Protecting journalists: A view from across the border

Afghanistan, Pakistan and India are amongst the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. However, I don’t think we need more laws to protect journalists – murder is illegal in all three countries

Arthur Miller – playwright and essayist – once said “A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.” And talking we all love. Journalists talk for us, with us, and at times against us - and that’s when things can get dangerous. Transforming societies often can and does involve disturbing powerful interests, and they respond! Recent reports by Committee to Protect Journalist and Reporters Without Borders tell us that Afghanistan, Pakistan and India are amongst the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. However, I don’t think we need more laws to protect journalists – murder is illegal in all three countries. What we need is more collective action to pursue cases on behalf of slain journalists in courts.

Walter Lippmann—twice a winner of the Pulitzer Price—once said “There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and to shame the devil”. But shaming the devil can be fatal, the recent butchering of Pakistani journalist Syed Shahzad Saleem is a case in point. And all in not rosy across the border either. Jyotirmoy Dey—a Mumbai based crime reporter—was assassinated in broad day light on 11 June. This was not a one off incidence though. Committee to Protect Journalists—a New York based organization—ranks countries according to the number of unsolved cases of murder of journalists as a percentage of population. India ranks 13, Pakistan 10 and Afghanistan 6. The sad truth is that the press which champions the cause of “free speech” risks facing charges of sedition in independent ‘democratic’ India. Interests groups are not too happy when journalists honestly report facts. In Orissa, a province on the south east of India, four journalists have been charged with sedition since July 2010 [1]. In the first four months of 2011 there have been six reported instances of intimidation of journalists and writers [2]. India’s rank in Press Freedom Index 2010 was 122 amongst 178 countries, Afghanistan’s 147 and Pakistan’s 151. The ranking—developed by Reporters Without Borders—takes into account violations directly affecting journalists (murders, imprisonments, physical attacks and threats) and news media (censorship, confiscation of newspaper issues, searches and harassments) as well as the degree of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for violation of press freedom.

And the threat is not just from the mob or underworld, but the Indian government too. “ I am a Muslim , not a terrorist” is the title of an article written by Shahina KK on 16 March 2011, a journalist working with Tehelka – an Indian news magazine.[3] Shahina was charged with criminal intimidation under Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code for her investigative report in Kerala – a province on the southern tip of India. The problem began when Shahina wrote an article titled “Why is this man still in prison?” on 4 December 2010. She spent several weeks investigating how Abdul Nasar Madani, chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), was falsely implicated in the 2008 Bangalore blasts case. Her inquiry revealed that some of the key witnesses were unaware of the fact that their testimony was on the police charge-sheet! In a phone interview with us, Kunal Majumdar—current affairs correspondent of Tehelka—said: “Just by the virtue of being a journalist, there is always a certain amount of risk involved, especially when reporting in small cities the danger and risk is always higher compared to big cities”.

Assaults and false court cases have not bogged down the journalistic spirit though. Waqar Kiyani—a Pakistani journalist with the Guardian—was assaulted by men in police uniforms five days after he published a story on 19 June 2011 about torture by government intelligence agents. After the attack he said “If we don’t bring up the facts, then it’s no longer journalism – we become spokesman of the government”. Journalists who speak fearlessly and honestly are an endangered group and with every attack they inch closer to extinction.

But we don’t need new laws to protect journalists; murder is illegal in both India and Pakistan. What we need is quick and just implementation of existing laws. The problem is that media houses may not be too keen on pursuing certain cases in courts. And even when media houses represent slain journalists in courts there is the risk of the firm’s enthusiasm waning away with time. More collective action by journalists would be a great step forward; founding a South-Asian Association for legal representation of journalists might be a good place to begin.

References:

[1] http://www.thehoot.org/web/freetracker/story.php?storyid=110§ionId=8

[2] http://www.thehoot.org/web/freetracker/story.php?storyid=288§ionId=14

[3]http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=5177&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=15&valid=true