Tuesday, March 1, 2011

[pima.nius] IFJ Asia-Pacific Monthly e-Bulletin: March 2011

10:44 AM |


via IFJ Asia Pacific

To IFJ Asia-Pacific affiliates and friends



Welcome to the IFJ Asia-Pacific's monthly e-bulletin. The next bulletin
will be sent on April 1, 2011, and contributions from affiliates are
most welcome. To contribute, email ifj@ifj-asia.org



Please distribute this bulletin widely among colleagues in the media.



In this bulletin:



1.      Another Journalist's Murder Underlines Safety Crisis in
Balochistan

2.      Little Progress in Investigation of Journalist's Murder in
Chhattisgarh, India

3.      Murder Suspect Arrested, More Death Threats in Philippines

4.      Media Staff Confirmed Among New Zealand Earthquake Deaths

5.      IFJ Report of Media Staff Killed in 2010 Reveals Tragedy and
Loss

6.      Journalists Detained at Scene of Alleged Civilian Deaths,
Released

7.      Journalists in China Held for Reporting 'Jasmine Revolution'
Protests

8.      Free Media Movement Sri Lanka Hosts Inaugural Commemorative
Lecture



1.      Another Journalist's Murder Underlines Safety Crisis in
Balochistan



The IFJ was shocked by the killing of Abdost Rind, a 27-year-old
journalist in the Turbat area of Balochistan province in Pakistan's
south-west. According to information received from IFJ affiliate the
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), Rind - a reporter with
Daily Eagle, an Urdu-language newspaper - was shot four times by
unidentified assailants on motorcycles as he returned home from work on
the evening of February 18. He died immediately. He is the second media
worker to be killed in Balochistan this year, after the death of Ilyas
Nazar
<http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-demands-inquiry-as-another-j
ournalist-killed-in-balochistan
> , who was found dead in Pidarak on
January 5.



See:http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/another-journalists-murder-un
derlines-safety-crisis-in-balochistan






2.      Little Progress in Investigation of Journalist's Murder in
Chhattisgarh, India



The IFJ remains concerned at the serious lack of progress in the
investigation into the death of Umesh Rajput, a reporter with the Hindi
daily Nai Duniya, after he was murdered outside his home in Chura
village, near the state capital of Chhattisgarh state. Rajput was called
out of his home on the evening of January 23 by two unidentified men and
shot dead as he emerged. A note left at the site had a message written
in Hindi, which said that the murder was the consequence of stories the
reporter had been filing.



See:http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/little-progress-in-investigat
ion-of-journalists-murder-in-chhattisgarh-state




3.      Murder Suspect Arrested, More Death Threats in Philippines



The IFJ was encouraged to learn that Rodolfo Edrad Jr, a suspect
allegedly involved in the January 24 murder of broadcaster Gerado Ortega
in the Philippines is in custody. Edrad Jr, alias Jun-Jun Bomar, turned
himself in to authorities in Quezon province about 10pm on February 5.
Meanwhile, four journalists in the Philippines received death threats
after covering controversial issues recently near the capital Manila and
on the southern island of Mindanao. Three journalists based in Tarlac
City, north of Manila, received death threats via SMS after writing a
series of articles on alleged scams related to the ongoing construction
of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.

See:
http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/death-threats-made-against-journa
lists-in-the-philippines


http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/suspect-in-journalist-murder-surr
enders-to-authorities-in-the-philippines


4.      Media Staff Confirmed Among New Zealand Earthquake Deaths

The IFJ was saddened by reports that media staff members were among
those confirmed dead as a result of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake in
Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22. The offices of Canterbury
Television (CTV) and The Press newspaper were some of the hardest hit by
the earthquake, which struck New Zealand's second largest city six
months after a larger quake caused extensive damage to the region on
September 4, 2010. IFJ affiliate the New Zealand Engineering, Printing
and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) reports that all members of their
Christchurch-based staff are accounted for, with no serious injuries.

See:http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/media-staff-confirmed-among-n
ew-zealand-earthquake-deaths


5.      IFJ Report of Media Staff Killed in 2010 Reveals Tragedy and
Loss

The IFJ published its annual report of journalists and media staff
killed during 2010, saying that 94 media fatalities last year
demonstrate the increasing risks facing journalists around the globe.
The report also includes three cases of journalists who lost their lives
in accidents. "It is a poignant roll call of tragedy and loss recording
the deaths of 2,271 colleagues since 1990, including 97 who died in
2010," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary in his introduction to
the report." These figures illustrate how in an age when media are more
powerful and when people have ever expanding access to different sources
of information, journalists determined to tell the truth face increasing
risks."

See:http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/roll-call-of-loss-and-tragedy
-continues-says-ifj-report-of-media-staff-killed-in-2010


6.      Journalists Detained at Scene of Alleged Civilian Deaths,
Released

The IFJ welcomed the release of three reporters who were briefly
detained by US-led NATO forces in Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan.
According to information received from IFJ affiliate the Afghan
Independent Journalists' Association (AIJA), Syed Abdullah Nezami of the
Al Jazeera Arabic news channel and Sadullah Sahil and Zabihullah of the
Afghan TV News Service, were detained on February 20 in a remote part of
the province where a NATO air strike had reportedly killed up to 50
civilians.

See:http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/journalists-detained-at-scene
-of-alleged-civilian-deaths-released


7.      Journalists in China Held for Reporting 'Jasmine Revolution'
Protests

The IFJ was deeply concerned that a large number of bloggers,
journalists and dissidents were detained by police
<http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/journalists-blocked-when-reporti
ng-jasmine-revolution-protests-in-china
>  connected to "jasmine
revolution" protests which began on February 20. Police have blocked,
harassed and detained journalists when they tried to cover a protest on
February 27,  and Sichuan Literature magazine writer Ran Yunfei, a
signatory of the Charter 08 manifesto, was detained by police and may
have been charged according to reports.  Journalists including Hong
Kong, Taiwan and foreign journalists were blocked and detained by police
when covering a February 27 protest in Beijing. Journalists from foreign
media outlets - one from Radio Free Asia and another from Kyodo (Japan)
- had their identities checked by police in Guangzhou on the day.

See:
http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/journalists-in-china-held-for-rep
orting-jasmine-revolution-protests


8.      Free Media Movement Sri Lanka Hosts Inaugural Commemorative
Lecture

IFJ affiliate the Free Media Movement (FMM) hosted the inaugural
Lasantha Wickrematunge commemorative lecture in Colombo, Sri Lanka,
February 15. Christopher Warren, immediate past President of the
International Federation of Journalists, and Federal Secretary of IFJ
affiliate the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (Australia) delivered
the lecture, which was held to observe two years since the murder of
Wickrematunge, the well-known editor of Sri Lanka's Sunday Leader. In
his address, Warren cited the recent uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia as
proof of "the renewal of the global march to democracy and human
rights," that may serve as an example for the struggle of Sri Lanka's
journalists and press freedom activists.



See:
http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/freedom-of-expression-key-to-demo
cracy-and-human-rights




If affiliates have any information on a press freedom violation, please
make sure you immediately contact staff at IFJ Asia-Pacific so action
can be taken.



Jacqueline Park
Deborah Muir

Claire O'Rourke

Cameron Durnsford

Sukumar Muralidharan

Serenade Woo





IFJ Asia-Pacific
asiapacific.ifj.org

ifj@ifj-asia.org








--
Lisa Williams-Lahari
Media Freelancer
Regional Coordinator, IFJ Pacific Media for Democracy and Human Rights
Project
Ph Mob: (64) 0210642704
Skype: lisalahari

* "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that
matter."-- Martin Luther King Jr.  *

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