Freedom cry

On the World Press Freedom Day, we should be thinking clearly and deeply about the ability of the media to speak out

The Unesco-backed World Press Freedom Day is being observed around the world. The slogan for 2015 is “Let Journalism Thrive”. But is it thriving? It certainly seems this is not the case with media personnel coming under attack around the world — in Africa, in Europe, in Asia and on virtually every continent. In Pakistan, according to international monitoring organisations, at least seven journalists were killed in 2014 while performing their professional duties and the sense of threat continues for many with fear hanging in the air in many newsrooms.

Journalists and the organisations they work for have been threatened by state institutions, politicians, criminal mafias and other groups. The lack of protection available to journalists makes them especially vulnerable to such threats. The fact that since 1992, 56 journalists have been killed in the country according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists also underscores the fact that there is real menace behind the warnings hurled out, the abusive language used and the other means brought into play to try and silence the press. In many cases, media organisations have fought back bravely against this attempt to prevent them from speaking out and telling the truth. In other cases, for obvious reasons, they have been less successful. Life, after all, is precious to everyone and reporters out in the streets have little to protect themselves against bullets or bombs. It is also true that those covering places where conflict rages, such as the tribal areas or even Karachi, have the least barrier of safety of all.

This is a situation we need to deal with. On the World Press Freedom Day, we should be thinking clearly and deeply about it. The ability of the media to speak out forms a facet of the basic right to free expression enshrined in our Constitution. More importantly still, it is vital that citizens everywhere are able to know the truth and base their decisions on it. Attempts to quash basic press freedoms deny them this right and that is something which affects all of us in the most negative possible way.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2015.

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