By ANTHONY IAN CRUZ
Malaya
Dec. 19, 2007
THE Arroyo government’s failure to protect working journalists from attacks continues to deal blows to the country’s reputation as a bastion of press freedom, according to reports of international media watchdogs.
Filipino journalists have also lost the distinction of being part of Asia’s freest press as the Philippines is lumped with Afghanistan as the world’s fifth most dangerous country for journalists, said the Geneva-based Press Emblem Campaign (PEC).
In a report Monday, PEC said there was a record number of journalists slain worldwide, with 110 this year compared to 96 in 2006 and 68 in 2005.
Iraq remains the most dangerous country for journalists with 50 journalists killed this year and at least 250 since the United States declared war on Iraq in 2003.
Somalia is second with eight murdered journalists. Third is Sri Lanka with seven and fourth is Pakistan with five.
The Philippines and Afghanistan are tied at fifth spot, each with four.
In New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists assailed the November 29 arrest and detention of around 50 Filipino journalists in the Manila Peninsula hotel incident and dubbed it as “government interference in news coverage with an obvious intent to intimidate the media.”
The arrests drew similar rebukes and condemnation from press groups worldwide.
The group Reporters Without Borders, known by its French initials RSF, said the freest press in Asia is now in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
Iceland was dubbed the world’s freest press.
RSF ranked the Philippines 128th among 168th countries in its Worldwide Press Freedom Index, or among the 40 countries with bad press freedom records led by Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Iran, Cuba, Burma, China, Vietnam, Laos, and Uzbekistan.
US-based Freedom House rated the Philippines “partly free” in its latest Map of Press Freedom, taking note of the unsolved cases of killed journalists.
Last February, the International Federation of Journalists said media organizations in 14 countries joined a global protest against unresolved slays of Filipino journalists, urging the Arroyo government to address what the IFJ called a “terrible press freedom and journalist safety situation” in the country.