Philippines: Explosion Outside Catholic Radio Station
In a letter sent to the interior minister, Alfredo Lim, Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) protested against a bomb
explosion that damaged the premises of the Roman Catholic radio station DXMS, and asked the minister to enforce the law
and ensure journalists' safety.
According to RSF, attacks on state-owned and private media show a deterioration of the state of press freedom in the
country. RSF also asked the minister to open an inquiry so that full light might be shed on the case.
According to the information collected by Reporters Sans Frontières, a bomb exploded outside the building that houses
DXMS in Cotabato, Mindanao Island, on 27 February, just before the start of the programme hosted by Zamzamin Ampatuan, a
journalist who is strongly critical of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF, separatist Moslems).
Several people were injured in the blast, which also damaged Zamzamini's car, and the gate and concrete fence of the
radio station. Mohagher Iqbal, an MILF leader, has denied that his movement was behind the attack.
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Reporters Sans Frontières defends jailed journalists and press freedom throughout the world, that is, the right to
inform and be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Reporters Sans
Frontières has seven branches (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) representatives in
London, Washington, Abidjan and Istanbul and more than a hundred correspondents worldwide.
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and other media workers, dedicated to examining issues of ethics, accountability, censorship, media freedom and media
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the South Pacific, Bushfire Media, the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism, and Pactok Communications, in
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