Phl ranks third in impunity index on murder of journalists

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines maintained its standing as the third country after Iraq and Somalia in the list of countries with the most number of unsolved murders of journalists in 2011, the New York-based press freedom watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its yearend survey released yesterday.

CPJ, which released its 2011 Impunity Index at the 17th general meeting of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange in Beirut, said the Philippines accounts for 609 unsolved journalist murders per one million inhabitants.

The CPJ said justice officials, whom they met in 2010 to discuss the problem of impunity, admitted the difficulty in solving the murders of journalists, despite President Aquino’s promise to reverse the nation’s record of unpunished anti-press violence.

At least 56 journalists have been killed with impunity in the Philippines over the past decade, CPJ said, citing the 2009 Maguindanao massacre where 32 journalists and media workers were killed, as “the worst.”

“The Philippine government’s case against hundreds of defendants reflects an overall pattern in which Philippine authorities often identify suspects but rarely win convictions,” CPJ said.

The CPJ also cited threats and bribes on witnesses and the incompetence and corruption among local investigators in the Maguindanao massacre case, touted as the world’s worst single massacre of journalists and media workers to date.

Next to the Philippines is Sri Lanka, followed by Colombia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Mexico, Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil and India.

CPJ’s Impunity Index calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders in relation to the country’s population. It examined journalist murders between Jan. 1, 2001 through Dec. 31, 2010 that remain unsolved.

Only nations with five or more unsolved cases are included in the list.

CPJ defines murder as a deliberate attack against a journalist in relation to the victim’s work. Murders make up more than 70 percent of work-related deaths among journalists, according to CPJ research. It does not include cases of journalists killed in combat or while carrying out dangerous assignments such as coverage of street protests.

Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained. Population data from the World Bank’s 2009 World Development Indicators were used in calculating each country’s rating.

CPJ’s Impunity Index is compiled as part of the organization’s Global Campaign Against Impunity.

Two years after the Maguindanao massacre on Nov. 29, the day was marked as the International Day To End Impunity.

The Impunity Index also showed that 43 journalists were killed worldwide in relation to their work in 2011. Seven of the deaths were in Pakistan, Libya and Iraq with five each, and Mexico with three.

The CPJ said most journalist deaths occurred in the Middle East, where 18 journalists were killed this year, many while covering the uprisings in Arab countries.

“The combination of dangerous assignments turned deadly and targeted murders that remain unsolved is a double challenge to free expression,” said CPJ executive director Joel Simon in the yearend report.

“Combatants must recognize the right of journalists to cover conflict, while governments must be held accountable for investigating and prosecuting those who carry out crimes against the press,” it added.