Press freedom in the Asia-Pacific
In 2018, 32 journalists and media workers were killed in the Asia-Pacific region. By Alexandra Hearne
In calendar 2018, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) recorded the highest number of journalist and media worker killings since 2014. In the Asia Pacific, 32 journalists, editors, drivers, camera operators, television reporters and broadcasters were brutally murdered.
South Asia was the deadliest region in the world with 29 killings, 16 of which occurred in Afghanistan.
Fifteen journalists lost their lives in targeted shootings or were lethally caught in the crossfire. Another 12 died as a result of being in the wrong place, when car bombs detonated or suicide bombers unleashed.
Yet journalists in the Asia-Pacific face threats and challenges beyond the killings. Governments are continuing the flex their muscle in attempts to silence critical voices and intimidate the media to toe the government line, rather than acting as a watch dog.
In the Philippines the targeting of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa is a stark reminder of the challenging media environment.
Yet, there are small wins that must be celebrated. In February 2019, the Indonesian government revoked the presidential pardon that was granted to the killer of a journalist, keeping the perpetrator in jail for life. In March 2019, four people were arrested for trolling and harassing Indian journalist Barkha Dutt, in a case which is a breakthrough for the relentless trolling and online harassment of journalists.
Asia-Pacific journalists killed in the 12 months since MEAA’s 2018 press freedom report (25 April 2018–25 April 2019)
Afghanistan: 18
Bangladesh: 1
India: 5
Pakistan: 3
Philippines: 3
Asia Pacific total: 30
AFGHANISTAN: On April 25 2018, 10 Afghan journalists were murdered. Nine died in the capital Kabul in back-to-back suicide attacks. The killer, disguised as a journalist, detonated his bomb in the middle of a media scrum that had gathered to report on the initial bomb blast. On the same day, in Eastern Khost province, 29-year-old BBC reporter Ahmad Shah was shot dead while he was on his way home.
The safety of journalists and media workers in Afghanistan remains an ongoing challenge, particularly for those based away from Kabul. According to IFJ research, of the 86 journalists and media workers killed since 1993, almost 40 percent were non-Kabul based media.
Despite the safety concerns, the Afghan government continues to lag in attempts to address the concerns and implement concrete action. As noted in previous reports, the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs started investigating 172 cases of violations of journalists’ rights more than three years ago. To date, there has been no practical action for justice.
Two journalists were killed in an attack on the offices of Radio Hamsada in Telagan, Afghanistan, on February 6 2019. The two victims were Shafiq Areya, a reporter, and Rahimullah, the presenter of a social program. Both were in their 20s and died on the spot. Simin Hussaini, the editor of Hamsada Radio Station, confirmed that they did not receive any threats before the attack.
Journalist Sultan Mohammad Khairkhah was shot and killed as he drove to work on March 17 in Khost, south eastern Afghanistan. Khairkhah worked for the Afghan National TV channel and hosted several social programs. He was shot near the police checkpoint in Khost and died in hospital from his injuries.
Photojournalist M Asif Hakimi was among 22 killed in a bomb blast on an election gathering in northern province of Takhar, Afghanistan, on October 13 2018. Hakimi was killed when a motorcycle bomb was detonated around midday targeting the campaign rally of Nazifa Beg, a female candidate from Rustaq district of Takhar.
Two television journalists were killed and another five injured in a brutal twin blast in Kabul on September 5 2018. Journalist Samim Faramarz and cameraman Ramiz Ahmadi of TOLO News lost their lives as they reported at the scene of an earlier suicide attack. The initial bombing targeted an evening sporting event at a wrestling gym in the Qala-e-Nazer area of Kabul, also known as the sixth district. The journalists were killed when a second explosion, an hour after the initial blast, is alleged to have specifically targeted first responders at the scene. Farmarz had been reporting live from the scene for TOLO just minutes before he was killed in the second blast. The twin attacks killed at least 25 people and injured 80 others. The Islamic State is reported as claiming responsibility. Among the wounded were five other journalists also reporting at the scene of the sports club explosion — Amanullah Farhang of 1TV, Khaled Nekzad, Sayer Yunusi and Hussain Rastemanish of Khurshid TV, and Jamshid Ahmadi of Maiwand TV.
CAMBODIA: As Cambodia prepared to go to the polls in July 2018, the first half of the year saw a continued government-led media crackdown. Justification for the government’s behaviour was the usual argument of maintaining stability and social order. But carrying out its highly effective campaign against dissenting voices also pushed the Cambodian media to its limits.
Inevitably journalists were targeted. Cambodia’s media is now impeded by a litany of threats, self-censorship and draconian laws ranging from defamation to lese majeste. Media proprietors face disruption to online services and pressure to toe a government-friendly line, or risk exorbitant tax bills and law suits that carry prison terms.
Between 2017 and the July elections, the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia said that the number of foreign journalists working in Cambodia decreased from 150 to between 15 to 30 by the elections.
IFJ research for the first IFJ South East Asia Media Freedom Report — Under the Autocrats — found that almost all Cambodian journalists felt their work had caused them security concerns. The overwhelming majority of Cambodian journalists also said that over the past 12 months government efforts to protect journalists were worsening to extremely bad, citing the ruling party position as the cause for this.
The political climate in Cambodia eased immediately after the election. Political dissidents were released from prison, although charges remain. In a turn from previous behaviour, Hun Sen’s political rhetoric has taken on a more conciliatory tone.
CHINA: Between January 2018 and March 2019 the IFJ recorded more than 130 media violations in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, of which 73.5 percent occurred in China.
A closer look at the violations recorded highlights the key issues for media freedom in China. Censorship continues to impede media freedom and is taking on many forms. Websites are blocked, Weibo accounts are taken down or content is deleted, traditional media outlets don’t report on key issues or events and, instead, republish reports from state-owned Xinhua.
The extent of the government-led crackdown was evident in November 2018, when more than 10,000 social media accounts were shut down. The accounts had shared footage or had content commentating on social issues.
The arrest of Australian writer and former Chinese diplomat, Yang Hengjun, in Guangzhou airport on January 19 2019 highlighted the extent that the Chinese authorities would go to in order to silence critical voices. Yang arrived on a flight from the US and was immediately detained on espionage charges. He remains under “residential surveillance” for “engaging in criminal activities that endangered China’s national security”. Yang is a strong democracy advocate and is prolific online.
In February 2019, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) released its annual report based on a survey of its members. The report found that working conditions for foreign correspondents in China are quickly worsening. Surveillance was noted as one of the key concerns with 48 percent saying that they had been followed or their hotel room had been entered without permission; 22 percent said they were aware that authorities had tracked them using public surveillance systems.
With the growing crackdown in the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang, FCCC members said that 24 of the 27 respondents who had travelled to the region had experienced interference while there, with 19 being asked or forced to delete data.
FIJI: Three journalists with independent, New Zealand-based news and current affairs site Newsroom were arrested in Fiji on April 3 2019. Newsroom co-editor Mark Jennings; Investigations editor Melanie Reid, and cameraman Hayden Aull were detained and held overnight at the main Suva police station after developer Freesoul Real Estate accused them of criminal trespass. The journalists were released the following morning and the Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has apologised.
New Zealand journalist union E tū’s senior national industrial officer Paul Tolich said the the journalists should never have been arrested in the first place. “The journalists were simply engaged in journalistic inquiries about the impact of development on Malolo Island and the actions of the police are another example of Fiji’s intolerance towards a free and independent press. Despite the apology from Fiji’s Prime Minister, this will have a chilling effect on journalism in the Pacific. Journalists need to be able to challenge the powerful and hold them to account. This is the hallmark of a free and democratic society. We urge the Fijian government to support independent journalism rather than maintaining a climate which supports those who would seek to suppress it.”
HONG KONG: Of the 132 China media violations recorded by the IFJ between January 2018 and March 2019, 31 occurred in the autonomous Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong. The key threats to press freedom in Hong Kong continue to surround interference from China and the ability of the Hong Kong government to guarantee Hong Kong’s autonomy.
In 2018, this was challenged on several fronts. The Hong Kong Journalists Association’s annual Hong Kong Press Freedom Index found that press freedom in Hong Kong had declined 0.9 points down to 47.1, the lowest level since the index began in 2013.
On October 5 2018, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong vice president and Asia news editor of the Financial Times Victor Mallet was advised that his work visa renewal had been refused. The refusal came just a couple of months after Mallet hosted a lunchtime talk at the FCC Hong Kong with pro-democracy activist Andy Chan. The talk was widely criticised with former Hong Kong chief executive Chun-ying Leung questioning if FCC Hong Kong should maintain its lease in Hong Kong. Despite widespread protest, Mallet left Hong Kong.
The proposed National Anthem Law — which is a controversial vaguely-worded Bill that sets out criminal sanctions for unwelcome behaviour during the playing, and commercial and other misuse, of China’s March of the Volunteers anthem — has cast a shadow on press freedom in Hong Kong for the past 12 months, with many questions about how any legislation would be implemented and the implications for media freedom. The biggest question remains, how would media outlets report on any report the activities that violate the law, and what would be the penalties on such reporting.
INDIA: The press freedom situation in India is an ongoing concern that was highlighted in 2018 with a disturbing trend of targeted mobile attacks on journalists, with four media workers killed.
The murder of Shujaat Bhukari in Kashmir in June 2018 shows the brutal nature of journalist killings in India. He was shot multiple times, despite having two bodyguards. They were both also killed in the attack as they left his office at Kashmir Daily.
The threats, intimidation and assaults on journalists continued through 2018. In February, officials of the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officials attacked a journalist in Raipur. In October police attacked a group of journalists in Kashmir as they attempted to cover a clash between security forces and militants. In November a journalist in Manipur was detained under the draconian National Security Act for expressing his views against the leaders of ruling party at the Centre and the State in a Facebook post.
On October 30 2018, videojournalist Achyutananda Sahu was killed as he covered preparations for upcoming state elections in Chhattisgargh. Sahu was part of a media team from government-run Doordarshan, embedded with local police. He was killed by crossfire when the group came under attack from a Maoist militant group.
In a separate incident, Chandan Tiwari, a journalist with Aaj News, was found unconscious on October 29 2018 and rushed to hospital where he was declared deceased. According to investigations Tiwari had lodged two complaints with police over threats he had received.
Even for the journalists who did not face harassment, intimidation and attack due to their work, the precarious nature of their employment was evident in mass redundancies. On September 29 2018, the Press Trust of India sacked 297 staff. PTI is the largest news agency in India.
In a small win, four people were arrested in March over trolling and harassment of journalist Barkha Dutt. The four perpetrators were charged under the Indian Penal Code and IT Act, which is seen as a win against the epidemic of trolling and online harassment of journalists in India.
INDONESIA: A press card is not a guarantee of safety for journalists covering news in Indonesia.
In April 2018, an online journalist was covering a demonstration at the Makassar City Council building, South Sulawesi, when he was brutally set upon by authorities, despite holding the card and telling the authorities who he was.
In early 2018, hundreds of protestors from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) marched on the offices of Tempo in Jakarta, demanding an apology for a caricature the magazine published which they claimed mocked firebrand cleric and FPI leader Rizieq Shihab. When several editorial team members met with the representatives of the protesters inside the Tempo office, instead of having a constructive dialogue, the journalists were threatened and intimidated.
According to the Alliance of Independent Journalists, Indonesia, physical attacks were still the biggest threats to the media, with at least 39 recorded between November 2017 and December 2018. But due to the expansion of social media journalists have also become targets of online harassment.
The legal pursuit of journalists using the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction Law remains a serious problem. From 2008–2018, at least 14 charges were laid against media organisations and journalists under the law.
A success story from Indonesia recently has been the launch of IndonesianLeaks — a collaborative approach to investigative reporting. The platform, which was launched in 2017, enables whistleblowers to anonymously submit crucial documents to multiple media outlets relating to scandals that involve the public interest.
MALAYSIA: After Barisan Nasional (BN) lost the May 9 2018 election there was fresh hope the Malaysian press would be freed from the legislative shackles it has been under since independence in 1963.
Press freedom and the removal of other oppressive security laws were cornerstones of the manifesto of the victorious Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, led by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Yet this has not fully materialised. In the lead up to the elections, the Malaysian government brought in the 2018 Anti-Fake News Act, which had become synonymous with the alleged cover up of the 1MDB scandal that dogged ousted leader Najib Razak. In its first post-election parliamentary sitting in August 2018, the PH-dominated lower house passed a bill to repeal the controversial act. But this faltered in the upper house by seven votes and it will now be another year before it can be brought forward again in accordance with Malaysia’s constitution.
Other moves to abolish laws described by the PH coalition as “tyrannical” have not progressed quickly either. Chief among these is the 1984 Printing Presses and Publications Act which was used by Mahathir to temporarily revoke the licences of three newspapers during his government’s Operasi Lalang crackdown in 1987, which led to the jailing of more than 100 activists and politicians.
NAURU: As Nauru prepared to host the Pacific Island Forum in September, it announced on July 2 2018, that it would block the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from attending and covering the Forum. The IFJ and MEAA[i] condemned the decision as a blatant attack on press freedom.
A statement by the Nauru Government said it has blocked the ABC from covering the Forum and was refusing to issue its journalist visas because of allegations of interference in its politics, bias and false reporting. In response, ABC’s director of news, analysis and investigations, Gaven Morris, said: “The Nauruan government should not be allowed to dictate who fills the positions in an Australian media pool. It can hardly claim it is ‘welcoming the media’ if it dictates who that media will be and bans Australia’s public broadcaster.”
On Tuesday, the Nauru Government issued a follow-up statement, stating: “We remind the ABC that we — like Australia — have every right to refuse a visa to any person or organisation that we believe is not of good character, and that entry into our country is a privilege not a right,” it said. “The Australian media do not decide who enters Nauru.”
The then Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a former journalist, said the decision by the Nauru Government was regrettable but that it was a matter for Nauru.
MEAA Media section president Marcus Strom said: “Politicians, wherever they are, must accept the role of the media to report and scrutinise those in power. The Forum is a crucial gathering. It comes at a very important time. It is important that its deliberations and discussions are widely reported to the people who live in the region.
“As MEAA has said before, when Clive Palmer sought to exclude a journalist from The Australian, politicians can’t be allowed to pick and choose who can attend their press conferences. It’s ‘one in, all in’,” Strom said. “Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he ‘regrets’ the ABC is being barred from reporting on the Forum but that ultimately it is a matter for the government of Nauru. That is simply not good enough. This is an attack on press freedom that our government needs to condemn in the strongest possible terms. Recognising the sovereignty of another nation does not extend to accepting they have the right to prevent free and open reporting.”
The IFJ said: “Governments, leaders and politicians must remember the role of the media, and not use their powers to control and stifle press freedom. The Nauru Government is setting a dangerous precedent by barring ABC journalists’ from covering the Pacific Island Forum. We call for solidarity with our colleagues in the region to demand the ban be revoked and press freedom guaranteed.”
On July 5, the IFJ issued a letter to Nauruan President Baron Waqa urging him to reconsider the ban. IFJ president Philippe Leruth wrote: “The role of the media is to hold those in power to account with free and fair reporting. However, decisions such as these violate the basic universal principles of press freedom and only go to harm the image of Nauru on the world stage.
“The IFJ is concerned that such a refusal to grant a visa to a member of the Australian media pool sends a terrible signal internationally about press freedom in Nauru — particularly at the very time when the world’s attention will be focused on the work of the Pacific Island leaders as guests of your country. Such undermining of press freedom standards to a major public and regional broadcaster by your government before such a significant global audience is a dangerous step that would reflect poorly on Nauru well beyond the Asia-Pacific, and is an act of censorship,” Leruth wrote.
Following the decision by President Waqa, the Australian Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery said that the media pool, which was to include an ABC staff member, would be disbanded, saying: “If one cannot go, none will go” and “We stand for a free press, not a banned one”. In addition, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the New Zealand Parliamentary Press Gallery, and the Daily Post in Vanuatu said that they would not participate in the Forum.
NEPAL: The Nepal government has drafted new legislation that will impose harsh penalties for posting content on social media deemed “improper”. The IFJ and its affiliate the Nepal Press Union (NPU) strongly criticised the proposed legislation and called on the government to hold wide consultations with stakeholders to address key issues.
The proposed bill is related to the management and regulation of information technology, which could see individuals who post content deemed by authorities as a character assassination or an attack on national sovereignty, fined NPR 1.5million ($A19,030) or sentenced to five years in jail.
The bill includes a provision that states no one should be defrauded, discouraged, discriminated or discredited through social media. The proposed law, which will be tabled by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, also states that social media users will need to registered.
On February 15 2019 the NPU strongly criticised the draft legislation, stating: “By trying to restrict the use of the social networks, where the highest degree of freedom of expression is being practised, the government is attacking democracy. The intent and character of the government have been evident through its various decisions including this one. NPU calls on all the stakeholders to fight with determination against this effort of the government.”
The IFJ added: “The proposed law put forward by the Nepal Government is a blatant attempt to control and muzzle freedom of expression on social media. As noted by NPU, freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Nepal Constitution, and this must be respected and protected by the government, not weakened by legislation.”
PAKISTAN: While Pakistani journalists remain under threat from attack the latest challenge they are facing is job security.
In December 2018 alone, 2000 media workers from the Jang Group of Newspapers lost their jobs. In one short announcement, Jang Group shut five newspapers: the Peshawar and Faisalabad editions of Jang Daily, the Karachi-based Urdu-language daily Awam and English-language Daily News, and the Lahore-based Urdu daily Inqibal.
Around the same time, Century Publications’ Urdu daily Express closed its bureaus in Sukkur, Quetta, Gujranwala and Multan and the Herald Group of Publication closed the Herald monthly. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists estimated these additional closures cost another 2500 jobs.
A journalist with the Daily Jang newspaper was reported abducted from his home in Karachi in the early hours of March 30 2019. The IFJ raised serious concerns about the disappearance of Matloob Husain Mosavi and demanded an investigation. According to reports the journalist was abducted by two dozen people. Masked men climbed walls to gain access, locked the rest of Matloob’s family in a room and then abducted Matloob. The men arrived in several vehicles, including three police vehicles. Matloob’s family has reported his abduction to police.
On April 1 2019, Karachi cameraperson Ali Mubashir was abducted near his office. According to reports, Ali Mubashir, a cameraperson with Abb Takk, a privately owned news channel was taken from the carpark of his office just two days after Daily Jang journalist Matloob was abducted.
Journalist Sohail Khan was shot and killed just days after filing a story about drug mafia on October 16 2018. Sohail had just left the District Police Office (DPO) in Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when he was shot several times. He died at the scene. He was at the DPO filing an application for protection after receiving multiple death threats following his report on drug mafia in Pakistan. According to local news, members of the drug mafia killed Sohail in retaliation for his reporting.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Authorities and government officials in Papua New Guinea continue to impede press freedom.
In August, a female journalist was punched in the face as she tried to cover a natural disaster unfolding in Baliau village. Her attacker also threatened to throw her camera into the sea.
In November, during the APEC Summit, non-accredited Chinese media were barred from covering several meetings of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pacific leaders. Space and security concerns were given as the reasons to bar the media who were then advised to, instead, cite reports about the meetings from China’s state-run Xinhua.
PHILIPPINES: Almost 10 years ago, 32 journalists were killed in the single deadliest attack on the media. One would think the inevitable shock and outrage that followed the bloodbath would have prodded the Philippine government to finally put an end to the media killings that have long made the country one of the most dangerous places in the world to practise journalism. But there has been no let-up in media killings; since 1986 more than 185 journalists have been killed in the Philippines.
However the situation in the Philippines has become precarious for journalists on more fronts, particularly with the blatant government-led attempt to take down the news website Rappler. Since the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission rescinded Rapplers’ licence for allegedly violating foreign ownership bans stipulated in the constitution in early 2018, the government has filed 11 law suits against Rappler and its CEO Maria Ressa. The lawsuits have including cyber libel for a story that was published in May 2012. The charges were filed under the Cybercrime Prevention Act (2012) which was not legislated until after the story was published. The Department of Justice resolution cites the multiple publication rule to validate the charges.
The other big issue for journalists in the Philippines is the incessant trolling and online harassment many face. Women journalists appear to be easier targets for online attacks. Several have reported being bombarded with threats on social media to rape them or their children, or wipe out their families. News websites and media organisations critical of Duterte’s leadership have also been hacked and taken down, including the NUJP, which has faced multiple attacks.
Edmund Sestoso, a broadcaster in Dumaguete City was shot on April 30 2018. He was critically injured by five bullets to his chest and stomach and died the following day. Sestoso was a broadcaster on dyGB 91.7 FM with his daily program, Tug-anan. He was on his way home after work when he was shot. Following the attack, the gunmen also shot the tires of the pedicab which was going to take Sestoso to hospital.
Dennis Denora was brutally murdered in a brazen attack on June 7 2018, in the southern Philippines’ region of Mindanao. Denora was the publisher and columnist of the community paper, Trends and Times, and an officer of the Davao Region Multi-media Group. He was shot by unidentified persons near the wet market of Panabo City in Davao del Norte. Denora’s colleagues acknowledged that he was “fearless” in his commentaries in broadcast and print.
Broadcaster Joey Llama was gunned down on his way to work on July 20 2018 in Legaspi City, Albay, in the central Philippines. Llama, a blocktimer (freelancer) for dwZR radio station, was leaving his home at 4am on Friday morning, on his way to host his program at 5.30am. According to local reports, he was shot 14 times by assailants. Llama’s murder, if found to be work related, would be the 12th journalist killed under the Duterte administration.
SRI LANKA: The constitutional crisis in late 2018 was the harbinger of a climate of political danger that awaits in 2019 — an election year. On the evening of October 26 2018 President Maithripala Sirisena used his executive powers to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from office, appointing in his stead arch rival former president Mahinda Rajapaksa — in violation of the Constitution. Wickremesinghe continued to enjoy the support of the majority of the Parliament. (On December 16 2018, he was restored as prime minister.)
Immediately following the appointment of Rajapaksa, state-controlled media institutions were forcibly taken over. Either the editors were asked to step down or gangs invaded editorial offices. A new set of editors and managers was soon installed. With no delay, they started rolling out engineered stories supporting the political coup, portraying it as a patriotic act of the parties involved. The unfortunate reality was that some of the newly installed editors were press freedom champions of yore.
During the political crisis, the revival of civil society activism was particularly remarkable. Daily protests were held in Colombo, organised by independent civil society groups.
But while state media had been “taken over” in the coup, the role the mainstream private media chose to play was also highly questionable. Some mainstream Sinhala news channels welcomed Rajapaksa as a patriotic leader and glorified the coup. These media groups also launched personalised attacks against civil society activists as they protested against the coup and rejected the extremely biased point of view of these channels. The absence of independent media has emerged, not for the first time, as a key cause for concern around freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.
Broadcaster Swarnavahini TV fired 15 employees for union activity on March 18 2019. About 270 employees had participated in a meeting in the company’s car park with the aim to form a union to fight for better working conditions. The meeting was scheduled during staff lunch hour, however at the end of the meeting the gates to the office were shut and they were locked out. They reported the incident to the police, but when they were finally able to access the offices, 15 staff members found letters informing that they had been sacked for “deliberately disrupting the business and operations” and for using the company sound system at an unauthorised gathering. In the past 12 months there had been no salary increases, pay was not on time and there was bias when it came to promotions. This is the first case of a private media company unionising in Sri Lanka.
[i] “MEAA urges Nauru to issue ABC with visa”, MEAA, July 3 2018 https://www.meaa.org/mediaroom/meaa-urges-nauru-to-issue-abc-with-visa/
