Journalism: best job in the world?
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- From impoverished Nepal to ultramodern Singapore, Asian governments have shackled media by arresting journalists, censoring news and stifling independent opinion, a media watchdog says.
Asia is still "struggling with the old demons of totalitarianism," Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in releasing its latest World Press Freedom Index.
"Big gaps have opened up in Asia when it comes to press freedom," RSF's head of Asia Vincent Brossel said in the report, released Wednesday.
Asian nations dominated the bottom of the Reporters Without Borders index. A higher number denotes less freedom.
North Korea was last at 167, while Iran was three rungs higher at 164. Myanmar was ranked 163rd, behind Nepal (160), China (159) and Vietnam (158).
"China, a burgeoning power, keeps its journalists in a state of servitude to bias," Brossel added. "Despite promises to the contrary, foreign correspondents are still tightly controlled when they raise sensitive issues. Police have manhandled at least 16 of them."
The 16 were investigating issues deemed sensitive to the Communist government, RSF said, adding there were at least 32 journalists imprisoned by Beijing at the start of 2006.
Two of them -- New York Times contributor Zhao Yan and Singapore Straits Times correspondent Ching Cheong -- face charges of divulging state secrets and espionage respectively, RSF said.
There were numerous examples of a lack of press freedom elsewhere in Asia, RSF said.
• In Nepal, RSF counted 567 instances in which independent reports were censored, while 145 journalists were physically attacked or harassed following King Gyanendra's seizure of power in February last year.
• In Pakistan, journalists have to deal with threats from tribal warlords while undergoing intense scrutiny from the military. Two reporters have died, while another is still missing after he reported on the death of an alleged al-Qaida leader that contradicted the official government version.
• In neighboring Afghanistan, Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the editor of the "Women's Rights" magazine, was sentenced to two years in jail after a series of articles that slammed archaic practices still common in the country, such as stoning. The articles were deemed blasphemous toward Islam.
Post-Taliban Afghanistan was ranked 125th on the RSF index -- which was ahead of Singapore, by far the lowest-ranked developed country on the index at 140, slightly better than its 147th place last year.
The report says there is a "complete absence" of an independent local media in Singapore, the most developed and richest nation in Southeast Asia.
"The government threatens journalists, foreign media and opposition with defamation suits seeking dizzying amounts in damages," RSF's report said of Singapore. "Despite statements in support of an 'open' society, the ruling party still does not brook any criticism."
Foreign news organizations including The Economist, The International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg, The Far Eastern Economic Review and The Asian Wall Street Journal have paid large fines or had their circulation restricted in lawsuits brought by Singapore's ruling party stalwarts.
Singapore's leaders did not immediately respond to the RSF report, but have said they sue to defend their reputations. Information Minister Lee Boon Yang has said there were "special circumstances" surrounding press freedom in the city-state, with local media more focused on nation-building.
RSF said the Philippines, despite having a freewheeling press, remained -- after Iraq -- the most dangerous place for journalists to work. Seven were killed there last year.
Asia is still "struggling with the old demons of totalitarianism," Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in releasing its latest World Press Freedom Index.
"Big gaps have opened up in Asia when it comes to press freedom," RSF's head of Asia Vincent Brossel said in the report, released Wednesday.
Asian nations dominated the bottom of the Reporters Without Borders index. A higher number denotes less freedom.
North Korea was last at 167, while Iran was three rungs higher at 164. Myanmar was ranked 163rd, behind Nepal (160), China (159) and Vietnam (158).
"China, a burgeoning power, keeps its journalists in a state of servitude to bias," Brossel added. "Despite promises to the contrary, foreign correspondents are still tightly controlled when they raise sensitive issues. Police have manhandled at least 16 of them."
The 16 were investigating issues deemed sensitive to the Communist government, RSF said, adding there were at least 32 journalists imprisoned by Beijing at the start of 2006.
Two of them -- New York Times contributor Zhao Yan and Singapore Straits Times correspondent Ching Cheong -- face charges of divulging state secrets and espionage respectively, RSF said.
There were numerous examples of a lack of press freedom elsewhere in Asia, RSF said.
• In Nepal, RSF counted 567 instances in which independent reports were censored, while 145 journalists were physically attacked or harassed following King Gyanendra's seizure of power in February last year.
• In Pakistan, journalists have to deal with threats from tribal warlords while undergoing intense scrutiny from the military. Two reporters have died, while another is still missing after he reported on the death of an alleged al-Qaida leader that contradicted the official government version.
• In neighboring Afghanistan, Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the editor of the "Women's Rights" magazine, was sentenced to two years in jail after a series of articles that slammed archaic practices still common in the country, such as stoning. The articles were deemed blasphemous toward Islam.
Post-Taliban Afghanistan was ranked 125th on the RSF index -- which was ahead of Singapore, by far the lowest-ranked developed country on the index at 140, slightly better than its 147th place last year.
The report says there is a "complete absence" of an independent local media in Singapore, the most developed and richest nation in Southeast Asia.
"The government threatens journalists, foreign media and opposition with defamation suits seeking dizzying amounts in damages," RSF's report said of Singapore. "Despite statements in support of an 'open' society, the ruling party still does not brook any criticism."
Foreign news organizations including The Economist, The International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg, The Far Eastern Economic Review and The Asian Wall Street Journal have paid large fines or had their circulation restricted in lawsuits brought by Singapore's ruling party stalwarts.
Singapore's leaders did not immediately respond to the RSF report, but have said they sue to defend their reputations. Information Minister Lee Boon Yang has said there were "special circumstances" surrounding press freedom in the city-state, with local media more focused on nation-building.
RSF said the Philippines, despite having a freewheeling press, remained -- after Iraq -- the most dangerous place for journalists to work. Seven were killed there last year.
posted by Jean.Chua at 9:50 AM
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