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IFJ eyes Philippines, Nepal as priority areas

Due to journalists’ conditions

BAGUIO CITY (July 13) — The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) declared the Philippines and Nepal its priority areas in its program on press freedom and the rights and welfare of journalists.

“Journalists in these two countries should take comfort in the fact that their colleagues across the region are standing shoulder to shoulder with them and will continue to fight for their rights to report without the threat of intimidation, arrest, assault or death,” said IFJ President Christopher Warren, during the recent Asia Pacific regional conference in Taiwan.

Declarations on various issues affecting journalists in the Asia-Pacific region were discussed in the conference, themed “Media for Democracy: The Challenge in Asia.” Journalists also passed a final communiqué on IFJ priorities in the region, which included positions on journalists’ safety; forms of employment; media ownership and media concentration; trade union development; reporting HIV/AIDS; conflict reporting; child rights; gender; and public service media.

Warren said conference participants agreed to oppose criminal defamation, with particular reference to the current cases of Supinya Klangnarong and the Thai Post in Thailand, and Tempo and Koridor Tabloid Indonesia.

Warren said that the IFJ would support the Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) in its fight to have all journalists allowed to report on United Nations (UN) activities irrespective of their nationality. “When reporting the news, journalists are journalists, not a representative of their country of origin - and all journalists should be free to report on world events, including those of the United Nations,” Warren said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) refused accreditation to Taiwanese journalists for two years running, barring them from attending WHO meetings. The IFJ has reportedly called on the UN to cease the “unfair treatment of Taiwanese journalists”.

Participants also united in condemning the detention in China of Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong and Chinese journalist Zhao Yan while raising questions on the jailing of New York Times journalist Judith Miller.

The conference also thumbed approved support for the planned formation of an IFJ Asia-Pacific Federation to beef up media workers’ rights and independent media in the region, including demanding job security for journalists in the Asia-Pacific.

The meeting brought together representatives of journalists’ organizations from Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.

The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 110 countries. # Artemio A. Dumlao for NORDIS

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