HEAD OF UN AGENCY DEPLORES KILLING OF PAKISTANI JOURNALIST
The head of the UN agency with the task of defending the freedom of the press deplored the killing of Pakistani journalist, Ashiq Ali Mangi, who may have been targeted for his coverage of a local feud between two ethnic groups, the UN News reported (26/2/10).
“Attacks against journalists constitute a serious and unacceptable threat to democracy, which is based on the fundamental human right of freedom of expression,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“I welcome the statement by Pakistani authorities that the murder would be investigated thoroughly with the culprits brought to justice,” Ms Bokova said. For such crimes to go unpunished undermined respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Ashiq Ali Mangi, 30, who was murdered on February 17, was a reporter for the private television channel Mehran TV. He was reportedly riding his motorcycle on the way to the Khairpur Press Club in Gambat, north of Karachi, when two unidentified men shot him and fled the scene, according to local news reports.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Pakistan was the fourth deadliest country in the world for journalists in 2009.
INDIA’S HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION INTERVENES TO DEFEND JOURNALIST
An intervention by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in India to order appropriate restitution to a journalist in the state of Uttar Pradesh, for prolonged harassment and intimidation suffered at the hands of local police has been welcomed by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
According to the findings of the NHRC, published on February 11, Samiuddin, alias Nilu, a reporter for the Hindi daily Amar Ujala in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, was at various times since 2004 threatened by local police, allegedly on the orders of the district police superintendent. His troubles began after he filed a series of reports documenting arbitrary actions and harassment of innocent people by the local police.
On May 5, 2006 Mr Samiuddin was snatched while on his way home after work by people believed to be policemen of a special operations group.
The incident, according to the NHRC, could have had fatal consequences but for Mr Samiuddin’s precaution in registering a complaint to the NHRC apprehending a threat to his life. Once informed that the matter was under consideration of the national oversight body, local police reportedly let him off.
The NHRC has ruled that the case was an “extraordinary” one since it involves a journalist exercising his right to report and inform. In the circumstances, it has ordered that the state authorities in Uttar Pradesh should pay damages of INR 500,000 (USD 10,850) to Mr Samiuddin and file a compliance report within six weeks.
In another important move, the Press Council of India (PCI) has heard Mr Samiuddin’s case and called for state authorities to submit six-monthly reports on his security for the next five years. The PCI, which inquired into the matter through its own processes, described it as “a rare case that calls for serious attention”.
DETAILS: IFJ Asia -Pacific on +612 9333 0919.
INDIAN NEWSPAPER OFFICES ATTACKED OVER ARTICLE
Two newspaper offices have been attacked in India's Karnataka state in continuing violence over an article by Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, the BBC reported (2/3/10).
Two Muslim protesters were killed in clashes with police after the article, which challenges the Muslim practice of veil wearing, appeared in local papers. An unidentified group vandalised the office of the Kannada Prabha newspaper, which carried the article, police said.
Ms Nasreen denied writing the article for the newspaper. She said a translated version of a previously written piece had been "doctored" to malign her. Ms Nasreen fled her native Bangladesh in 1994 after receiving death threats relating to a book she had written. She left India in 2008 after further protests and went to live in Sweden.
NEPAL GOVERNMENT URGED TO ACT ON KILLINGS AND THREATS AGAINST MEDIA
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on Nepal’s government to act immediately to protect journalists facing increasing attacks and threats in Nepal’s Tarai region, following the murder of Today media group chairman Arun Singhaniya on March 1 and recent threats against other journalists (4/3/10).
According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Mr Singhaniya was shot dead in the south-eastern Nepali town of Janakpur as he returned home from celebrating the festival of Holi. News reports indicate that two local armed groups claimed responsibility. The killing is believed to be linked to Mr Singhaniya’s opposition to the development of the Tarai, or Nepal’s lower southern plains.
On March 2, a threat has been made against the life of Janakpur Today Editor Brij Kumar Yadav, the FNJ said. Another journalist, Manoj Kumar Gharti, of the Naya Patrika daily, also reported receiving threats. An unidentified caller threatened to kill him over an article he wrote on Kathmandu-based media entrepreneur Jamim Shah, who was murdered last month.
“Journalists in Nepal’s southern plains are contending with serious threats and targeted violence amid deteriorating security in the region,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said. “The government must direct its authorities to conduct full and immediate investigations into violence against media personnel, and take comprehensive action to ensure local media is able to conduct its work in the public interest.”
DETAILS: IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
CALL FOR INQUIRY INTO ILLEGAL DETAINMENT OF JAFFNA JOURNALIST
Sri Lanka’s five leading organisations of journalists is calling for an immediate inquiry into the illegal detainment of a senior Jaffna journalist by supporters of Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition on February 27, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reported (1/3/10).
Mr N. Parameswaran, Jaffna correspondent for the Daily Mirror, Lankadeepa and the BBC Tamil service, was held by supporters of the Sri Lanka Peoples’ Party (SLPP), a party within the ruling coalition, as he gathered information from internally displaced peoples (IDPs) from Vanni outside the party’s office in Jaffna .
Mr Parameswaran told the Five Media Collective (also known as the Sri Lanka Five) that he was detained and threatened as he inquired into claims that IDPs were being pushed to fill in party membership forms for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the leading party in the ruling coalition, in exchange for promises of receiving welfare support.
“The detention of Parameswaran violates the right to information and the right of journalists to do their fundamental work in gathering information,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said.
“The IFJ respectfully appeals to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in both his capacity as president and as media and information minister, to ensure party cadre do not usurp the right to access information, and to make good on his public statements that police and authorities must inform him immediately if a journalist is arrested or detained.”
The Five Media Collective said in a statement that Mr Parameswaran reported being detained by civil supporters of the SLPP, who took him to SLFP organiser Thilakumara Udugama. His camera and mobile phone were confiscated, and he reported being threatened. A senior police officer reportedly refused to arrest him despite Mr Udugama’s demands. He was released after half an hour, and his equipment returned to him.
Mr Parameswaran has lodged a complaint at the Jaffna police station. The IFJ joins the Five Media Collective in calling for an inquiry into the manner in which he was detained.
In the run-up to general elections in April, the IFJ further requests a public assurance from the President and Government that all journalists working in Jaffna will be able to conduct their work without fear of intimidation or threats.
The Five Media Collective comprises the Free Media Movement ( FMM ), the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Union (FMETU), the Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association (SLWJA), the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA) and the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF). DETAILS: IFJ Asia -Pacific on +612 9333 0919.
REPORT ON VENEZUELA DETAILS KILLING OF JOURNALISTS AND PROTESTORS
“Particularly shocking is the commission's account of the role that violence and murder have played in Mr Chávez's concentration of power. The report documents killings of journalists, opposition protesters and farmers; it says that 173 trade union leaders and members were slain between 1997 and 2009 "in the context of trade union violence, with contract killings being the most common method for attacking union leaders."
WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2010/02/28/AR2010022803492.html SEE ALSO Human Rights.
IRANIAN FILMMAKER AND FAMILY ARRESTED
Police in Iran have arrested internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi and his family, the BBC reported (2/3/10). Plainclothes police broke into Mr Panahi's family home and arrested him, his wife and daughter and 15 other guests, his son Panah told reporters.
The director, known for his social realism, has made several films critical of Iran's regime.
The Tehran prosecutor's office has confirmed the arrest but denied it was connected to politics.
REPORT: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8545505.stm
INTERNET FILTERING PLAN ‘PARKED’: CLA
The Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee has parked the prime minister’s internet filtering project, only to promote it later, says Civil Liberties Australia (CLA) (1/3/10).
A new Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety will inquire into:
the online environment for children in Australia;
cyber-safety threats, like bullying, viewing illegal and "inappropriate" content, exposure to fringe fads and substance abuse ideas, identity theft and privacy breaches;
what Australia and the world is currently doing, and could do, about child cyber safety, maximising benefits of technology innovation;
how to prepare a PR program to boost awareness;
whatever else Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and the House of Representatives or the Senate wants to add.
“Setting up the committee is a cynical display of using the parliamentary system for electoral advantage. The committee can meet while the parliament is adjourned, and ‘may report from time to time’...but it won't deliver its final report until 11 February 2011, well after the next election.
“That means the government can back off from the over-commitment and excessive comments of Senate Conroy, keep the issue on the high boil during an election campaign by making announcements when it chooses, but not have to actually do anything. It leaves opponents of internet filtering - that is, censorship by a rosy name - clutching at thorns in a lead-up to an election,” it claims. DETAILS: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/info/liveminutes/index.htm
AFGHANS BAN LIVE TV NEWS COVERAGE OF MILITANT ATTACKS
Afghanistan has banned live coverage of militant attacks in a bid to prevent the Taliban from exploiting television news, prompting the US to express its concerns over press freedom, The Australian reported (3/3/10).
The ban appears to apply to domestic and international news organisations, and although the country's intelligence agency refused to provide details, an official at the Afghan government's media unit confirmed the move.
Afghanistan's constitution guarantees freedom of speech and domestic critics said the ban, which came after one of the deadliest days this year for NATO troops, amounted to censorship. An Afghan spokesman said live television coverage of attacks - such as that in Kabul last Friday that killed 16 people - could alert militant organisations to police actions against their operatives on the ground.
``While journalists are going to the scene of ongoing attacks, they endanger themselves and also they help inform the enemy with their live broadcasts or reporting of the progress of (police) operations,'' Hakim Ashir, Government Media and Information Centre head, told AFP.
REPORT: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/afghans-ban-live-television-news-coverage-of-militant- attacks/story-e6frg996-1225836391802