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Peshawar,
October 24, 2009 – Pakistan and Somalia share the world record for the
highest numbers of journalists killed in any country from September 1,
2008 to August 31, 2009, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on
Tuesday.
In its eighth annual report – the World Press Freedom Ranking – the
French media watchdog said war and terrorism exposed journalists to
great danger in much of Asia. “War and terrorism wrought havoc and
exposed journalists to great danger. Afghanistan (149th) is sapped not
only by Taliban violence and death threats, but also by unjustified
arrests by the security forces. Despite having a dynamic news media,
Pakistan (159th) is crippled by murders of journalists and the
aggressiveness of the Taliban,” Reporters Without Borders said.
“Press freedom must be defended everywhere in the world with the same
energy and the same insistence,” Reporters Without Borders
Secretary-General Jean-François Julliard said.
The organization compiles the index annually on the basis of
questionnaires filled by hundreds of journalists and media experts
around the world.
The report said Europe had long set an example of press freedom, but
several European nations had fallen significantly in this year’s index.
Although the first 13 places were still held by European countries,
others such as France (43rd), Slovakia (44th) and Italy (49th) continued
their descent, falling eight, 37 and five places respectively. In so
doing, they have given way to young democracies in Africa (Mali, South
Africa and Ghana) and the western hemisphere (Uruguay and Trinidad and
Tobago).
“Journalists are still physically threatened in Italy and Spain (44th),
but also in the Balkans, especially Croatia (78th), where the owner and
marketing director of the weekly Nacional were killed by a bomb on
October 23 2008,” it said.
But the main threat, the report said, and a more serious one in the long
term, “comes from new legislation. Many laws adopted since September
2008 have compromised the work of journalists. One adopted by Slovakia
(44th) has introduced the dangerous concept of an automatic right of
response and has given the culture minister considerable influence over
publications”.
The US climbed 20 places in the rankings to the 20th spot, in just one
year.
“But this sharp rise concerns only the state of press freedom within the
United States. President Obama may have been awarded the Nobel peace
prize, but his country is still fighting two wars. Despite a slight
improvement, the attitude of the United States towards the media in Iraq
and Afghanistan is worrying. Several journalists were injured or
arrested by the US military. One, Ibrahim Jassam, is still being held in
Iraq,” the RSF report said.
Source: Daily Times, Oct 20, 2009
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