Pakistan 152nd in worldwide press freedom index: RSF
* Military coups hit press freedoms: RSF
* Incidents of detention, murder of journalists hinders US joining lead group on index
PESHAWAR: Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) said on Tuesday at the launch of the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, “All authority (in Pakistan) is concentrated in the army, led by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.
The privately-owned TV stations were prevented from working freely and dozens of reporters were beaten and arrested during a crisis precipitated by Musharraf’s dismissal of the Supreme Court chief justice.”
Eritrea has replaced North Korea in the last place in an index measuring the level of press freedom in 169 countries. Iceland stayed on top of the list. The Paris-based press freedom organisation also held war “largely responsible” for the low position assigned to some countries. “The increase in fighting in Somalia (159th) and Sri Lanka (156th) has made it very hard for journalists to work. Several have been killed and censorship was stepped up as clashes became frequent,” it added.
Military coups: Pakistan continued to get a low ranking (152nd) in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007 as military coups that were supposed to restore democratic order in Thailand (135th) and Fiji (107th) in fact led to deterioration in the situation of the news media, the international press freedom organisation said. In Afghanistan (142nd), the threats initially came from the Taliban and their allies. An Italian reporter’s driver and fixer were beheaded by one of Mullah Omar’s lieutenants, while several radio stations were attacked by armed groups.
Outside Europe – in which the top 14 countries are located – no region of the world has been spared censorship or violence towards journalists, RSF said.
Low press freedom levels: Of the 20 countries at the bottom of the index, seven are Asian (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, China, Burma, and North Korea), five are African (Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Somalia and Eritrea), four are in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Palestinian Territories and Iran), three are former Soviet republics (Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) and one is in the Americas (Cuba). After falling steadily in the index for the past three years, the G8 member states recovered a few places. France (31st), for example, has climbed six places in the past year. French journalists were spared the violence that affected them at the end of 2005 in a labour conflict in Corsica and during the demonstrations in the city suburbs. But many concerns remain about repeated censorship, searches of news organisations, and a lack of guarantees for the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.
US hindrance: There were slightly fewer press freedom violations in the United States (48th) and blogger Josh Wolf was freed after 224 days in prison. But the detention of Al-Jazeera’s Sudanese cameraman, Sami Al-Haj, since 13 June 2002 at the military base of Guantanamo and the murder of Chauncey Bailey in Oakland in August means the United States is still unable to join the lead group. RSF compiled this index by sending a questionnaire to 15 freedom of expression organisations throughout the world that are its partners, to its network of 130 correspondents, and to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It contained 50 questions about press freedom in their countries. The index covers 169 nations. Other countries were not included because of lack of data.
Source: Daily Times
Date:10/17/2007
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