2006 deadliest year for journalists
One hundred and five journalists were killed in 2006, the deadliest year on
record, according to the half-year review of press freedom by the World
Association of Newspapers.
The report, presented Monday to the Board of the Paris-based WAN, meeting in
Kiev, Ukraine, said that the killings accelerated in the second half of the
year, when 71 were killed. The number of journalists killed in Iraq — 23
since June — surpassed all other countries.
The murder of journalists is the ultimate form of censorship, but by no
means the only form. “Legislative measures, financial harassment and
security laws continue to be used as means to harass journalists and limit
press freedom,” said the report. “Self-censorship, a natural response to
repression and the threat of violence or death, is an endemic problem in
Central Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.”
The full report can be read at http://www.wan-press.org/article12552.html .
The list of journalists killed with details about their cases can be found
at http://www.wan-press.org/rubrique863.html
Region by region, the report said:
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
Conflict and political instability throughout the Middle East and North
Africa continues to undermine the ability of press freedom to make serious
advances in region. Increasing violence and insecurity in Iraq has once
again made the country the most dangerous environment in the world for media
practitioners, and the war between Lebanon and Israel cost the lives of two
media employees in July of this year. In Algeria, Morocco and Egypt,
arguably the most tolerant environments for journalists in the region, the
governments rely on criminal defamation laws as a means to exert pressure
and control on the media.
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Africa¹s media and its journalists face manifold threats: war, lack of
infrastructure and funding, censorship, harassment, criminalizing media
laws, and violence. Additionally, attackers, harassers, and murderers of
journalists have largely acted with impunity on the continent thus
contributing to continuing the cycle of violence. Despite this gloomy
picture, improvements have been noted; for example the abolition of
censorship in Mauritania. And African media continue a praiseworthy battle
in a media environment that imposes substantial challenges both with regards
to infrastructure, legal aspects and widespread illiteracy.
THE AMERICAS
In the Americas, 15 journalists have been killed in a series of ruthless
murders over the past six months. Other press freedom concerns have been
mainly of a legal character, prompting calls for greater freedom of
expression in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. More than 20 journalists continue to
linger in prison in Cuba.
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA
The region covering the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe is one of
stark contrasts when it comes to the state of press freedom. Countries such
as Ukraine and those in Eastern Europe have shown steady progress in the
fifteen years since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Press freedom in
Belarus and the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan has declined considerably in recent years, and the past few
months have proved no different. Russia is characterized by a complex and
often contradictory media environment.
ASIA
Asia¹s press freedom record continues to be largely influenced by the
repressive governments of Burma, China and North Korea. As the political
situation in Afghanistan deteriorates, journalists are among the latest
victims. A number of killings have occurred across the region, contributing
to the overall high number of journalists killed this year in the world.
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 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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