IFJ Asia-Pacific Regional eBulletin: October 2011

IFJ Asia-Pacific Regional eBulletin: October 2011

Welcome to the IFJ Asia-Pacific’s monthly e-bulletin. The next bulletin will be sent on November 1, 2011, and contributions from affiliates are most welcome. To contribute, email ifj@ifj-asia.org

1. Calls for Dialogue after ISAF Admission in Journalist’s Death

The IFJ and affiliate the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA) noted the official media release from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan admitting that one of its soldiers, engaged in active combat operations, was responsible for the killing of journalist Ahmad Omaid Khpalwak. According to the ISAF statement, Khpalwak, a journalist with the BBC Afghanistan service and the Pahjwok Afghan News agency, was shot dead during combat between U.S. army troops and armed insurgents who breached the compound of the state-owned Radio Television Afghanistan in Tarin Khot, Uruzgan province on July 28. Though he was unarmed, Khpalwak was assessed by a soldier to be firing at ISAF forces. Some of his movements were also read as suggesting intent to set off a suicide bomb.

2. Iranian Cameraman Dies in Kabul Attack

The IFJ mourned the death of Farhad Taqaddosi, cameraman for the Iranian news channel Press TV, from serious injuries suffered in an insurgent attack in Kabul on September 13. Taqaddosi, 23, was an Iranian national who had been working in Kabul for Press TV for two years. According to reports received from IFJ affiliate the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), Taqadossi suffered serious shock when a rocket propelled grenade fired by insurgents exploded near him.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-mourns-death-of-cameraman-after-kabul-attack

3. Concerns for Journalists’ Safety after Murder of Journalist in China

The IFJ is worried by a recent spate of attacks on journalists in China, including the killing of a television journalist in eastern China on September 19. Li Xiang, about 30, a journalist for the Luoyang City television station, was killed in the early hours of September 19 near his home in Xigong District, Luoyang, Henan Province. According to the China-based Southern Metropolis Daily, Li was stabbed more than 10 times and his portable computer was stolen. Police have classified the case as primarily a robbery, but have not ruled out other possible motives for Li’s death.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-worried-about-journalists-safety-in-china

4. IFJ Mourns Death of Journalist in Southern Thailand

The IFJ was deeply distressed by the death of Thai journalist Phamon Phonphanit who was killed in a bomb blast in the Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat province in southern Thailand on September 24. According to Bangkok Post reports, Sue Samut Atyakam reporter Phamon, 61, is the sixth person to die as a result the attack, after succumbing to severe burns sustained in the blast on September 16. Phamon’s death is the second in recent years in Thailand’s troubled Narathiwat province. On August 21, 2008, Thai Rath reporter Chalee Boonsawat was killed in a bomb blast outside a restaurant in the same district.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-mourns-death-of-journalist-in-southern-thailand

5. Malaysian Cameraman’s Death Reinforces Need for Safety Protocols

The IFJ joined its affiliate the National Union of Journalists of Malaysia (NUJM) in calling on employers to ensure the safety of media workers working in conflict areas, after the death of Malaysian cameraman Noramfaizul Mohd Nor in Mogadishu, Somalia on September 2. Noramfaizul, 39, a cameraman with Malaysia’s state-owned news agency Bernama, was killed by a sniper while covering an aid mission of Putera 1Malaysia, a humanitarian organisation with ties to UMNO, the major party in Malaysia’s governing coalition.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/malaysian-cameramans-death-reinforces-need-for-safety-protocols

6. Philippines Authorities Must Prosecute Abductors of Broadcaster’s Daughter

The IFJ joined its affiliate the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in demanding an immediate investigation into the abduction of the 17-year-old daughter of a radio commentator in Puerto Princesa, in the Philippines’ Palawan Province. The victim, a student at Palawan State University and the daughter of dyEC broadcaster Louie Larroza, was abducted on the morning of September 15. She was forced into a black van by a group of unidentified men, and rescued later that day in an operation involving Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Command.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/philippines-authorities-must-prosecute-abductors-of-broadcasters-daughter

7. Fiji Citizens Call for Press Freedom Amid Union Clampdown

The IFJ joined the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) in renewing calls for Fiji’s military regime to end the Public Emergency Regulations (PER) and Media Decree which regulate censorship in the country. The IFJ’s demands follow a report Fiji: At Home and in the World released on September 7 by Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute for International Policy, reaffirming Fiji citizens’ overwhelming support for freedom of expression and a media free from censorship.

The IFJ also voiced concerns in an open letter to Fiji’s Prime Minister about reported violations of human and trade union rights in response to new laws introduced diminishing workers’ rights as part of the Essential National Industries Employment Decree on September 7. The decree removes many of the conditions guaranteed by International Labour Organisation conventions ratified by Fiji.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-supports-fiji-citizens-calls-for-press-freedom

http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/concern-for-trade-union-rights-in-fiji

8. IFJ Fears Erosion of Editorial Independence in Hong Kong

The IFJ joined the Hong Kong Journalists’ Association (HKJA) in voicing deep concerns about the appointment of a civil servant as director of broadcasting of publicly-owned Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) on September 9. Hong Kong’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, which oversees public broadcasting, appointed deputy secretary for labour and welfare Roy Tang Yun-Kwong as director of broadcasting despite his lack of experience in the media sector. Tang, who has been a civil servant since 1987, was appointed after no candidate was found to be suitable among 26 applications for the role. His appointment drew immediate criticism from former RTHK director Franklin Wong, the broadcaster’s staff union, academics and legislators.

See: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-fears-erosion-of-editorial-independence-in-hong-kong

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.

Jacqueline Park
Cameron Durnsford
Josh Bird
Sukumar Muralidharan
Serenade Woo

IFJ Asia-Pacific
asiapacific.ifj.org
ifj@ifj-asia.org

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