Journalism and the World

RSF launches new on Chinese press freedom

Reporters Without Borders is maintaining a steady drumbeat on the press freedoms issues in China as the 2008 Olympics approach.

Remember that Beijing promised to allow more press freedom as the Olympics near. To show their commitment to their word, the Chinese governemnt last week jailed a reporter to four years after he revealed corruption in the local Communist Party operation.

Read the RSF report on China and press freedom leading up to the Olympics.

Some interesting graphics have come out of the campaign to highlight China's disrespect for press freedom.

• One is a play on the Olympic symbol.
• And another is an interesting way to use a newspaper.

Bottom line: The Chinese government has not lived up to its promises of press freedom.

Lebanon Media

Interesting posting on the status of Lebanonese media at the SPJ Al-Sahafiyeen site.

http://www.spj.org/blog/blogs/aaj/archive/2008/05/12/20539.aspx

For those not keeing up on such things, "Al-Sahafiyeen" is the Arabic word for "journalists" or "the journalists." Arab American journalists, through the National Arab American Journalists Association, are working closely with SPJ to help encourage Arab American journalists to join the SPJ. We have more than 250 Arab Americans who now work in either mainstream American media jobs or in the growing but still small Arab American ethnic news media.

Mexico -- It's more dangerous than you think...for journalists

Finally some one is paying attention to the growing power of the drug cartels in Mexico.

Several years back the SPJ joined with other journalism groups around the world to raise concerns about the number of journalists being killed or intimidated by organized crime forces along the U.S.-Mexican border.

• In the past 8 years -- as the IFJ statment below points out -- 24 journalists have been killed.
• Former IJC co-chair Roberty Buckman reported a couple of years ago on the intimidation of border journalists.
• Newspaper buildings were attacked with bombs and drive by shootings.
• The families of journalists along the border -- even those who just handled the police blotter beat -- were threatened.

Mexico is the most dangerous place for journalists in this hemisphere.

The SPJ once stood with the IAPA, the IFJ and other groups in not only offering words of encouragement to our colleagues in Mexico but we also called on the U.S. government to do more to pressure Mexico to bring the criminals to trial.

To their credit, the Mexican govenrment has been waging a large-scale war against the drug lords.

The latest victim is the national leader of that battle.

Edgar Eusebio Millan Gomez was killed outside his home in Mexico City May 7.

The shooting clearly marks a new phase in the war against the drug lords of Mexico. A war that has been going on for years but whose victims were hundreds of unnamed people along the border and a couple dozen reporters. Too bad no one bothered to give these people's deaths front page coverage.

The Washington Post and CNN stories on the Gomez shooting talked about the growing problem and the efforts to get the druggies under control. Yet nowhere in their stories was even a mention that the main reason we know so much about what the drug barons of Mexico are doing is because of the work of brave journalists -- some of whom were killed becuase of that work.

Would it have been so hard to mention that 24 journalists were killed and anothuer 8 reporters are missing because of the drug lords?

Hell, I will bet damn few American journalists -- except for a handful -- know how dangerous Mexico is for our profession.

Maybe we can't get folks in our profession to understand the links between Main Street and the rest of the world thanks to the bean counter mentality of local, local, local. But local now includes the world.

Does anyone really think the drugs these guys in Mexco process are being sold to Mexican in Mexico?

We owe a great debt to the brave journalists in Mexico who are risking their lives to expose the criminal society taking hold along our border. We also owe a debt to the Mexican government that is trying to get rid of this vermin.

Too bad it takes the dramatic shooting of a prominent figure to finally get the story up front.

How much you want to bet there will be little or no follow up in the American media?

Dan Kubiske

Statement by the International Federation of Journalists

May 08, 2008  

IFJ and FEPALC Call for Investigation into Disappearance of Mexican Journalist

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its regional organization, FEPALC, today called on Mexican authorities to launch a full investigation into the disappearance of Jorge Carrasco Taracena, a journalist and reporter working for the television channel Televisa.

Carrasco Taracena was last seen on April 30, according to Televisa. He usually covered crime, police news and other local issues for the channel during the nighttime and early morning hours.

"Carrasco Taracena joins a list of at least 24 other dead and eight missing journalists in Mexico in the last eight years," said Gregorio Salazar, Director of the IFJ Latin America Office, "a country which, in this sense, has shown the bleakest outlook for journalism on our continent."

Recently an international joint mission of press freedom organizations and journalists visited Mexico to investigate the challenges journalists face as they are increasingly the victims of organized crime, corruption and official failure to punish their murderers. Journalists there also need more support from professional groups, other media and civil society to fight against the impunity that those responsible for attacks on their colleagues enjoy.

"The grave fears for what has happened to Jorge Carrasco," said Manuel Méndez, president of FEPALC and a member of the Mexico mission, "come in a country, where the number of killed and missing journalists is not only the greatest in Latin America but also raises questions about the lack of alarm that official institutions are showing."

The IFJ and FEPALC said they will not cease in their efforts until they can reverse the trend that has made Mexico one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the world.

For more information contact the IFJ at + 32 2 235 2207       

The IFJ represents overs 600.000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide

Covering disasters has a free press angle.

Committee to Protect Journalists

330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA     Phone: (212) 465‑1004     Fax: (212) 465‑9568     Web: www.cpj.org     E-Mail: media@cpj.org

BURMA: Call for government to allow foreign journalists to cover disaster

New York, May 7, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government of Burma to allow journalists to travel to the country to report on the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. CPJ is gravely concerned by reports that the country’s military government has refused to issue journalist visas to foreign reporters who have requested to enter the country to cover the recent disaster, which has killed and displaced hundreds of thousands of people across much of southern coastal Burma.

According to several journalists seeking to enter Burma from Thailand, the Burmese embassy in Bangkok has either refused to accept or failed to process visa requests submitted by a number of foreign journalists. They asked not to be identified by name for fear of jeopardizing their chances of eventually getting permission to enter Burma. The ruling junta has also refused to grant access to various foreign aid organizations that are seeking to provide assistance to remote disaster-hit areas.  

“We call upon the Burmese authorities to lift its ban on journalist visas and allow both foreign and local journalists to report freely on the impact of Cyclone Nargis,” said Joel Simon, CPJ’s executive director. “Journalists have an important role to play in the emergency response to such natural disasters. Their reporting often uncovers previously undiscovered areas of need, and they help keep the international community of donors informed of conditions on the ground.”

Government-controlled broadcast media have in recent days shown images of the disaster and clips of government officials providing assistance to affected citizens. Due to government restrictions, only a handful of international news organizations have been allowed to base foreign reporters inside the country.

On Monday, the authorities did not allow BBC reporter Andrew Fardae to enter the country on a tourist visa, according to news reports. The government-run MRTV reported today that Fardae had been blacklisted after he entered and reported from the country on a tourist visa in June 2006 and September 2007, according to Mizzima News, an exile-run media group based in New Delhi.

In the wake of the cyclone, the main international wire services, including The Associated Press and Reuters, have been able to send limited reports out of the country through their Burmese reporters.

Access to foreign news reports carried over the Internet has been limited among the general population due to citywide electricity outages in Rangoon. Several foreign reporters were also refused journalist visas during last year’s demonstrations in which anti-government groups protested for several weeks before the military opened fire on them on September 27. Kenji Nagai, a Japanese journalist with Tokyo-based news and photo agency APF News, was among those killed. 

CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.   

Bob Dietz  bdietz@cpj.org

Asia Program Coordinator

Madeline Earp mearp@cpj.org

Asia Program Researcher

Committee to Protect Journalists

330 Seventh Ave, 11^th floor

New York, NY 10001

+1 212 465 1004

www.cpj.org

IFEX review of World Press Freedom Day in Hong Kong and China.

CHINA BARS ATTENDEES FROM FREE EXPRESSION CONFERENCE

How telling it is that a noted editor and a Danish sculptor were denied entry to Hong Kong to take part in a free expression in China conference organised for World Press Freedom Day.

The Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) teamed up with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), PEN, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and others to kick off the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Olympics with a four-day conference that would highlight their Olympian challenge: gaining free expression in China.

Zhang Yu, a Swedish-based editor and secretary-general of the Independent Chinese PEN Center who was due to chair one of the sessions, and Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot did not even make it out of the Hong Kong airport.

Galschiot's "Pillar of Shame" is a memorial to the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

"The ironies in this situation are painful," said Isobel Harry, executive director of PEN Canada. "Holding this conference in Hong Kong was to demonstrate that the Chinese people are ready, not only for the Olympics, but for freedom of expression."

Zhang has twice in the past year been prevented from entering Beijing, and verbally accused of "endangering national security". This time, he was held for 10 hours after he arrived in Hong Kong from Sweden via London, and then forced to turn around.

"They used various uncivilised means, including cheating (because they never intended to let me in) and threatening physical abuse to force me to leave the soil of my own country immediately, regardless of my request for time with my lawyer to challenge their decision in Hong Kong," said Zhang.

"This is an obvious indication that the negative impact of the Beijing Olympics on Chinese citizens' rights is increasing as the Games draw near."

China, which remains the world's biggest jailer of journalists, promised in its successful Olympic bid to ensure greater freedom of expression.

But any goodwill shown has been cancelled out by Beijing's crackdown on dissent in recent weeks. Foreign journalists reporting from China are regularly harassed and even expelled - as witnessed in Tibet.

The situation is even worse in China, with at least 30 journalists in jail.

The most recent sentence was handed down to prominent human rights activist and blogger Hu Jia last month, who got three-and-a-half years in jail for speaking out about China's escalating crackdown on dissent ahead of the Games. HKJA and IFJ have launched a petition demanding his release, which will be presented to the Chinese authorities on 12 May, Buddha's birthday: http://tinyurl.com/6g65jc

Conference organisers grimly observed that China's latest move "serves notice to those who believe that Hong Kong's freedoms will have a positive influence on China, or that 'engagement' with China will magically convince the authorities to change their practices."

Visit these links:

- WiPC/HKJA: http://tinyurl.com/6237r3

- WAN: http://www.wan-press.org/article17058.html

- WAN's Free the Press in China World Press Freedom Day campaign:

http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org/

- PEN American Center: http://tinyurl.com/5xvu3b

- IFEX China page: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/147/

World Press Freedom Day activities in Asia

(From IFEX.)

No surprises that China is the focus of many IFEX members on World Press Freedom Day. 30 April marks 100 days before the launch of the world's biggest sports event: the Olympic Games, kicking off in Beijing on 8 August. Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) has teamed up with the International Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, PEN, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and others to start the countdown with "One Dream: Free Expression In China". The four-day campaign, not coincidentally ending on 3 May, all happens in Hong Kong, to "reaffirm the freedoms that already exist in Hong Kong and raise the question of why (campaigns) cannot take place in Beijing nor anywhere else in the country," says HKJA. Besides discussing the press freedom conditions foreign and local journalists encounter in China and Hong Kong, participants will also parade to the Chinese government on World Press Freedom Day to submit a petition and their recommendations, amid an exhibition and arts fair. Email: hkja (@) hkja (.) org (.) hk

"China holds a record no one can break," says WAN. With at least 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissidents in prison, China is the world's largest jailer of journalists. Then there are the foreign journalists, who are regularly harassed and even expelled - remember Tibet? So this World Press Freedom Day, WAN had taken up what they call the real Olympic challenge: to "Free the Press in China!" They want to hold the Chinese authorities to their promise to improve human rights ahead of the Games. WAN is asking newspapers worldwide to show their support by publishing interviews, articles, cartoons and more, available free in six languages - English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, and of course, Chinese - at: http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org

Since the beginning of the year, there have been more than two dozen cases of violence against journalists in Sri Lanka - much of it at the hands of government officials. In not one case of attack or threat have the police taken action to bring the offenders to account. As part of its "Stop the War on Journalists in Sri Lanka" campaign, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is holding a silent march on 6 May. Starting at Buddha Statue in Viharamaha Devi Park in Colombo, the noiseless group will walk to the President's office to demand immediate action against the war on the media. Look out for banners across Colombo that will be strategically hung around the city the day before. See: http://www.ifj-asia.org/

IFJ Asia-Pacific is also launching its annual South Asia press freedom report. This year's theme is "Press Imprisoned", for all those who ended up in jail for their professional media work. Most likely it will be a long list, considering recent events in Pakistan. The report will be available on IFJ's new regional website on 3 May: http://www.ifj-asia.org/

Last year, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Indonesia campaigned tirelessly to appeal the Supreme Court's decision to make "Time" magazine cough up more than US$100 MILLION in damages to former President Suharto for a story that accused him and his family of amassing billions during his rule. Just this month, the government passed an Internet law that makes spreading defamatory information online punishable with up to six years in jail. So this World Press Freedom Day, AJI is tackling one of the biggest threats to press freedom in the country and the region - criminal defamation - in an international workshop on 9 and 10 May in Yogyakarta. Besides getting everyone to agree that it's a problem, AJI hopes to build a regional network of activists, lawyers and anyone else to advocate for defamation reform. It's off to a good start, with speakers lined up from a number of quality papers and unions from the neighbouring countries. Contact: sekretariat (@) ajiindonesia (.) org

As the rice (price) crisis dominates the headlines in the Philippines, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility is commemorating 3 May by devoting its May 2008 issue of "PJR (Philippine Journalism Review) Reports" to a critical and timely issue: the economic conditions of Filipino journalists, particularly those working in local communities. Check for its release here: http://www.cmfr.com.ph/_pjrreports/pjr_08.html

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is running with UNESCO's official theme and is co-hosting a regional panel on access to information and empowerment of people on 2 May in Bangkok. Panellists include reps from CMFR, the independent news website Malaysiakini.com and the Thai Public Broadcasting Service. See: http://www.seapa.org . SEAPA's Cambodian partner, the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists (CAPJ), will be doing the same but with a Cambodian twist in Phnom Penh on 4 May. Email: umsarin (@) hotmail (.) com

In Bangladesh, ARTICLE 19 and IFJ are teaming up with their local partners, including MassLine Media Centre (MMC) and Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC), on 3 and 4 May to give a leg up to free expression monitoring in the country. Women's access to info is unquestionably on the agenda, with 64 female grassroots journalists attending. Contact: ifj (@) ifj-asia (.) org then check out: http://www.article19.org for a report

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) in Australia knows that good food is the way to your pocketbook. That's why it's holding its annual press freedom dinner on 2 May under the theme "Breaking the Shackles". All proceeds will go to the Alliance's Safety and Solidarity Appeal, which raises funds to protect journalists and their families working in the dangerous Asia-Pacific region. Last year, a massive $60k was raised. While eating and giving, journalists and entertainers and thinkers will also get first glimpse of the MEAA's 2008 press freedom report, and will find out how the new government compares to the old one, which was bent on controlling information last year. Look out for the report here: http://www.alliance.org.au/

Other IFEX member events:

- The Thai Journalists Association has come out with a meaty report that illustrates how Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej leads the way at discrediting the media. Email: reporter (@) inet (.) co (.) th and see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/93336/

- Caught in the throes of a civil war, the Free Media Movement in Sri Lanka says the media is under siege like never before: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/93215/

- The International Press Institute's Nepal committee congratulates those journalists who got the news out during the recent constituent assembly elections: http://tinyurl.com/6x2m6c

Other events:

- The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) is organising a wreath laying at the shrine of press freedom hero Marcel H. Del Pilar in Quezon City at 8am on 3 May. Or you might like to come for a night of singing and jamming at "pa imPRESS ka JAM 2008" at Freedom Bar at 8pm. Email: nujphil (@) gmail (.) com

- The Confederation of Mongolian Journalists is gathering more than 3,000 journalists, a member of parliament and several Mongolian pop stars in Ulaanbaatar to protest criminal media laws that can land journalists up to two years in jail. Contact: chuluun_d (@) mol (.) mn

- The Afghan Independent Journalists' Association (AIJA) and the Committee to Protect Afghan Journalists (CPAJ) is protesting against Ulema scholars and media owners who have forced stations to stop broadcasting shows because they are "anti-Islamic". Contact: ifj (@) ifj-asia (.) org

- The Association of Taiwan Journalists is celebrating its annual Journalists' Day on 4 May, highlighting the recent battle Taiwanese journalists have been waging against the United Nations: because Taiwan isn't part of the UN, its reporters don't get accredited to cover UN events. Contact: journaly (@) ms10 (.) hinet (.) net

- The Centre for Independent Journalism in Malaysia hosted two days of talks on how women's rights activists can use the media as a way to foment revolution, the mainstream media's paltry performance in covering the national elections in March, and media laws that curb free expression: http://worldpressfreedomday.blogspot.com/

- The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists highlights that none of the nine journalists killed while working in Pakistan in the year leading up to 3 May had received specialist training for reporting in dangerous environments: http://pfuj.info/pfuj/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=171&Itemid=1

World Press Freedom Day activities in the Americas

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY EVENTS IN THE AMERICAS

(From the IFEX web site.)

The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) will be in Maputo, Mozambique as part of UNESCO's official programme to talk about how community broadcasting is one of the best ways to reach the poorest and most marginalised. It will also present to the world its 14 principles for a democratic legislation on community broadcasting, which comes out of an investigation on best practices in 26 countries. You'll be sure to hear the buzzwords "diversity", "pluralism" and "access for all". AMARC's annual report on free expression and diversity in broadcasting in the Americas and the Caribbean, which reviews the situation in 10 countries, is also ready for your perusal. Email: gusgomez (@) chasque (.) apc (.) org or find all of these goodies here from 5 May: http://www.amarc.org/ or http://legislaciones.amarc.org/

The Centre for Informative Reports on Guatemala (CERIGUA) punches in with its 2007 report on free expression in Guatemala. On the surface, the situation seems to have improved since last year, with fewer violations reported. But that might be because reporters are keeping quiet to avoid experiencing the wrath of the "poderes paralelos", or "parallel powers" - the groups involved in organised crime, the drug trade, human trafficking and other illicit activities - which have penetrated the small country and are the newest threat to free expression. Read about how they've made their mark in Guatemala and other parts of Latin America here: http://www.ifex.org/download/es/CERIGUA_Informe2007.doc

The Mexico branch of ARTICLE 19 will be releasing its annual report on attacks on the press in Mexico in May. The situation does not bode well, with at least 24 journalists and media workers killed in the past eight years, eight missing and dozens more threatened or attacked in the line of duty. An international mission made up of 11 international organisations, including a slew of IFEX members, just returned from a visit last week and found that organised crime, corruption, and the lack of political will and effective governments are the main threats to free expression - no doubt those findings will be reflected in the report. Look out for it at: http://www.article19.org

ARTICLE 19's Brazil office will reveal the results of a questionnaire that got up close and personal with its local members. How would they describe the press freedom conditions in the country, and what are the main challenges of freely expressing themselves? For the answers, email: maira (@) article19 (.) org

Last March, BBC reporter Alan Johnston was kidnapped by a group of Palestinian militants while on assignment in Gaza. After 114 days and perhaps as many rallies around the world demanding his release, he was finally freed. What went through his head in those 114 days? What advice does he have for journalists working in the world's hotspots? And how much of a role did we play in securing his release? Lucky Canadians can ask him themselves, because Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), the Canadian Media Guild and the International Development Research Centre proudly present "Free to Express Himself", an evening with Alan Johnston on 30 April in Toronto, his only public appearance in Canada. For details, see: http://tinyurl.com/6d5tyq

Which countries are among the deadliest for journalists and the worst at solving these murders? Colombia, Mexico, Russia and the Philippines are, according to a new "Impunity Index" by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). CPJ has found that justice is served in less than 15 percent of journalists' murders, and that the absence of justice promotes a higher incidence of murder. Check out the index, being released especially for World Press Freedom Day, to see where your country ranks: http://www.cpj.org/impunityindex/index.html

Freedom House is launching its 2008 Freedom of the Press survey - which has evidently not good news to report, especially for the Arab world. This year, Freedom House is going big - literally. A 36-foot-wide version of its press freedom map will be unveiled at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on 29 April, and become part of the permanent collection. If the U.S. isn't in your travel plans, bookmark Freedom House's website to get the survey hot off the press (available from 29 April): http://www.freedomhouse.org/

Other IFEX member events:

- The Guatemalan Journalists' Association (APG) pays tribute to the journalists who "gave their blood" to do their work: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/93292/

- Violence continues to be the greatest obstacle to freedom of the press in the Americas, with 20 journalists murdered since last 3 May, says the Inter American Press Association: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/93209/

Other events:

- The National Association of Peruvian Journalists (ANP) is holding a demo at UN Park in Lima on 3 May to pay tribute to journalists who have given their lives for their profession, including Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana, who was killed in the Gaza Strip this month. Live broadcast starting at 9am: http://www.cronicaviva.com.pe (click on the radio link on the upper right part of the page)

- ANP and the Colombian Journalists Federation (FECOLPER) are also launching a campaign against the use of taxpayer money to fund tools used to extort money from independent journalists. Contact: anp (@) amauta (.) rcp (.) net (.) pe

- The International Journalists' Network (IJNet) wants to know what press freedom means to you. Post your comments here: http://tinyurl.com/6jg5oa

- The Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers takes on the sizeable task of raising free expression awareness in a region "in social and economic transition, challenged by changing global circumstances (and) impaired by a colonial legacy": http://www.acmediaworkers.com

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Press Freedom Day, May 3

Press Freedom in Decline: Freedom House report

Here is the advance copy of the annual Freedom House report on press freedom.

http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=362

Things are not looking up for our profession.

Click HERE to watch a VOA story about the report.

Getting away with Murder -- CPJ Rankings on Dangerous Places to be a Journalist

http://www.cpj.org/impunityindex/index.html

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2008: FOCUS ON ACCESS AND EMPOWERMENT

A discussion of World Press Freedom Day from IFEX:

You have to wonder what is left to celebrate in Zimbabwe on the eve of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. More than four weeks and counting, Zimbabweans still don't know who won the presidential elections. Instead, President Robert Mugabe has raised his iron fist to try to avert threats to his 28-year rule, from arresting journalists in an attempt to silence their questions to attacking opposition members. "Defeat can be hard to accept, but at the very least, the people of Zimbabwe have the right to know the result of their vote," says ARTICLE19, which is urging the Zimbabwean authorities to back away from the chaos and "move towards reason and the rule of law" to settle the election.

A timely demand to make, as journalists and others from around the world converge nearby in Maputo, Mozambique to celebrate UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day, the theme of which this year is empowerment and access to information.

"Press freedom and access to information feed into the wider development objective of empowering people by giving people the information that can help them gain control over their own lives," says UNESCO's Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, from "engaging in public debate to holding governments and others accountable."

But like in Zimbabwe, a lot stands in their way.

Freedom of information (FOI) laws, which give access to public information, are considered one of the most important pieces of legislation to reduce and eventually beat corruption - the "primary obstacle to development,"

says UNESCO.

Despite some problems with poorly crafted laws, laws that aren't implemented, and new laws promoting secrecy in the global war on terror, upwards of 70 countries around the world have comprehensive freedom of information acts, and another 30 have FOI laws in the works, says ARTICLE 19. And the movement to adopt them is growing: witness Jordan's step last year to become the first country in the Middle East to have a right to information law, or Liberian citizens marching to Parliament this month to present a draft FOI law nearly four years in the making.

"But the media can only play their part in empowering people, if their consumers have the necessary literacy skills to analyse and question the information they receive," says UNESCO.

While the Internet has helped the media reach more people in more places and allowed regular folks to become citizen journalists - last fall citizen reporters were at the forefront in informing the world of the Burma protests - a whopping 80 percent of the world's population still have no access to basic telecommunication facilities, says UNESCO. One of its goals this year is to implement measures that will allow people to make use of new technology, such as more training and respect for different languages.

Cue traditional community media. Community radio is recognised as one of the best tools to reach and empower the poorest and most marginalised populations of the world, says the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC). Besides being cheap to produce and access, it can also have a far reach and overcome illiteracy.

Even with the best access, the media must tackle a whole lot of obstacles in getting the news out. Journalists often face threats, intimidation and actual violence on the job. Jassem al-Battat, a journalist for Al-Nakhil, the broadcasting mouthpiece for the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, was gunned down last week in southern Iraq, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Reporters don't have to be working in a war zone to be at risk. Mexican investigative journalist Lydia Cacho, this year's UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize laureate, has been the target of death threats, sabotage, libel suits and police harassment because of her work uncovering prostitution and child pornography rings.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports 65 journalists were "killed in direct connection with their work" in 2007 - the highest number since 1994. Too often the crimes do not go adequately punished.

As we celebrate World Press Freedom Day 2008, UNESCO asks us not only to pay tribute to journalists like al-Battat, Cacho and the journalists in Zimbabwe who have put themselves in danger to keep us informed, but to remember the crucial role a free press and the right to information play in empowering people - as long as they have access.

Visit these links:

- IFEX World Press Freedom Day page:

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/242/

- UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2008 page:

http://www.unesco.org/webworld/en/wpfd2008

- AMARC: http://www.amarc.org/

- ARTICLE 19, "Freedom of Information: A Comparative Legal Survey":

http://tinyurl.com/2lkjxh

- ARTICLE 19 on Zimbabwe: http://tinyurl.com/5qbnrk

- CPJ on journalists killed in 2007:

http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2007/killed_07/killed.html

- RSF on al-Battat: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=26722

- Privacy International's Freedom of Information page:

http://tinyurl.com/6ylth6

- "The UNESCO Courier" devotes its next issue to 3 May, available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian on 30 April. Don't miss an exclusive interview with Cacho: http://www.unesco.org/courier

Self-Censorship in Hong Kong Rises Again on Tibet and Right to Demonstrate

Looks like self-censorship is alive and well in Hong Kong.

Here is an article from the South CHina Morning Post about how an article on Tibet was denied publication in Hong Kong by the Law Society.

The author of the Tibet article also had trouble getting his book on the history of the right to demonstrate published.

Apparently there was the famous Tiananmen photo on the cover.

When he did finally get it printed, a number of bookstores, including the main bookstore chain in Hong Kong, Dymocks, wouldn't take it.

Legal journal refuses to print article on Tibet Law publication is self-censoring, says author of rejected piece

Albert Wong

Updated on Apr 26, 2008

An article setting out the legal basis for Tibetan self-determination has been refused publication in the Law Society's official journal.

Human rights lawyer Paul  Harris SC raised concerns of self-censorship after he was informed yesterday that his article on Tibet commissioned for the Hong Kong Lawyer had been barred from publication.

The fact that the article was being prepared for the May edition - coinciding with the Hong Kong leg of the Olympic torch relay on Friday - suggested the last-minute U-turn was a case of self-censorship because of the sensitive nature of the subject, he said.

Hong Kong is the first stop of the torch's three-month tour around the mainland, before it arrives in Beijing in August.

Mr Harris acknowledged that his conclusions may be controversial, "but now, even debate on the issue has been denied".

Mr Harris is a founding member of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, an independent rights group.

Cecilia Wong Ng Kit-wah, chairwoman of the journal's 16-member editorial board, said it was a collective decision not to publish the article. She said there were a lot of considerations but no particular aspect that made the board decide against it.

Law Society president Lester Huang said he was not part of the decision-making process, but stressed the independence of the board, which is made up of solicitors and academics.

Mr Harris published an article in the South China Morning Post this month, recounting his first impression of the Dalai Lama as a reasonable man with "obvious moral integrity" and arguing for Hong Kong-style autonomy for Tibet.

Mr Harris said the editor of Hong Kong Lawyer, Brendan Clift, requested that he write a similar article, but expanded to suit the legal community. Mr Clift said he did not want to comment for this story.

The draft of the article for Hong Kong Lawyer that the Post obtained analyses interpretations of "sovereignty" and "self-determination" with reference to the United Nations and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and provides a brief history of China's relations with Tibet.

It concludes: "If Kosovo has a right to self-determination, the right of Tibet is infinitely stronger. The catalogue of gross oppression, the second-class citizen status of Tibetans under Chinese rule, and the identity of Tibet as a country are all much clearer than in Kosovo's case."

However, unless discussions over autonomy are initiated, thereby quelling animosity towards Beijing, "self-determination in Tibet is bound to mean independence".

The Frontier lawmaker Emily Lau Wai-hing said she deplored self-censorship, particularly in the legal community. "They should be the ones defending our rights [and] initiating debates, not covering them up," she said.

Saudi Blogger Freed

(CNN) -- A Saudi Arabian blogger detained in December, ostensibly because he supported reform advocates accused by the Saudi government of backing terrorism, has been released, a fellow blogger posted Saturday.

Web sites like this one pushed for Fouad al-Farhan's release.

For the full story, go to: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/26/saudi.arabia.blogger/index.html?eref=rss_latest

International fellowships for journalists

Dates: October 18-November 9, 2008

Petition to support press freedom in China

Usually online petitions -- as we all know -- are useless but in this case this can be more of a learning experience for people looking into the issue of freedom of press and expression in China.

This is from Hong Kong.

Dan

Dear friends,
Please sign the signature campaign to release Hu Jia, a human rigths activitist jailed for his criticism against the government, conducted by the Hong Kong Journalists Association and the International Federation of Journalists.
Pls sign before May 12 when the names will send to the Chinese government. Don't ignore it or risk a misunderstanding that we can tolerate unjustice or infringement of freedon of expression.
Best wishes.
 
Mak Yin-ting
 
--------------------------- 

Dear friends,

Please sign the petition - "Release Hu Jia" at the following link: (better use IE to open the link) 

        http://www.hkja.org.hk/Host/hkja/UserFiles/File/other/petition_for_hujia.html

        Hu Jia is a human rights activist who has been concerned with social affairs, AIDS, environmental issues and defence of the weakest groups in society. Before his arrest by the Public Security Bureau at the end of Dec 2007, he had been under house arrest for a long time. Before he finally lost complete freedom he had been kidnapped, detained for a short period and physically tortured by the police in China. Hu, however, did not bow to these brutalities; instead, he overcame all obstacles and succeeded in disseminating details of human rights abuses within China to the outside world.

        Hu Jia was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” by the Beijing No 1 People’s Intermediate Court on April 3, 2008, for voluntarily accepting two foreign media interviews and publishing five articles from 2001 to 2007 on Boxun, a banned Chinese-language website based in the United States . This is one of the worst cases of anyone being jailed for what he had written in China. His conviction and imprisonment drew a lot of attention and criticisms abroad. The Beijing Municipal Detention Centre denied Hu his right to meet with his lawyer to lodge an appeal against his jail sentence right to the very end of his period of appeal.

        The Hong Kong Journalists Association and International Federation of Journalists have been outraged by the verdict and are launching this signature campaign for justice. We hope that the Central Government of China understands our anger and will release Hu Jia as soon as possible. We will present these signatures to the authorities in China on 12th May, 2008 which marks the birth of Buddha.

        We need your participation.

Please sign the petition - "Release Hu Jia" at the following link: 

        http://www.hkja.org.hk/Host/hkja/UserFiles/File/other/petition_for_hujia.html

        Please Forward the Message to Everyone You Know.

*** We recommend you use Internet Explorer 6 or above to access the petition webpage

The Declaration

        We, as individuals and as a group, fully endorse and unreservedly uphold freedom of expression. We are, therefore, angered by the utter disdain of the authorities for the human rights of activist Hu Jia who was sentenced to three and a half years' jail and one year’s denial of political rights on questionable charges of “inciting subversion of state power” by the Beijing No 1 People’s Intermediate Court on April 3, 2008 for writing five articles and voluntarily agreeing to two interviews by the media.

        We believe this is an instance of punishing a man merely for his words. This case not only violates the constitution of China which enshrines citizens' right to freedom of expression, but also breaches international protocols to which China is a signatory and which clearly state that freedom of expression is a basic human right .

        We demand that the Central Government of China release Hu Jia forthwith.

Hong Kong Journalists Association, International Federation of Journalists
Email Address︰hkja@hkja.org.hk / ifjchina@ifj-asia.org