On February 14 Committee to Protect Journalists American organization released
its annual report on attacks on the press in various countries in 2005.
The CPJ report notes a number of alarming trends, fixed in 2005. In particular,
the assassinations of the journalists in the Middle East, increased government
persecution of the media in Africa, the widespread jailing of reporters from
China to Cuba, and pervasive self-censorship in Latin America.
CPJ highlights that last year 47 journalists were killed worldwide for professional
activity. As before, their assassins were not punished. The most dangerous place
for media representatives remains Iraq, where 22 journalists were killed in
the line of duty in 2005. 125 representatives of the “fourth estate” in 24 countries
were imprisoned, mostly in China, Cuba, Eritrea and Ethiopia. CPJ found that
in at least 78 cases imprisonment was the result of “antistate activity”. The
journalists were charged with sedition, subversion, divulging state secrets
and working against the interests of the state.
For the first time of its 24-year activity, the Committee to Protect Journalists
has paid unusual attention to “what is happening at home” – in USA. The United
States, “long a bastion of press freedom”, today “may have contributed to these
disturbing trends”. In particular, CPJ mentions the 85-day imprisonment of “New
York Times” reporter Judith Miller for the refusal to disclose the source of
information, investigation into US military participation in the violence against
media representatives in Iraq. As a result, USA shares the sixth place with
Burma in the CPJ list of the countries, imprisoning journalists.
“To gain a military footing and access to energy resources in the former Soviet
empire, the United States has diverted its attention from human rights and press
freedom issues in Eurasia”, CPJ emphasizes. “The US policy of close cooperation
with the region’s authoritarian leaders has undermined free and independent
reporting in several Eurasian nations – from Russia, where coverage of the Chechen
rebels is itself likened to terrorism, to Kazakhstan, where the government has
waged a vast campaign to censor critical news reporting”, the report runs.
The CPJ report-2005 also brought several achievements. Thus, international
advocacy and CPJ efforts promoted early release of several journalists. In the
Philippines, where since 2000 rural radio journalists had been killed in record-breaking
numbers, the authorities finally took up law enforcement measures after many
years of denying the problem. It gives hope for improving the situation.
The report section on Armenia mentions a number of events in the media filed
last year. The rejection of the authorities for the 10th time in February 2005
of the broadcast license to “A1+” TV company, deprived of air since 2002, “despite
recommendations from the Council of Europe and other international organizations”.
The closed investigation in February 2005 into the arson of a car of Chief Editor
of “Haikakan Zhamanak” daily Nikol Pashinian on November 2004 in Yerevan. The
culprits were not found also in the case of burning the car of Chief Editor
of “Syunyats Yerkir” regional newspaper Samvel Aleksanian in April 2005, in
Goris. The press freedom situation in Armenia is illustrated in CPJ report also
by RA Law “On Fight against Terrorism”, adopted by RA National Assembly on March
22 and signed by the RA President on April 19, 2005. With a reference to Yerevan
Press Club, CPJ notes that the Law came into force “ignoring concerns over vaguely
worded prohibitions on reporting of antiterror tactics”. These restrictions
were introduced as reason for “war on terror”, CPJ stresses.
