Press Freedoms

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Tuesday February 14, 2006 02:25 by Liam Mullen - Freelance journalist mullenl at eircom dot net 17 Cranford Court, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 086-1732700

Journalists have no Rights

Cuba, Eritrea, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Iran, Nepal, Zimbabwe, and China. What do these countries have in common? They are all far apart, but they all share the same warped ideological front towards press freedoms. They are all in the process of denying press freedom, through the imprisonment of journalists, and by their actions, they are undermining the very fabric of society and basic democratic rights.

One organisation that attempts to redress these injustices is ‘Reporters sans Frontieres’ – Reporters without Borders – a press freedom watchdog. Established 18 years ago this watchdog monitors the abuse meted out to outspoken journalists by authoritarian regimes on a worldwide basis, and produces a report on 3rd May every year highlighting the status of press freedom in a number of countries.
Vincent Russell, a spokesperson for RSF, says his organisation monitors attacks against journalists, and the arrests of reporters. He singles out countries that have notorious regimes and includes China, Iran, Eritrea, and particularly Cuba.
During the American invasion of Iraq, the situation in Cuba became dangerous for working journalists as the Cuban authorities took full advantage of the hullabaloo surrounding the invasion to tighten their already rigid controls over members of the press. Broadcasters and journalists were rounded up and charged under Section 91, a charge which can carry the death penalty.
In 2003, Cuban authorities arrested an Argentinean journalism professor, Ruiz Parra, when he tried to question independent journalists as research for a book he was writing. Parra was later deported.
In a lecture given last year to journalism students at Griffith College Dublin, the RTE foreign correspondent for the Middle East, Richard Crowley, described the surreal nature of travelling around in Burma, where every move is scrutinised by individuals acting as Burma’s secret agents. Vincent Russell also singled out Myanmar and stated that this is one country where “journalists have no rights”, and where written articles have to be submitted to a “military censorship bureau.” He claims that the authorities in this regime have blacklisted dozens of journalists. In fact so paranoid are the Burmese authorities on western influences and media interference that they even refused aid in the wake of the tsunami that devastated this whole region at Christmas. It is a notorious regime shrouded in secrecy, but reports have emerged of shocking human rights’ abuses.
The situation in Nepal is also a desperate one for journalists, and the elections held just days ago have not added confidence to the proceedings. Last February, Reporters Without Borders called on King Gyanendra to release six imprisoned journalists, still being held by authorities after the arrest of 16 journalists detained under anti-terror laws. Unless these journalists are allowed to go free, the watchdog will press the European Union to apply sanctions.
Russell confirmed his organisation had no compunction about naming and shaming what his watchdog refers to as “Predators of Press Freedom”. He adds that these rulers need to bear responsibility for their actions and that this is the reason “we denounce those in charge of repression.”
The “Predators” reads like a roll call of state-sponsored terror and includes: totalitarian figures like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Fidel Castro of Cuba, and Tan Shwe of Burma. Another organisation battling corrupt regimes is the ‘Committee to Protect Journalists’. Its Executive Director, Ann Cooper, states that “press freedom is so vital to democracy around the world,” and her organisation campaigns against these injustices. Cooper says we all have a role to play. She says international pressure can work, and that “EU pressure” is effective.
Of the 29 independent journalists “swept up” by Castro’s regime, imprisoned for filing stories to websites outside of Cuba, eight have been released on what the Cuban authorities call “medical grounds”, but Cooper insists they were released after “international pressure” was brought to bear. The sentences these journalists were handed down reveals a story in itself, and to date the Cuban embassy has not responded to a demand for a proper explanation.
The Committee works on a worldwide basis, citing the case of Russia, where “journalists are killed every year in contract style killings, ever since Vladimir Putin came to power, and nobody has been brought to justice over it.” According to Cooper this “kind of impunity and lack of justice perpetuates the situation,” and she adds starkly: “You can probably kill a journalist and get away with it.”
The Philippines is another area of concern to her organisation. Her organisation also monitors individual cases, as with the case of missing French/Canadian journalist Guy-Andre Kieffer, a freelance journalist and commodities expert who was attempting to expose corruption in the cocoa and coffee sectors when he went missing.
British Minister, Bill Rammell, recently lobbied Cuban Minister, Felipe Roque, in a two-hour meeting in relation to human rights’ abuses, and pressed the Cuban Minister for the release of all political prisoners, including the journalists in prison. A spokesperson for Rammell’s press office also confirmed that the Minister met with opposition leaders.
In “advocating greater press freedom,” Cooper urges people to get involved, stressing that they can make a difference. By logging onto the website www.cpj.org, people can sign petitions that might make corrupt regimes sit up and take notice, and this approach is also emphasised by Vincent Russell of ‘Reporters Without borders’ who says people can log onto www.rsf.org, and register their disapproval. Cooper urges people to write their own “protest letters”, and to lobby their own governments to act on these issues.
The latest figures issued on World Press Freedom day show that the role of the journalist in our society has become much more dangerous. In speaking to GRIFF FM today, Jeff Julliarj, of the organisation Reporters without Borders spoke about the openness of Danish press freedom and reiterated that Cuba is still imprisoning a large number of journalists.
In working towards these aims we should all bear in mind the resolution adopted by the United Nations in relation to press freedoms:
"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 19
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly,
December 10th, 1948