2006 Most Deadly Year For Journalists

Report by IJ-NET
Additional Reporting by ZimJournalists Arise

With two-and-a-half months left in the year, 2006 is already one of the deadliest years in recent memory for journalists and media workers throughout the world.

The year is the deadliest to date for journalists and media workers since the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) began keeping records in 1998, according to a report from WAN on October 5. According to WAN, 78 journalists and media workers have been killed to date in 2006.

The year’s death toll surged higher still in the days since the report was released with an attack on a Baghdad television station that killed 11 people on October 12, as well as the shooting death of the noted Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya on October 7.

Victims of the attack in Baghdad on October 12 included technicians as well as security guards at the station, according to BBC World News. Gunmen raided the recently launched Al-Shaabiya satellite channel in the early morning while all the victims but one were asleep.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports that a total of 118 journalists have died in Iraq since the beginning of military operations led by the United States in 2003.
"Journalism today is more dangerous than ever," said Timothy Balding, WAN’s chief executive officer. "More than 500 journalists have been killed in the past decade, often for simply doing their jobs.”

According to the WAN report, Iraq has the highest death toll with 26 media workers killed to date in 2006, followed by the Philippines where eight have been killed. Statistics in the report include media workers and support staff. One-third of the 78 fatalities for 2006 recorded on the WAN site were in Iraq.

According to WAN’s figures, 518 journalists and media workers have died in the performance of their duties since 1998.

Zimbabwe has had its own share of problems in the media where the year started with the trial of six trustees of VOP who were arrested and tried for broadcasting without a licence. The charges were subsequently dropped in September this year.

Mutare-based freelance journalist, Sidney Saize was arrested later that month for allegedly reporting that ruling party militia had severely assaulted some teachers in the city. Charges against Saize for operating without accreditation were dropped.

In Feburary, a freelance journalist and former Zimbabwe Independent reporter, Gift Phiri, was brutally beaten up by men accusing him of working for media hostile to the government. The attack came three weeks after threats were issued against those who contribute to foreign media by the minister in charge of the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO).

Sunday Standard reporter Ndamu Sandu and freelancer Godwin Mangudya were later picked up in July this year when they were covering a Combined Harare Residents Association of Zimbabwe march. Predictably after spending the night in police cells, they were asked to pay a fine.

Mike Saburi a journalist with Reuters was arrested during the controversial ZCTU demonstrations. Ddespite trying to explain to the police that he was on assignment, Saburi appeared in court on October 3 and had charges under POSA dropped.

After a lull in attacks against Zimbo journalists, and the dropping of charges against VOP, the Zimbabwean media was under attack, this time by the media hangman Mahoso. Mahoso and the police threatened to investigate ZUJ and accused the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe of plotting against the government with outside money.

However the tables turned and the Media Hangman might have to appear before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Transport and Communications for contempt.

Should this be another Media Casualty of the year, with two and half months to go before the year ends.