Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based media watchdog group, has just released its annual report Wednesday in which they reveal a growing number of attacks against the press.

"The number of journalists killed, imprisoned or physically attacked in 2005 unfortunately shows that our efforts are still urgently needed and reporting the news is more dangerous than ever," say Reporters Without Borders. "Press freedom is far from being guaranteed around the world."

And the trend does not look likely to improve in 2006, with 16 journalists killed so far and more than 120 currently in prison. Reporters Without Borders paints a gloomy picture as they mark the 16th World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

The report is bold and to the point: "The media has enemies, and they all have faces," says Reporters Without Borders. They include presidents, cabinet ministers, kings, "supreme guides," guerrilla chieftains and bosses of criminal organizations. Each has the power to imprison, kidnap, torture and sometimes murder journalists. Their position usually ensures they are never punished and never tried for violations of human rights.

Reporters Without Borders has added five new names to its list of the "greatest enemies of press freedom" in 2006. They are:

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia: "He heads an unstable regime and has shown great hostility towards opposition media. He claims he is faced with revolutionary forces egged on by an irresponsible and unrestrained media. A crackdown on supporters of the main opposition alliance in November netted more than a dozen newspaper publishers and editors who were accused of high treason and genocide."

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, a hardliner and former revolutionary guard: After taking office on Aug. 3, 2005, he purged reformists from the culture ministry (which supervises the press) and replaced them with hardliners. Several government ministers are also revolutionary guards and were involved in the arrests, torture and killings of Iranian journalists in 1998.

Armed Tamil groups of Sri Lanka: As hostilities continues between the Sri Lankan army and the rebel Liberation Tamil Tigers of Elam -- or LTTE -- various Tamil groups have killed or threatened journalists and physically attacked media outlets. Supporters of former Tamil Tiger chief Col. Karuna in the north and east attack journalists they accuse of sympathizing with the Tigers.

The pro-government EPDP and PLOTE Tamil groups are thought to be behind the 2005 murder of Dharmeratnam Sivaram ("Taraki"), editor of the TamilNet news Web site, and that of a correspondent of the daily Sudar Oli in 2006. The Tigers do not tolerate criticism and reportedly killed the Tamil presenter of the public TV station, Relangi Sevaraja.

Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano, head of Colombia's paramilitary forces: Although he has been under house arrest since May 27, 2005, he remains highly influential, and has placed his powerful militia at the service of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. He is a notorious drug-trafficker. His group routinely uses terror to silence journalists. Violence has forced journalists to choose between self-censorship and going into exile.

Ra�l Reyes, head of Colombia's guerrilla organization: Reyes is the No. 2 and spokesman of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a Marxist group, for which control of the news is a key element in the ongoing war it has waged against the government since the 1960s. The slightest mention of guerrilla activities exposes the media to violent reprisals ranging from kidnapping to sabotage and many journalists have been forced to flee the war zones as a result.

Among Washington's allies on the list are Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, where armed groups continue to harass and target the press.

In the Middle East, Reporters Without Borders states that "Lebanon has the best record for press freedom in the Arab world but is now moving towards self-censorship." Particularly following the assassinations of Samir Kassir and Gebran Tueni, many "political commentators stay at home and no longer dare to openly criticize neighboring Syria, accused by many of being behind the attacks."

The situation in Iraq continues to be the "most worrying," where 88 journalists and media assistants have been killed since fighting began there in March 2003. The conflict is the most deadly for the media since World War II.

Legal harassment continues in Algeria and every week more journalists are fined or sentenced to prison. Though prison terms are rarely served, the sentences are a grave threat and undermine the growth of a free and independent media.

In the Gaza Strip, several foreign journalists were briefly kidnapped.

Censorship of news on the Internet has become a worldwide practice. In February, for the first time, access to a Web site hosted in sub-Saharan Africa (Uganda) was blocked. Western Internet firms have also been involved in the arrest of two cyber-dissidents in China, who were jailed on the basis of data supplied by Yahoo!. U.S. officials are drafting a law to curb unethical behavior by U.S. Internet firms operating in repressive countries.

But there was also some good news in 2005. "The release of a journalist, the reopening of a censored media outlet or the sentencing of an enemy of press freedom, gives reason to the media watchdog group for "cautious optimism."

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
- The Long War - Doctrine and Application

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News