South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) and South Asia Media Commission (SAMC) have in a joint statement urged the governments in South Asia to ensure that internet freedom in their countries is not threatened by any repressive provisions or measures.
Issued ahead of the World Press Freedom Day, which falls on May 3 with its theme for the year being "21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers", the regional media bodies called the commemoration an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of media freedom; to evaluate media freedom, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
While the new media has empowered citizens to express themselves, we are concerned about the restrictions on the free flow of information,” said SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam and SAMC President Kumar Ketkar and Secretary General Najam Sethi.
Reports of website blocking and filtering, content manipulation, attacks on and imprisonment of bloggers, and cyberattacks have all increased in recent years.The governments in the region should commit themselves to supporting and expanding press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age,” they said.
While South Asia has mourned the killing of at least 20 journalists, 12 of them from Pakistan, in 2010, it has seen two deaths by now in the line of duty, one each in India and Pakistan.
Umesh Rajput, a reporter with the Hindi-language daily Nai Dunia, was shot dead on February 22, 2011, in Raipur, India by two motorcycle-riding gunmen wearing masks. Police found a note containing a death threat related to his writing near his body. Wali Khan Babar, a reporter with Geo TV on January 13, 2011, was shot shortly after filing a report about gangland clashes in Karachi.
“The governments should work for creating an environment conducive to the performance of professional work of journalists ensuring their security and doing away with impunities,” the leaders of the journalists’ regional bodies said.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed May 3 as World Press Freedom Day in 1993. Since then, it has been celebrated each year on May 3, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, which calls for free, independent, pluralistic media worldwide characterizing free press as essential to democracy and a fundamental human right.
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