By KUNA
Paris : The international press freedom organization , Reporters Without Borders, accused in a report issued here Wednesday public officials around the world of “impotence, cowardice and duplicity” in defending freedom of expression.
Secretary General of the Organization Robert M{nard said in the organisations annual press freedom report that “The spinelessness of some Western countries and major international bodies is harming press freedom.” He stressed “The lack of determination by democratic countries in defending the values they supposedly stand for is alarming.” He noted that that the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva had yielded in to pressure from several countries, expressing concern over the “softness” of the EU towards “dictators” who did not flinch at the threat of European sanctions.
The report listed problems expected in the coming year, especially physical attacks on journalists during key elections in Pakistan, Russia, Iran and Zimbabwe.
The worldwide press freedom organisation voiced concern also over the safety of journalists covering fighting in Sri Lanka, the Palestinian Territories, Somalia, Niger, Chad and especially Iraq, where it said “journalists continue to be buried almost every week.” It also protested against censorship of new media and highlighted “media repression in China in the run-up to the Olympic Games there this summer.” “Nobody apart from the International Olympic Committee seems to believe the government will make a significant human rights concession before the Games start,” it said.
The report includes surveys of press freedom in every region of the world over the past year and chapters on 98 countries, including EU members and the US. According to the report, journalists are among the “first witnesses, and also the first victims, of the instability that plagues the Middle East.” It stressed that the instability being witnessed in Lebanon and Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have “deep repercussions” on media workers, beyond national borders.