arrival of a younger generation of sovereigns in some of them. Although there has been some opening to new media opportunities, the old habits of censorship,
harassment, arrests and criminal prosecutions are still apparent.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 71 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 100 countries, 13 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.
