To IFJ Asia-Pacific affiliates and friends,
Welcome to the IFJ Asia-Pacific’s monthly e-bulletin. The next bulletin will be issued on 1 May 2014, and contributions from affiliates are most welcome. To contribute, email [email protected] Please distribute this bulletin widely among colleagues in the media. Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ifjasiapacific Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IFJAsiaPacificIn this bulletin:
- IFJ launches new website
- Journalist and family murdered in Afghanistan as Taliban vow to disrupt election
- World Press Freedom Day – What are you doing to raise awareness?
- Hong Kong Chief Executive Responds to IFJ Press Freedom Campaign
- Sri Lankan free speech activists muzzled following detainment on terrorism charges
- Journalist killers convicted in historic ruling in Pakistan as media violence continues
- Myanmar Parliament Passes Dual Media Laws
- Call for action in India after gang rape of journalist
- IFJ releases The Stories Women Journalists Tell: IFJ Report on Women in Media in South Asia and calls on an end to violence against women
- Delays for thai journalists facing jail time
- Journalist unions urge chinese president to allow free movement of foreign media
- Bangladeshi journalist falls to death from police rooftop
- Filipino media groups file motion against cyber libel laws
- Canadian journalist still missing in Cambodia
- IFJ raises concern over two separate instances of censorship in China
- IFJ launches new website
- Journalist and family murdered in Afghanistan as Taliban vow to disrupt election
Turaj Rais said: "Please allow me to express my whole family's gratitude and appreciation. We wouldn't be able to make through this horrible time without the prayers of everyone from all over the world.Abuzar is a miracle. He is a strong little man with a heart of a lion. He is recovering at the speed of light. We hope that he will fill the gap in the world of journalism that was created by Sardar's departure"
One of the latest photo of our reporter Sardar Ahmad, taken in the #AFP office in Kabul yesterday. RIP pic.twitter.com/AELu2S7YVR
— AFP Photo Department (@AFPphoto) March 21, 2014
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The Ahmad family murder comes only two weeks after the brutal killing of Swedish journalist, Nils Horner in Kabul. Horner, who also held British citizenship, was shot dead in a rare daylight attack in Kabul on March 11 by an unknown gunman.
As the April 5 election approaches, the IFJ is calling on Afghani journalists to exercise utmost caution as they go about their work covering the elections and has called on the Afghan interior ministry and justice ministry to carry out full investigations into these attacks. We hope that the Afghan journalism community has a safe week in the lead up to election day and we join our affiliates the Afghan Independent Journalists' Association in calling on authorities to ensure journalists are safe in doing their extremely important work covering the critical vote.
- World Press Freedom Day – What are you doing to raise awareness?
- Hong Kong Chief Executive Responds to IFJ Press Freedom Campaign
5. Sri Lankan free speech activists muzzled following detainment on terrorism charges
The dire situation for journalists and human rights activists in Sri Lanka took global prominence this month in the lead-up to the UNHRC sessions in Geneva with the arrest of two leading activists. After two days of global outcry and rallying from the IFJ and other international human rights organisations, the two activists Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan were released without any charges on March 18. The IFJ has since joined its Sri Lankan affiliate the Free Media Movement (FMM) in deploring the Magistrate order issued on both men, restricting their right to speak and demands an immediate lifting on the ban. The judicial order continues to prevent the two activists from speaking about not only their arrest but also the human rights violations taking place in the North of Sri Lanka that they had been investigating. Fernando and Fr. Praveen, were arrested on March 16 in Kilinochchi and were subjected to lengthy interrogations by the Terrorist Investigative Division of the Sri Lanka Police.6. Journalist killers convicted in historic ruling in Pakistan as media violence continues
The conviction of the killers of Pakistani journalist Wali Khan Babar has been hailed as a major achievement in a long campaign by the PFUJ and Pakistan’s media against the country’s entrenched culture of impunity. The IFJ said the outcome “was won through their determination and commitment and actioned by a legal system that has clearly committed itself to achieving justice.”On March 2 the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) acknowledged the significance of the judgement of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorist Court when it handed down the country’s first successful prosecution over the killing of a Pakistani journalist. The Court’s decision marked only the second time in Pakistan’s history that the murderers of a journalist have been brought to justice. The first was American journalist Daniel Pearl’s killer, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, in 2002. “This judgement strikes a blow against impunity for journalists’ killers in Pakistan. “The campaign must continue and the media must remain vigilant as it faces these threats against the profession,” the IFJ said. This dire environment for Pakistan’s media was once again on display earlier in March when journalist Abrar Tanoli was shot in the neck by unidentified gunmen while travelling with his family at Mamsehra. He passed away in the early morning of Monday March 3. Also this month, on March 28, unidentified armed men opened fire on well-known Pakistan news anchor Raza Rumi while he was in his car on Ferozpur Road in Lahore returning home after finishing his news show for Express News. Although Rumi was not injured in the attack, his driver, Mustafa, was killed and his guard was injured. The PFUJ retailliated with country-wide protests over the attack.7. Myanmar Parliament passes historic media laws
Myanmar’s draconian Printers and Publishers Registration Law of 1962 was replaced on March 4 by two bills that were welcomed by the IFJ as the country’s first press laws but were also described as being unnecessarily controlling. The dual bills, one drafted by the Ministry of Information and one drafted in concert with the Myanmar Press Council, contain measures that suggested that the power of censorship still lies with the country’s authorities. Implementing such a dramatic change for Myanmar’s media environment is a victory in itself. The IFJ commended the hard work and perseverance of Myanmar’s journalists and the Myanmar Journalists Association (MJA) over recent years to ensure media freedoms are protected and respected as part of the ongoing dialogue now happening between the Thein Sein government and the country’s media. The IFJ called on any further laws to be created with full consultation with the media and without unnecessary restrictions and controls that would impede the objectives of freedom of expression.8. Call for action in India after gang rape of journalist
On March 28 the IFJ was shocked to hear reports of another gang rape of a female journalist in India. The 27-year-old journalist on assignment was allegedly gang-raped by two people in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, Northern India. The journalist had gone to Asthabhuja temple to research a story on historic temples in Vindhyachal region and was returning hotel late evening when she was abducted, taken to an isolated place, raped by the two assailants and later dumped in a forest area. The woman, who was associated with a Hindi newspaper in Uttarakhand, lodged a complaint with the police on Friday. The police have arrested one of the accused and are reported to be investigating the case. This incident came just a week after an Indian court found four persons guilty of gang rape of a 23-year-old photojournalist in Mumbai last year. They were sentenced to life imprisonment. A concerning pattern of incidents in India’s media has brought about heightened public awareness about rising cases of sexual violence generally across the country. The IFJ endorses the actions of its Indian affiliates in taking a strict and absolute no tolerance stance against harassment and sexual violence against women journalists in India. That means ensuring the safest possible working conditions for female media workers as they go about their daily duties; campaigns on gender equity and education on sexual harassment; and an independent and robust process for complaints that adequately takes into consideration the need for confidentiality for victims.9. IFJ releases The Stories Women Journalists Tell: IFJ Report on Women in Media in South Asia and calls on an end to violence against women
The IFJ Asia Pacific office marked International Women's Day (March 7) by calling on media organisations and public authorities in the Asia Pacific to confront violence against female journalists by providing a safe working environment for women in the media and the same week released The Stories Women Journalists Tell: IFJ Report on Women in Media in South Asia. The report is the first created by the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN), looking specifically at the experience of women journalists in the South Asia sub-region. It sheds light on how women are rapidly joining media’s ranks in large numbers, yet frustratingly still bear the brunt of inequality in newsrooms. The report’s author, Geeta Seshu, said: “Their primary concerns centred on recruitment, work assignments and promotions; the impact of the contract system and growing job insecurity; the need for greater gender sensitivity in the workplace; sexual harassment and safety.” Sadly, the report also documents the horrific attacks and killings of women journalists in the region also. The Stories Women Journalists Tell is the first stage of this important campaign for women in South Asian media and sets the agenda for women journalists across the region. Download the report here: Women in Media in South Asia Report.pdf Read the full report online here.- Delays for Thai Journalists Facing Jail Time
- Journalist Unions Urge Chinese President to Allow Free Movement of Foreign Media
The letter, co-signed by the heads of the National Writers Union USA, Newspaper Guild-CWA USA, Screen Actors Guild, Hong Kong Journalists Association and Association of Taiwan Journalists, called on the Chinese leaders to uphold their obligations to defend and implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular Article 19 which guarantees every one's right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media without interference. China was re-elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council in November 2013. The government is yet to respond.
- Bangladeshi Journalist Falls to Death From Police Rooftop
- Filipino Media Groups File Motion Against Cyber Libel Laws
- Canadian journalist still missing in Cambodia
- IFJ raises concern over two separate instances of censorship in China