A. Lin Neuman, a CPJ consultant, bared the list yesterday on the second day of a conference on Media and Terrorism sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Westin Philippine Plaza.
The conference closed yesterday with calls on governments and military forces fighting terrorism around the world to respect journalists’ right and duty to report on terrorism and promote debate about it.
At the top of the CPJ "worst" list is the West Bank, followed by Colombia and Afghanistan, "where eight journalists were killed in the line of duty in late 2001."
However, another watchdog group, the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres, named the Philippines as among the most "dangerous" countries for journalists in 2001. The RSF report was delivered in Manila by Philippe Latour, Southeast Asia representative for RSF and a Bangkok-based regional correspondent for the French magazine Le Point.
Afghanistan held the record for the most dangerous in 2001, when eight were killed. It was followed by Colombia, with three deaths and the United States, Thailand and the Philippines, all with two each.
The RSF said that from 1992 to 2001, 243 journalists were killed in conflict zones, and 70 percent of them were deliberately attacked after having been identified as media personnel.
The other countries on the CPJ list include Eritrea, Belarus, Burma, Zimbabwe, Iran, Kyrzgystan and Cuba.
This year’s world Press Freedom Day awardee, Geoffrey Nyarota, is from Zimbabwe. He is the editor-in-chief of Zimbabwe’s only independent daily newspaper.
"In these countries where press freedom is under attack, journalists endure violent assaults, crackdowns by authoritarian regimes, danger from military operations and harsh financial reprisals designed to bankrupt independent voices," CPJ executive director Ann Cooper said in a statement.
Asked why the Philippines, where journalists covering negotiations with the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf have been kidnapped, was not on the "worst" list, Neuman said, "Because although there are undeniable dangers, the Philippine press is free. There is no government control. And the press has played a key role in the ouster of two presidents."
The conference culminates tomorrow with the awarding of the UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to Nyarota and the awarding of a plaque honoring the memory of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, whose murder in February this year drew attention to the dangers faced by investigative reporters working on international terrorism.
President Arroyo and director General Koichiro Matsuura will grace the awarding rites at Malacañang.
UNESCO has chosen the Philippines, a flourishing democracy with a vibrant media, but also a country facing terrorist threats, as the site of this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations – the first time it is being held in Asia.
In 2000 the record for the most killings was shared by Ukraine and Russia, where a newspaper editor was shot dead on Monday after denouncing corruption among local officials.
The Southeast Asian Press alliance (SEAPA), for its part, said that although the Philippines has "one of the freest presses in Asia, " it also has "one of the highest casualty counts."
The SEAPA, in a report to the UNESCO conference on Terrorism and media read by its acting chairman Chavarong Limpattamapanee, said 35 Filipinos journalists have been killed since the restoration of democracy in 1986.
"Many Filipino journalists, especially in the provinces, face threats and harassment in the course of their work," Chavarong said.
In general, he pointed out, "the threats to media freedom in southeast Asia are not only physical threats."
"They also take the form of advertising pressure, closure of newspapers, and control through ownership and the corruption if journalists. The threats come not just from governments, but from big business and in the case of Indonesia, mob violence," he added.
The SEAPA said media in Southeast Asia "are in danger."
"After Sept. 11, some of the countries in the region have come up with new measures and legislation to muzzle the media and limit civil liberty," it said.
‘Terrorist threat no excuse for media control’
A two-day international conference of journalists in Manila ended yesterday with calls on governments and military forces fighting terrorism around the world to respect their right and duty to report on terrorism and promote open and informed debate about it.
Delegates to the conference also issued a note of concern on the fate of Zimbabwean journalists Collin Chiwanza and Lloyd Mudiwa, reporters of The Daily News, who were arrested Tuesday by police on charges of spreading false information.
The resolution, which was passed unanimously by participants, demanded official protection for journalists working in areas of conflict, treating them as civilians under the Geneva convention and other international protocols.
"The threat of terrorism should not be used as an excuse to impose restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and of the media, or on the freedom of information," said the resolution, whose draft was approved by participating journalists from various countries with minor amendments.
The Daily News editor-in-chief Geoffrey Nyarota, who attended the conference to receive this year’s UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, also made an appeal for the immediate release from detention of his two reporters and his newspaper’s driver Shadreck Mukwecheni, who, he said, was taken into custody by police only yesterday.
He also revealed that another Zimbabwean journalist, Andrew Meldium, who is a correspondent for the British newspaper The Guardian, is also on trial for violating a recently passed law that severely restricted the rights of journalists to practice their profession in Zimbabwe.
UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura expressed support for the plight of the Zimbabwean journalists, making an appeal to Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe to respect the people’s right to freedom of expression in his country. Nyarota himself earlier told the conference he himself faces arrest when he returns home after receiving the $25,000-prize.
The two-day conference covered such topics as the challenges and issues that confront journalists in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, reporting on terrorism, and the safety of journalists working in war zones.
"States should devote sufficient resources and attention to preventing attacks on journalists, to investigating such attacks when they occur and to bringing those responsible to justice without delay," said the resolution.
Delegates to the conference asserted their right to report on terrorism, editorial independence, protection of confidential access to information and access to it, freedom of movement, and privacy of communications.
The two-page resolution also urged media outlets, publishers and media organizations to put in place measures that promote the safety of journalists reporting on conflict and terrorism, including training, the development of safety guidelines and the provision of appropriate equipment.
The resolution echoed a charter for the safety of journalists working in war zones or dangerous areas adopted by media organizations and media professionals in Paris last March 8.
During one of the plenary sessions yesterday, Cable News Network (CNN) representative for Southeast Asia Maria Ressa spoke of the dangers journalists face in covering the civil unrest in Ambon, Indonesia. "When I introduce myself as Maria, I become a target to attacks (by Muslim fundamentalists)," she said while moderating a discussion on the safety of journalists who cover conflicts. She said situations like this have forced the CNN and its traditional rival, the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), to band together to ensure the safety of their reporters who work in danger zones.
"States at peace, as well as parties to conflicts, should never allow their agents or combatants to pose as journalists, or attempt to use journalists as agents," the resolution said.
The conference also called on the news media industry and the international community to establish a fund to assist under-resourced media organizations and freelance journalists to have access to safety training and equipment.