U.S. Gravely Concerned About Global Killings of Journalists
Washington -- The United States remains “gravely concerned” about the intimidation and murders of journalists worldwide, including the October 2006 killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. In an April 30 statement, the State Department said the United States also is concerned about “increasing limitations on press freedoms around the world.”
(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington -- The United States remains “gravely concerned” about the intimidation and murders of journalists worldwide, including the October 2006 killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
In an April 30 statement, the State Department said the United States also is concerned about “increasing limitations on press freedoms around the world.”
In many countries, said the department, “governments are tightening libel laws, and media ownership is increasingly controlled by governments and pro-government forces.”
In addition, the department said, the number of independent press outlets is declining, while restrictions are multiplying on the use of Internet search engines and the right to free expression on the Internet. The department warned that “those who try to independently seek, receive or disseminate information and ideas are being persecuted.”
Politkovskaya’s murder, the department said, was an “affront to free and independent media and to democratic values.”
Politkovskaya was a “symbol of courage and freedom, who, in the best tradition of journalism and the free press, investigated the most difficult issues, in particular exposing human rights abuses in Chechnya, and dedicated herself to uncovering the truth behind the story,” the department said.
The department said it had been “shocked and profoundly saddened” by Politkovskaya’s “brutal murder,” and it renewed the U.S. call to the Russian government to continue its investigation “to find, prosecute and bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime.”
The department praised Politkovskaya’s selection by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) as the 2007 winner of its Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
Cano, director of the Colombian daily newspaper El Espectador, was assassinated by two hired killers in December 1986. UNESCO said Cano was a victim of drug trafficking mafias, which he had denounced as damaging Colombian society.
The $25,000 Cano Prize honors the work of an individual or organization defending or promoting freedom of expression. The naming of Politkovskaya as the 2007 Cano award winner was announced March 30 by Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO’s director-general. A jury of 14 professional journalists and editors worldwide made the selection.
The Cano award is presented annually on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. The 10th anniversary of the award’s creation will be commemorated during a May 3-4 conference on press freedom in Medellin, Colombia, Cano’s home city. A ceremony during the conference will honor Politkovskaya, with speakers to include UNESCO’s Matsuura; Francisco Santos Calderon, Colombia’s vice president; and Politkovskaya’s son, Ilya Politkovsky. ( See related article. )
PRESS FREEDOM DAY ACTIVITIES TO BE HELD WORLDWIDE
Numerous World Press Freedom Day activities are scheduled worldwide.
The State Department’s Jonathan Farrar, principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, will hold a May 3 webchat about U.S. efforts to support a free press around the world.
In announcing the webchat, the State Department said that free media are “one of the pillars of democracy” and that Farrar’s bureau is “committed to supporting and promoting democracy programs throughout the world dealing with press freedom as well as election monitoring, parliamentary development and related issues.” Farrar’s bureau also devotes a section of its annual Human Rights Report to press freedom.
UNESCO said its Medellin conference, entitled “Press Freedom, Safety of Journalists and Impunity,” will examine the disquieting news that “being a journalist has never been more dangerous.”
UNESCO quoted press freedom organizations as saying that 2006 was the bloodiest year on record for journalists, with more than 150 murders and unexplained deaths of journalists and media workers. The numbers in 2007 are not “slowing down,” said UNESCO. So far in 2007, some 50 media professionals have been killed, it said.
“Never in recorded history has there been such a large-scale killing of journalists,” said UNESCO.
Another session in Medellin will focus on criminal organizations, corruption and investigative journalism. In many countries journalists do not have the independence needed to uncover corruption and misuse of power and to denounce offenses committed against human rights.
UNESCO also has organized conferences to mark World Press Freedom Day in Amman, Jordan, and in St. Lucia, and will stage a debate in London on the global threats to media freedom.
The event in Amman will examine the safety of journalists and impunity for crimes committed against media. UNESCO quoted press freedom advocacy groups as saying that, in regard to impunity, about 85 percent of all murderers of journalists in the last 15 years faced neither investigation nor prosecution for their crimes.
In St Lucia, Caribbean journalists and representatives of media organizations and training institutions will meet May 2-3 to examine challenges faced by the regional media in defense of freedom of expression.
More information about the Medellin, Amman, St. Lucia, and London events is available on the UNESCO Web site.
The full text of the State Department statement, information on the May 3 webchat, and a May 1 fact sheet on press freedom are on the State Department Web site.
For additional information, see Freedom of the Press.
By Eric Green USINFO Staff Writer
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