AU urged to protect continent’s press freedom

By Tesfa Alem Tekle

January 22, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – An international press watchdog report has labeled the Year 2009 as one of the most hostile year for journalists in the African continent urging the African Union to protect them.

The report released by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) revealed that 13 journalists were killed across the continent; 32 journalists imprisoned, a significant number of journalists arrested, some violently attacked and wounded, while threats and intimidation against journalists continued unabated.

The survey listed Somalia, Eritrea, Tunisia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gambia, Guinea and Niger as the leading nations in the suppression and violations of press freedom rights during 2009.

In Somalia alone, 9 journalists were assassinated by armed militias, while 19 journalists are still held incommunicado in Eritrean jails, just for carrying out their journalistic work.

The group has urged the African Union to launch a collective efforts to reverse the trend which the group referred the scale of the crises in Africa as “intolerable”.

“The report intends to inform and sensitize African Governments, decision makers, and especially the African Union to prioritize press freedom and freedom of expression as a key component for good governance democracy and national development,” it said.

The annual report on the state of press freedom in Africa is based on the media alerts published during the course of the year in the framework of their advocacy strategy.

The report was launched yesterday in the Ethiopia capital, Addis Ababa. A delegation from the IFJ is said to meet Ethiopian government representatives and officials of the African union to consult on the situation this week in Addis Ababa.

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide.

(ST)