World Press Freedom Day
Journalism remains one of the world's most dangerous professions. In seeking to pursue the truth, media workers continue to pay the ultimate price: in the first four months of this year alone, at least 20 reporters have been killed while covering wars or have been silenced through brutal assassinations in regions as far afield as Algeria, Chechnya, Guatemala, Honduras, Kashmir, the Philippines, Thailand and Turkey. In the majority of cases, the killers are never even identified, let alone brought to justice.
An increasing number of countries resort to another effective method of preventing unwelcome media coverage: at the end of last year, a record number of journalists -more than 180 - were in jail in 22 nations around the globe.
Despite internationally accorded and legally binding charters, declarations and agreements many governments unjustifiably continue to restrict freedom of expression. The clamping down on media cannot only be found in the so-called Third World countries but also in the newly emerged states of the former Soviet Union. In this part of the world, especially broadcasting is kept under tight governmental control and politicians cling to television as a powerful tool of propaganda - as was already the case during the time of the former communist regimes.
The annual IPI report on the global situation of press freedom showed that despite the collapse of Communism in 1989, the number of countries violating press freedom has since then actually risen by 90% to a total of 150. As a result, since its move from London to Vienna in 1993, IPI has had to send out 118 protests directed at 48 countries.
Besides keeping an eye on press freedom violations, IPI's Vienna based headquarters has been organising numerous conferences and meetings on issues dealing with the development of editorially independent public broadcasting, the reform of governmental controlled news agencies, the removal of visa restrictions on journalists, the interrelation between public opinion and the media, the development of professional codes of conduct, general and specialised training programmes (e.g. reporting from situations of conflict and tension), etc.
On World Press Freedom Day, the IPI - representing editors and media executives in 86 countries - calls on governments to remember that pluralism and freedom of the press are essential elements of democratic societies.
Keeping in mind that just about 1/3 of the world's nations can be considered as having a "free press", IPI expresses its whole-hearted support for all those journalists working under undemocratic and totalitarian regimes. They exercise their profession with the greatest of courage and in the full knowledge that their outspoken determination to fulfil their role of impartial observers and watchdogs could lead to the loss of their jobs, their personal liberties or even their lives.