In Iraq Killing Journalists Is Almost A Sport, In Iran The Wrong Blogs Gets You In Jail, and In The US Major Internet Companies Put Profit Ahead of Press Freedom In China -- All Condemnations By The World Association Of Newspapers Press Freedom Review

Philip Stone in Moscow June 4, 2006

In the past six months alone 38 journalists have died around the world, 16 of them in Iraq, making that country the most dangerous for working journalists. But that’s not the only place where journalists, and citizen journalists, face death or imprisonment, and the sad fact is that there is increasing global pressure on freedom of expression, according to the semi-annual report by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).

Cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan, working for CBS News, were killed May 29. CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier was severly injured. Newly appointed Bush administration domestic advisor Karl Zimsmeister referred to journalists covering Iraq as "whiny and appallingly soft."

And such pressures can be direct and they can be subtle. Talking about the US and press freedom abuse seldom comes in the same breath, but WAN takes particular umbrage with US internet companies that bow to China’s rigid censorship laws in order to have access to that market. Cisco, for example, has long been blamed for selling equipment to China that allows authorities to easily censor what Chinese can and cannot see on their Internet screens.

“Major US Internet companies continue to place profit ahead of principle, with Google being the most recent example of companies that have bowed to China’s rigid censorship laws in order to gain access to its market. In February, the search engine launched a Chinese web browser which has been censored to satisfy Beijing’s hard-line rulers,” the report said.

Yahoo has also come under pressure and there are accusations the company has given information to Chinese authorities that resulted in some users in China going to jail. The American companies respond usually by saying they have to conform to Chinese law in order to operate in the country. So if operating there means doing things that violate press freedom as Americans know it, should they be there?

But it is the intentional killings around the world that really stand out. Thirty-eight journalists have been killed since November 2005, according to WAN.  The 16 in Iraq – plus the serious wounding of others there – leaves little doubt that journalists are targeted. Four were murdered in the space of one week in March and in all cases, according to WAN, the journalists were specifically targeted and ambushed by unidentified gunmen.

“But that (global) number could have been higher -- press freedom monitors report that journalists are censoring themselves rather than risk their lives in Colombia and the Philippines, two of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists, where murderers operate with impunity. Seven journalists have been killed in the Philippines and one in Colombia in the past six months” the report said.

"In the past six months, journalists worldwide have once again been the victims of harassment, physical violence and murder. A record number of journalists were arrested and imprisoned in Nepal, Belarus, and Ethiopia. Dozens more remain in prison in China, Cuba and Eritrea. Media enterprises throughout the world have been destroyed or forced to close," WAN said.

Bloggers in Iran need to be careful what they say, as do, for that matter, regular journalists. The report said that Arash Sigarchi, who has been blogging since 2002, received a three-year prison sentence in January for ”insulting the Supreme Guide” and for “propaganda against the regime”. Journalist Mojtaba Saminejad has been behind bars since February, 2005, for posting material online deemed offensive to Islam.

In that light it is no coincidence that WAN on Monday, at the opening ceremony in the Kremlin of its annual congress, presents its Golden Pen of Freedom Award to Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji.  There had been doubts whether Iranian authorities would let him out of the country, but he has already arrived in Moscow.

The setting itself should not go unnoticed. Moscow currently enjoys a very strong economic relationship with Iran, and therefore has been at the forefront of promoting negotiation as the solution to the Iranian nuclear energy issue amid fears that Iran will soon be able to build an atomic bomb. And yet, with Russian President Vladimir Putin as host, WAN presents its major press freedom award in the Kremlin to a leading Iranian dissident.

Ganji, an investigative journalist left prison in March after a six-year term. He had been arrested following his participation in a Berlin conference that had discussed political and social reform. In 2001 he stood convicted of “insulting religious edicts and figures, threatening national security, and dissemination of propaganda against the Islamic regime.”

Other incidences of press abuses as quoted directly from the report, region by region:

The Americas:Journalists killed: Colombia (1), Ecuador (2), Guyana (1), Mexico (1), Venezuela (1)

With more than 20 journalists behind bars in Cuba, media under threat in Colombia, and a photojournalist killed in Venezuela, the Americas have suffered a number of setbacks in press freedom in the past six months. Cuba, with 24 journalists remaining in prison, is the hemisphere¹s ­ and indeed one of the world¹s ­ most notorious jailors of journalists. Twenty-three of them were victims of the March 2003 crackdown on the press. Many have developed serious health problems, creating increased concern over their general well being. Legal attacks against freedom of expression continue in Venezuela, with a new law on social responsibility in radio and television, additional reforms of the penal code, and a spate of other new laws, decrees, rules and regulations to further restrict the independent media in the country.

Asia:Journalists killed: Bangladesh (1), China (1), India (1), Indonesia (1), Philippines (7), Sri Lanka (2), Thailand (1)

Asia remains the region with the worst press freedom record in the world. Ongoing internal conflicts create a dangerous and sometimes deadly climate for journalists. The governments in Burma, China and North Korea are among the most repressive in the world and continuously harass journalists. In China, freedom of expression continues to be severely limited by the authorities. More than 30 journalists remain behind bars in the country. New restrictions were also launched for television stations in China: in April the country¹s top media body ordered television broadcasters to stop using international news footage and called for greater "political and propaganda discipline". In Nepal, more than 400 journalists were arrested in 2005 following the state of emergency declared by King Gyanendra, a measure that suspended all democratic rights and freedoms in the country. The independent media in Nepal played a key role in the people's rebellion that led to the re-establishment of democracy and freedom of expression. While the press in the Philippines is considered to be of the freest in Asia, the country is paradoxically also one of the deadliest environments in the world for journalists. In the past six months, seven journalists have been killed in the Philippines. The acquittal in March in one of the very few journalist murder cases to ever have made it to court was a blow for press freedom in the country.

Europe and Central Asia:Journalists killed: 0

Elections in Belarus and Kazakhstan sparked further clampdowns on the press and ongoing challenges to press freedom in Russia have significantly marked the region in the past six months. Mass anti-government demonstrations in Belarus following the 19 March re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko led to the arrest of scores of protesters and journalists. During a two-week period, more than 30 local journalists were arrested and detained while covering the demonstrations. Security forces also targeted foreign journalists. Press freedom in Kazakhstan deteriorated significantly in the lead up to the December 2005 presidential elections. Attacks on the independent media have not waned since the beginning of the year.

Ongoing legal harassment of the press and rigid controls on television continue to frustrate press freedom in Russia. The firing of television presenters for being too outspoken is not uncommon. In November 2005, Olga Romanova, a presenter for the Moscow television station Ren-TV was dismissed for publicly protesting internal censorship at the channel. Criminal defamation is also regularly employed as a tool to harass media.

Middle East and North Africa:Journalists killed: Iraq (16), Lebanon (1)

Bloodshed in Iraq, intolerance in Iran and the murder of a celebrated press freedom hero in Lebanon defined this troubled region in the past six months. The December slaying of celebrated press freedom hero and publisher Gebran Tueni in Lebanon shocked the nation and sent press freedom spiraling backwards on the heels of tentative, yet significant political reforms in the country. The attack on the An Nahar publisher came six months after the June, 2005, murder of Samir Kassir, a political columnist for the newspaper.

Sub-Saharan Africa:Journalists killed: Democratic Republic of Congo (1)

Africa faces a multitude of obstacles including civil war, lack of infrastructure, poorly developed markets and totalitarian regimes. Press freedom has deteriorated in a number of the continent¹s more stable countries, such as Kenya and Nigeria. Eritrea and Ethiopia are the continent¹s biggest jailors of journalists. In Kenya, press freedom declined sharply in the first six months of this year. On 2 March, heavily armed police in Nairobi raided the Kenya Television Network and forced it off-air. Another raid was carried out on the printing house of The Standard newspaper, the country¹s second largest daily, where police seized and burnt thousands of copies, disabled the printing press and confiscated equipment including computers. Three Standard journalists were arrested and have since been charged with publishing "alarming statements." It is thought the raid was prompted by a story that recently appeared in the newspaper claiming that President Kibaki had secretly met with one of Kenya¹s opposition leaders.

Nigeria, which after the fall of the military regime in 1999 became home to one of the most diverse and professional newspaper markets in Africa, continues to face a number of problems including attacks on journalists, legal harassment against the private media as well as threats and censorship. The situation for press freedom in Zimbabwe has continued to worsen in the past six months. President Robert Mugabe¹s regime has forced over 90 journalists into exile, and those that remain work under severe pressure.

The Paris-based WAN represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 73 national newspaper associations, newspapers and newspaper executives in 102 countries, 11 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.

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