Press Freedom awardee named

For his staunch defense of press freedom despite serious attempts on his life, the editor-in-chief of Zimbabwe’s only independent daily newspaper will receive the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2002.

Geoffrey Nyarota, editor-in-chief of The Daily News in Zimbabwe, will receive the award on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, in ceremonies at Malacañang to be attended by President Arroyo, UNESCO Director General Kaichiro Matsuura, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM) Secretary General Preciosa Soliven and leading journalists from around the world.

Nyarota will receive $25,000 for the award, whose recipient is recommended by an independent jury of journalists from all over the world. This year’s jury was chaired by Oliver Clarke, chairman of Gleaner Company Limited in Jamaica.

Nyarota, 50, has been tireless in denouncing corruption and criminal activities among top government officials in his country despite continuing threats and intimidation against him. He has been arrested and detained, repeatedly received death threats, and has pending libel suits.

In January 2001, a bomb exploded at the newspaper’s plant in Harare. The Daily News has not missed a single issue and is now the country’s biggest-selling newspaper with a circulation that far exceeds government controlled newspapers.

"The courage and persistence of Geoffrey Nyarota, who has not yielded to the enormous pressure on him in the last few years, is an example to all the world’s journalists," Matsuura said in his tribute to this year’s awardee.

In 1983, Nyarota lost his job as a reporter at The Chronicle after he broke the story on "Willowgate" scandal, which forced the resignation of five Cabinet ministers. The newspaper’s management said it was removing him for "his own safety." In 1991, he was named editor of Financial Gazette but was dismissed in a dispute over editorial control. He later joined the Nordic School of Journalism in Maputo, Mozambique and taught in several southern African countries before returning to Zimbabwe in 1998 to organize the Associated Newspaper of Zimbabwe and The Daily News in 1999.

The Daily News figured prominently in the coverage of the invasion of white-owned farms by war veterans encouraged by the ruling ZANU-PF party. Nyarota was arrested for denouncing the use of police vehicles in the pillages. The newspaper’s coverage of the issue was one of the reasons for the party’s loss in the May 2000 elections. This was followed by a series of threats, both to his newspaper and his own life.

The UNESCO/Cano Press Freedom Prize was created in 1997 to honor the work of an individual, organization or institution or promoting freedom of expression anywhere in the world. It was named after Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano who was murdered for having criticized the activities of powerful drug barons in his country.

Journalists who have won the prize include U Win Tin of Myanmar who continues to be in jail since 1989, Nizar Nayyouf (Syria) in 2000, Jesus Blancornelas (Mexico) in 1999, Christina Anyanwu (Nigeria) in 1998 and Gao Yu (China) in 1997.

Preceding the Malacañang ceremony is a two-day international conference on the theme of this year’s celebration, "Terrorism and Media," to be held today and tomorrow at the Westin Philippine Plaza. Some 50 foreign journalists and 70 Filipino mediamen are expected to participate in the conference.

The forum will discuss the impact of terrorism on the media around the world, the events of Sept. 11 and their effect on freedom of information, problems in reporting on terrorism, and the safety of journalists working in conflict situations.

According to Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., who also chairs the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (Unacom), the Philippines was chosen by UNESCO as the venue for this year’s celebration in recognition of its having one of the freest and vibrant presses in the Asia-Pacific region. Matsuura can witness this himself during his visit, he said.

The visit of Matsuura on World Press Freedom Day also indicates the confidence of UNESCO and its director-general in the country, which holds the promotion and the protection of press freedom as one of the core values of democracy, according to Dr. Preciosa S. Soliven, UNACOM secretary general.