Hands off Pakistan media, says IFJ
Karachi (PPI) – President Pervez Musharraf’s declaration of emergency rule in Pakistan is a direct attack on media personnel and institutions, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Monday.
The IFJ’s Asia-Pacific Director, Jacqueline Park, called on Pakistan’s Government to rescind immediately the two ordinances it issued on Saturday night, saying they severely restrict the media’s ability to report freely and fairly.
“The new media restrictions are a very clear attack on media personnel and institutions, as well as lawyers and the rule of law,” Ms Park said.
“The Government must immediately withdraw its unreasonable bans on the reporting of important events in Pakistan.
“People have a right to know what is going on in their country, and journalists have a duty to give people that information.”
The new curbs on media bar publication or broadcast of a range of material considered to be offensive or contrary to the national interest, including reports deemed to defame or ridicule the administration and the army.
Live broadcasts of incidents of violence and conflict are banned, as are video footage of alleged militants and programs deemed to incite violence. Penalties for contravening the bans include three years in jail.
The IFJ and its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), jointly condemned the police raids on television and radio stations that accompanied the emergency decree at the weekend, as well as the continuing black-out on news channels. The PFUJ and other local media organisations say they are determined to resist these attacks on media freedom.
“The IFJ recognises that Pakistan faces acute political difficulties. But it does not hold that fighting Islamic extremism requires measures as extreme as totally blocking the media,” Ms Park said.
The IFJ is also concerned at attempts by the Government’s Information Ministry to institute its own version of a journalists’ code of conduct.
“Codes of conduct can only reasonably be designed and instituted by professional associations of working journalists, and certainly not by censorious governments that are clearly seeking to restrict the flow of information and ideas,” Ms Park said.
“A code of conduct administered by a government ministry could not be taken seriously.”
The IFJ, the PFUJ and other organisations dedicated to press freedom are planning a Global Day of Action to protest the media crackdown in Pakistan. More information on this action will follow.
The new crackdown comes as media personnel in Pakistan are contending with ever more serious obstacles and dangers in the conduct of their work, and add to other restrictions imposed earlier this year.
From January to the end of October, six media workers have been killed in Pakistan, five have disappeared or have been abducted, and many others have been assaulted or threatened.
Source: Daily Times
Date:11/6/2007
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