(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN press release: Sun City, South Africa, 26 November 2001 Press Freedom Under Attack World-Wide: WAN Press freedom has come under attack in virtually every region of the world this year, with an alarming number of journalists killed or imprisoned, and an increasing threat of censorship and repression in […]
(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN press release:
Sun City, South Africa, 26 November 2001
Press Freedom Under Attack World-Wide: WAN
Press freedom has come under attack in virtually every region of the world this year, with an alarming number of journalists killed or imprisoned, and an increasing threat of censorship and repression in many countries, the World Association of Newspapers said Monday in its annual half-year review of press freedom world-wide.
“The global press freedom situation has deteriorated in several countries over the last six months; the number of murdered journalists, particularly, is rising dramatically”, WAN said in a report to its Board, meeting Monday in South Africa.
“Several European countries and the United States are among the countries where journalists have been killed: terrorism of one kind or another is definitely a threat that must be taken into account in every nation,” the report said, adding that the events of September 11 were raising concerns of increasing censorship in the United States and elsewhere.
Fifty-six journalists have been killed world-wide this year, 41 of them since early June and seven in Afghanistan in the last two weeks. The total is already beyond the total of 53 who were killed in all of 2000.
Latin America remains the most dangerous place for journalists to work nine journalists have been killed in Colombia alone, and journalists have also died violently in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Details of all cases can be found on the WAN web site at www.wan-press.org/pf/killed/index.html. The press freedom review can be found at www.wan-press.org/pf/globalreview/index.html.
One hundred and five journalists are currently in prison, with Iran (19), Burma (18) and China (15) jailing the most journalists. Across Africa, 13 media professionals are in prison.
Asia and the Middle East are the regions where journalists have been harassed or jailed most frequently in the line of duty this year. China and Burma are the worst offenders in Asia, while Iran continues to stifle freedom of expression despite hopes of liberalisation. Although Iran has released several journalists from prison in recent months, many have been pressured to sign confessions and their families have been harassed.
In Syria, despite the release of prominent journalist Nizar Nayouf in May, the press has been reduced to silence. The family of Nizar Nayouf is systematically harassed and the reporter himself in France for medical treatment still faces several charges.
Western Europe has recently seen journalists murdered by terrorists in the Basque region of Spain and in Northern Ireland, emphasising the necessity of a serious defence of the right to expression in countries where such freedom is often taken for granted.
In Central Europe and Russia, six journalists have been killed this year, while governments in Ukraine and Belarus have mounted a continuous clampdown on the independent press. The press freedom situation has also deteriorated in the Caucasus, particularly in Azerbaijan. Although there has been much progress in the Balkans, there are still difficulties in regard to press freedom.
In the Central Asian Republics, Kyrgystan’s authorities have closed one newspaper and continue to harass others. The situation remains difficult in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. “The fact that these countries are now important allies in the fight against the Bin Laden terror network should not take our attention away from the lack of press freedom,” the report said.
Farther east, in China, the government has stopped access to many foreign websites and monitors domestic sites. The Chinese authorities have cracked down especially hard on internet-based news services. A high number of web journalists have been arrested and have received harsh prison sentences. Closures and arrests are the rule more than the exception.
Even in countries with a vibrant independent press, freedom of expression has come under attack. In South Korea, three publishers were imprisoned until very recently following a tax investigation that targeted South Korean newspapers. In the Philippines, five journalists were killed in a few short months.
In many African countries, it is very risky to be a journalist. Reporters are often exposed to jailing, censorship and harassment when criticising authorities.
In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe and his government intensified the harsh crackdown on the independent press ahead of next year’s presidential elections: expulsion of foreign correspondents, public criticism of the press, censorship and arrests.
WAN has launched more than 170 protest campaigns in more than 70 countries since the beginning of the year, with particular focus on China, Colombia, Iran and Burma. A significant number of protests have been sent to Bangladesh, Belarus, DR Congo, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, South Korea and Zimbabwe. The complete list of protests can be found on the WAN web site at www.wan-press.org/pf/index.html.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 17,000 newspapers; its membership includes 70 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 93 countries, 17 news agencies and eight regional and world-wide press groups.
