|
Telling the truth can be a dangerous business Kuala Lumpur, 10 December 2007 – In a keynote speech to the World Electronic Media Forum (WEMF III*) on the International Day of Human Rights, EBU** President Fritz Pleitgen called for a new initiative to save the lives of journalists, and to roll back a trend towards repression of freedom of expression. "Journalists are being killed in record numbers in pursuit of their profession - 171 so far this year - sometimes simply for getting too near to uncomfortable truths," the EBU President said. "And if journalists stop telling the truth, or exercise self-censorship, there can be no true freedom of expression or genuine democratic debate." The EBU President noted that, "It was good journalism that I could read in a Malaysian newspaper about the suppression of a Human Rights Day walk by members of the Bar Council to mark International Human Rights Day. And an interview on human rights. Freedom of the press is not always comfortable, but it is a guarantee for a stable democratic society." Mr Pleitgen urged all those present to share a new vision "in which free media, conveying the free opinions of majorities and minorities the world over, promote and guarantee democracy, development and human rights". And he said there was plenty of room for improvement in all regions of the world. The conference devoted a special session to the safety of journalists at which EBU Director General Jean Réveillon stressed that journalists must be protected in their task of seeking and imparting information. He noted, "Dead journalists don't write ..... But neither do many journalists who take good note of attacks on their colleagues, and who are quite understandably intimidated into silence". New initiatives discussed included raising awareness in all countries, identifying media representatives as a specific category of civilians under international war crimes law, and protecting journalists in non-conflict zones. Note to Editors: *WEMF III was organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the EBU's sister union, under the theme "a new vision of broadcasting in the information society". WEMF I was organized by the EBU in Geneva in 2003 alongside the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). WEMF II followed in Tunis two years ago, with the second phases of the WSIS. **European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Press Contact: Michelle Roverelli |
||||
 |
|||||
