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IFJ Asia-Pacific E-Bulletin: February 2011

In this bulletin:

1. Deadly Start to 2011 for Journalists in Pakistan
2. IFJ Condemns Murder of Environmental Commentator in the Philippines
3. Murders and Death Threats Intensify in Chhattisgarh, India
4. Authorities Must Investigate Brutal Murder of Journalist in Vietnam
5. New IFJ Report Outlines Restrictions on Journalists in China
6. Commemorative Protests, Arson Attack in Sri Lanka
7. New IFJ Handbook for Reporters in China
8. Legal Constraints to Free Reporting Continue in Mongolia
9. Reuters Journalism Fellowships – Call for Applications

********************************************************

1. Deadly Start to 2011 for Journalists in Pakistan

The IFJ joined with its affiliate the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in demanding investigations into the deaths of Ilyas Nazar, who was found dead in Pidarak, Balochistan, in Pakistan’s south-west, on January 5 and Wali Khan Babar, who was killed in Karachi on January 13. Nazar, a journalist with the Baloch-language magazine Darwanth, was reportedly abducted on the night of December 28 while travelling from Balochistan’s capital, Quetta, to his home in Turbat in the south of the province. Khan, a reporter with Geo TV, was shot five times after reporting on gang violence in Karachi and died in hospital shortly afterwards.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-demands-inquiry-as-another-journalist-killed-in-balochistan

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2. IFJ Condemns Murder of Environmental Commentator in the Philippines

The January 24 murder of radio anchor Gerardo Ortega, a commentator with dwAR, in the country’s far-western island province Palawan was strongly condemned by the IFJ and its affiliate the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). Ortega was shot in the head at around 10 am as he was shopping in the San Pedro district of Puerto Princesa City, the capital of Palawan province. The IFJ called for the timely prosecution of Marlon de Camata (aka Marvin Alcaraz), who was arrested near the scene of the shooting, and a thorough investigation into the motive for Ortega’s murder. In another attack on January 26, Lemuel Fernandez, publisher-editor of the Iloilo-based Western Visayas Daily Guardian suffered a head injury after being attacked when leaving the newspaper’s office at around 9:30pm.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-demands-swift-justice-for-murder-of-journalist-in-philippines

3. Murders and Death Threats Intensify in Chhattisgarh, India

The IFJ demanded an immediate investigation into the murder of Umesh Rajput, a reporter with Nai Dunia, a Hindi-language newspaper based in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Rajput, who had reportedly received death threats in early January in relation to his reporting, was shot and killed outside his home in Chhura, near the state capital Raipur on January 23. Rajput is the second journalist to be killed in Chhattisgarh in just over a month, after the December 20 murder of Dainik Bhaskar journalist journalist Sushil Pathak. Three other journalists in Chhattisgarh also received death threats in a December 11 letter circulated to local media.

See: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Journalist-shot-dead-in-Chhattisgarh/Article1-654225.aspx

http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-condemns-death-threats-against-journalists-in-india-s-chhattisgarh-state

4. Authorities Must Investigate Brutal Murder of Journalist in Vietnam

The IFJ called for an immediate investigation into the death of journalist Le Hoang Hung on January 30, ten days after he was set on fire while sleeping at his home in Tan An near the Vietnamese capital Ho Chi Minh City. Hung, a veteran reporter with The Worker newspaper, sustained burns to 50 per cent of his body after being doused with chemicals and set alight in the January 20 attack. Local media reports initially suggested his condition was stable despite the extensive burns he had suffered. The reporter’s colleagues suggested the attack could be related to Hung’s reporting on official misconduct in the southern Mekong Delta, the BBC reported.

See:http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/authorities-must-investigate-brutal-murder-of-journalist-in-vietnam

5. New IFJ Report Outlines Restrictions on Journalists in China

A new IFJ report has uncovered scores of restrictive orders issued by China’s authorities in 2010 that block information on public health, disasters, corruption and civil unrest. Voices of Courage: Press Freedom in China 2010, released by the IFJ Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong on January 30, outlines more than 80 restrictive orders issued last year by authorities in China. The orders are a mere sample of the vast array of controls on information that journalists and media workers are known to grapple with when reporting the news. The report is now available online in English and Traditional Chinese, with a Simplified Chinese version coming soon.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/pages/ifj-asia-pacific-reports

6. Commemorative Protests, Arson Attack in Sri Lanka

The IFJ strongly condemned a January 30 arson attack on the offices of LankaENews, a popular news portal operating out of a suburb of the Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo. The arson attack came less than a week after Sri Lankan journalists and press freedom activists staged a protest on the anniversary of the January 24, 2010 disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda, a cartoonist and columnist with LankaENews. The IFJ called upon the UN to intervene in the case of Eknaligoda’s disappearance, in support of a petition submitted to the United Nations in Colombo by his wife Sandya Eknaligoda. Protests were also staged to mark two years since the murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was brutally killed on January 8, 2009.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/arson-attack-on-online-news-portal-office-in-sri-lanka

http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/prageeth-case-united-nations-must-intervene

http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/journalists-demand-investigations-into-death-disappearance-in-sri-lanka

7. New IFJ Handbook for Reporters in China
The IFJ launched a handbook which provides advice to assist in protecting journalists and media professionals in their daily work. The Handbook for Investigative Reporting In China also lists Chinese laws and international instruments which journalists can cite when contending with vexatious and unwarranted actions from the authorities, such as surveillance, detention and/or interrogation, or restrictions on access to public information. The handbook is available in Simplified and Traditional Chinese and in English.
See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/pages/ifj-asia-pacific-recent-handbooks

8. Legal Constraints to Free Reporting Continue in Mongolia

The IFJ was concerned by reports of a defamation case brought against Ogloonii Shuudan (Morning Post) journalist B. Tsoojchuluuntsetseg. Tsoojchuluuntsetseg received notice that criminal defamation charges were being made by the Sukhbaatar District Prosecutor on December 23, after having published a series of reports on banking fraud in Mongolia. The reporter had previously been told by police that prosecution for defamation wasn’t possible as there was insignificant evidence in the case. The IFJ was also alarmed by an amendment made to the country’s parliamentary session procedure law on December 30 which restricts media access to parliamentary standing committees.

9. Reuters Journalism Fellowships – Call for Applications

Applications are invited for the 2011/12 Reuters Fellowship programme at Oxford University for mid-career journalists. Applicants must have a minimum of five years’ experience in any branch of journalism and good spoken and written English. The programme enables visiting journalists from around the world to do research in Oxford for a period of three, six or nine months. Fellows enjoy an opportunity to critically reflect upon their profession, to research a subject of their choice under the supervision of an academic specialising in that area, and to enjoy the breadth of academic, cultural and social life at the University of Oxford. Deadline for applications is February 7.

See: http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fellowships/overview.html or contact reuters.institute@politics.ox.ac.uk for more information.

If affiliates have any information on a press freedom violation, please make sure you immediately contact staff at IFJ Asia-Pacific so action can be taken.

ENDS

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