Pakistan tied with Somalia for highest deaths of journalists

RSF says 159th-ranked Pakistan crippled by murder of journalists, Taliban aggressiveness

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: 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 organisation 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.