Media Monitor report Pakistan and India have earned the dubious distinction of heading the list of atrocities inflicted on the journalists in South Asia during 2013.
The shocking details are revealed in the annual report compiled by the Media Monitor under the auspices of the South Asian Free Media Association. The most heinous of these are the killings in the course of performing professional duties. Out of the total of 22 in the region, Pakistan reported ten such cases, India eight.
The report stresses the urgency of the governments of the region to seriously address the cases of violence and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The summary of the report is as follows:The reign of impunity in South Asia: 22 journalists killedSouth Asia was not a safe place for journalists in the year 2013 either as violence against media personnel with impunity continued to remain a major threat to media freedom. Killings
Despite UN Security Council Resolution 1738 on the safety of journalists and several international resolutions on the protection of journalists, lives continued to have been lost in South Asia in the course of journalists doing their jobs with the year 2013 toll being 22. The country with the Largest number of journalists killed in connection with their work was
Pakistan (10), followed by India (8), Afghanistan (3) and Bangladesh
(1). Courtesy these killings, Pakistan and India have made it to the shameful club of the world’s five deadliest countries for the media.
Unpunished crimes
Except for a couple of killings having been taken up in the courts in Nepal, the culture of impunity — the perpetrators of killings not being investigated or brought to justice — seemed to have taken root. Cases have been
marred by delays, the deaths of witnesses, and threats to the plaintiffs in a bid to have them drop charges. Unpunished crimes are jeering at major democracies of the region and depriving their people of the right to information. And so, fear is deeply entrenching in families of those killed and in societies.
Threats and violence forced a growing number of journalists to flee their homes or country. There have been several instances of harassment and violence against journalists during protests. WarmongeringA major section of media in South Asia, more so in India than in Pakistan, remained indulged in conflict insensitive journalism and in doing so, putting pressure on the governments of the two countries to go for war rather than
peace.
Intolerance for diversity
Other factors having a bearing on media freedom and quality journalism in the region were intolerance for diverse points of views as edicts and threats were hurled at the media.
Crunch time
In some of the smaller South Asian countries financial viability has always been a challenge. But even in the large countries, there have been huge layoffs unsettling the optimism of the last decade of rapid growth in the
media and causing livelihood anxieties for journalists.
Layoffs and working conditions
Journalists still struggle for fair wages and decent working conditions. In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal principally, established laws on the protection of living standards are being breached with little consequence.
In other countries such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan, the struggle is underway for securing protections under the law for the wages and working conditions of the media people.
Transparency
Transparency in ownership and editorial functioning and accountability and credible modes of regulation came up as major issues.
Ban on YouTube
As a welcome development in June, Bangladesh lifted a ban on video-sharing site YouTube in place since September 2012 after an online anti-Islam movie spawned violent protests across the Muslim world.
The ban was hurting thousands of people who use YouTube for good purposes such as educational or research. But impeding the public right to freedom of expression and access to information, YouTube continued to remain blocked in Pakistan.
SAMC call
The SAMC calls on the governments of South Asia to address the issue of violence against the media by bringing perpetrators of past crimes to justice. Also, the media owners as well as journalists themselves will have
to fight impunity as a fight of the people.
K.K. Katyal
President,
South Asia Media Commission, India