http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/16-pakistan-tops-list-of-journalists-killed-on-duty-029-hs-09
Pakistan tops list of journalists killed on duty By Our Staff Reporter Wednesday, 30 Dec, 2009 | 04:53 AM PST | LAHORE: Pakistan has topped the list of sacrifices rendered by media persons in the line of duty in eight South Asian states, losing seven lives in conflict zones, indicating worsening conditions for media practitioners. This was reported in the seventh South Asia Media Monitor 2009 report entitled “12 journalists killed in South Asia” released by the South Asia Media Commission (SAMC) headed by N. Ram as its chairman and Najam Sethi as secretary-general in collaboration with the South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) on Tuesday. The report has recorded a rise in violent incidents in India and says that journalists were killed with impunity in Afghanistan (two), Nepal, India and Sri Lanka (one each) and Pakistan (seven) in 2009. The report noted that “the state authorities in these countries failed to bring to justice the murderers of journalists”. It found that the ongoing conflict in the frontier regions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the surge in terrorism brought tremendous pressure on journalists and reporting truth became a more hazardous affair. The report noted that in most countries of the region, the regulatory environment remained ill-defined, especially for the electronic media. “Newly emerging electronic media outlets employ no ethical and professional restraint on their conduct and standards fell with the induction of a non-professional breed of embedded amateurs.” The 180-page report throws light on country-wise events involving high-risk duties, casualties, threats and intimidations in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Maldives. In Pakistan, the report found that “some zealots in the profession have used their new freedoms to scandalise and destabilise a fragile democracy, albeit ignoring media norms quite frequently”. The report points out that some of the ruling party leaders have lately opted to use threatening language against some journalists. The report underlines that now there is a greater need to have a shared discourse on the media freedom. About India, the report said that despite its long and well-established journalistic traditions, it remained seized with debates on ethics of news coverage in print and electronic media as the tendency to sell news space for trivia grew in the country’s boom. The report on Sri Lanka said that journalists in Sri Lanka suffered worst adversities by any standard, considerably more serious than the travails of their counterparts in Pakistan. The daylight murder of one of the country’s best known editors, Lasantha Wickrematunga, the abduction style arrest of N. Vithyatharana and the 20-year jail term for J.S. Tissainayagam on charges of ‘terrorism’ represent a new low for the country. The report on Nepal noted the environment for journalism in Nepal deteriorated and the new rulers provided no reward to the media for spearheading the movement against monarchical rule and restoration of democracy in 2006. In Afghanistan, the report found that the situation for journalism remained seriously muddied. “Media has become an arena, where armed groups contest fiercely for political space and the tussle took its toll, killing two journalists in 2009.” About Bangladesh, the report underlined that media had been facing the pangs of transition, which Bangladesh went through for the return to democratic era. It noted that the legislative work on media issues was needed. Bhutan, another country in transition from monarchy, remained battling newly created regulatory institutions for freedom of access to information. The report concluded that the most challenging issues for journalists were violence directed by state and non-state actors engaged in war and bureaucratic and legislative efforts to silence dissent and erosion of editorial control. The report underlined the need for fostering a responsible media keeping professional and ethical standards above political agenda. Safma secretary-general Imtiaz Alam explained the South Asia Media Monitor 2009 report at the launch ceremony. He said SAMC would improve the analysis in its next report by content monitoring and auditing. He said the media research cell was being expanded and hoped that the commission would bring out its media monitor reports on a quarterly basis. ------------------------------------ -- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! 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