Pakistani journalists in frontier region

Following the wounding of a journalist and a driver by Pakistan security forces on Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on Pakistan's military today to institute training to prevent such incidents and to discipline troops who fire unwarrantedly.

According to an e-mail message from the Khyber Union of Journalists (KhUJ), troops manning a checkpoint in the Malakand Agency, within the frontier region, fired on AVT Khyber cameraman Malik Imran and the crew's driver, Mushtaq. The area is the scene of ongoing battles between various Pakistani units--some regular army, others from the Frontier Guards--and Taliban fighters.

The KhUJ reported that both men are in stable condition. Two other journalists traveling in the car, AVT Khyber reporter Lihaz Ali and photographer Abdul Majeed Gorayawere (whose affiliation was not given), were not injured. The journalists told KhUJ that their car was fired on after it had cleared the checkpoint.

The Pakistani military did not respond immediately to CPJ's request for comment.
It is imperative that the Pakistani military review its checkpoint procedures and ensure that its soldiers allow journalists to work in safety in conflict areas," Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator.

KhUJ's parent organization, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), noted that "such incidents have become the order of the day in conflict areas." PFUJ Secretary General Shamsul Islam Naz said in a statement from Islamabad that the extraordinary security measures adopted by the armed forces in these areas are keeping journalists from highlighting the impact of the fighting on the local populace.

CPJ supported calls from the PFUJ and its subsidiary groups for Pakistani media companies to offer safety training and protective gear for their reporters and other personnel working in combat situations. "Many Pakistani journalists are being thrown into war reporting without proper training or equipment--a problem their employers must address immediately," said Dietz.

On the same day of the incident in Malakand, police in Rawalpindi baton-charged a group of journalists demonstrating to draw attention to the security crisis for journalists reporting in Pakistan's war-torn regions, according to local news reports. In a statement released Wednesday, the PFUJ expressed concern that the heavy-handed police response reflected a growing attitude of indifference by government and law enforcement agencies regarding freedom of expression and the need for journalists to be able to do their work safely.

In a briefing paper in May, CPJ reported that journalists in Pakistan have come under rapidly escalating pressure as the military confronts Taliban militants in the northwest region of the country. Threats and attacks from both sides have made reporting from Taliban-controlled areas more dangerous.

In a separate incident on Monday in Islamabad, the media support group Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) reported that three journalists were injured when they were assaulted by workers of the Islami Jamiat Talaba, the student wing of Jamat-e-Islami, a religious political party, during a protest. The demonstrators told three journalists--Syed Mehdi, photojournalist for the daily The Nation, Muhammad Asim, photojournalist for the Daily Jinnah, and Aqeel Qasim Shah, cameraman for Metro One TV station--to stop taking photographs and attacked them when they did not. PPF said Mehdi was beaten with batons and received first aid treatment at a local hospital. Asim suffered minor injuries. Shah's camera was broken and his shoulder was injured.

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Pakistan’s Journalists Demand a Fair Deal

Journalists from Pakistan’s print and electronic media rallied nation-wide on Monday under the banner of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), an affiliate of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), to call attention to the continuing crises of livelihoods, job security and physical safety in their profession.

Protests were held in all the major cities of Pakistan, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Bahawalpur.

The PFUJ condemned the continuing failure of media owners to implement the Seventh Wage Award, despite the lapse of seven years since it was notified. With the tenure of the wage award having expired, the PFUJ is also demanding constitution of the overdue Eighth Wage Board.

Other demands include abolishing the contract system of employment in journalism, the enforcement of labour laws, and amendments to the applicable law to bring it in line with international labour conventions

The PFUJ also demands a high-level inquiry into recent activities of a senior official of the Pakistan Federal Government’s Information Department, for alleged abuse of power.

“The IFJ fully endorses the PFUJ’s demands,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said. “These are challenging times for journalism in Pakistan, with job losses mounting and professional morale taking a severe hit.

“Media organisations need to invest more rather than less in quality journalism, since the public demand for information is mounting in a context of growing internal conflict and economic crisis.”

According to the PFUJ, the protests were joined in virtually all cities by the local press clubs.

The demonstrators were unanimous in demanding that media organisations should retract their arbitrary recent actions and reinstate all journalists who had been unfairly dismissed from employment.

“The IFJ calls upon media organisations to meet their obligations toward the professional community of journalists since, as the PFUJ says, the last few years have been a period of unprecedented profitability for the industry,” White said.

“If a fair deal for journalists remained an unrealised hope through the years of the boom, the current economic downturn makes it an absolute imperative.”

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IFJ Demands Protection of Journalists in Pakistan’s North-West

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), in expressing alarm at the rapid deterioration in conditions for journalists and media workers in Pakistan’s war-torn North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

According to the PFUJ, most journalists and media workers in the Malakand division of NWFP have abandoned their professional work. Five daily newspapers have ceased publishing. Very many print and electronic media personnel have had to leave their offices and homes due to the escalation in fighting between Pakistan’s armed forces and insurgents grouped under the banner of the Taliban.

The five newspapers that have closed - Azadi, Khabarkar, Chand, Salam and Shumal - were all published from Mingora, the headquarters of Swat.

Journalists in Swat have had to contend with indiscriminate firing from unidentified assailants, and damage to their vehicles and property.

Several journalists came under intensive rocket attack in Swat’s Continental Hotel last week. They did not suffer physical harm, but the vehicle of one journalist, Fayaz Zafar, was gutted when it was hit by a rocket.

In Buner in late April, a team of journalists covering the military engagement came under hostile fire, in which a correspondent of a private television channel suffered serious injuries.

“The IFJ calls on all sides to the conflict to recognise the non-combatant status of journalists and appeals to media managers to ensure that personnel assigned to the war-affected area are provided with training in safety procedures and all necessary equipment to protect themselves,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“The IFJ also calls on Pakistan’s Government to recognize its obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 (2006), which stresses that national governments must actively protect journalists and media workers reporting in war zones, in accordance with their status as civilians under international law.”

The IFJ joins the PFUJ in expressing great concern at the news blackout from the war zones. The exodus of media personnel is depriving people of Pakistan of fair and unbiased reporting from the region, both on the military operation and the humanitarian situation. The only agency now disseminating information from the area is the Directorate of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), which is tasked with presenting only the army’s version of events.

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Journalists Flee Swat Valley

Only a few journalists are left in Pakistan's restive Swat Valley to cover the government's military offensive against the Taliban, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), as well as news reports on the website of the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF).

RSF reports that national newspapers are no longer being distributed for safety reasons. Swat residents no longer have access to satellite television since the Taliban damaged the district's only cable distribution network, and journalists are fleeing the area out of fear for their safety.

The authorities have introduced a curfew in Swat and neighbouring districts in a bid to stop the Taliban from reinforcing their positions in the region.
"It is now impossible to get independently-sourced information about what is happening in Swat Valley," RSF said.

Ghulam Farooq, the editor of the local daily "Shamal", told RSF, "All the newspapers based in Swat have stopped publishing for security reasons, because the situation is extremely dangerous. What's more, the curfew makes it impossible for our staff to move about." According to news reports, Farooq and his family have fled Swat.

Swat Press Club president Salahuddin Khan told reporters that journalists had left the valley. "We are leaving Swat as we are under direct threat from all sides," he said. Khan advised all journalists choosing to stay in Mingora, Swat's main city, to work from home.

RSF is demanding the Pakistani authorities give journalists better protection and permits "that allow them to circulate during curfew hours so that they are able to do their job."

Visit these links:
- Journalists flee Swat Valley en masse (RSF): http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=31276

BBC launches new language sites

The BBC College of Journalism and the BBC World Service have today launched five new language learning micro-sites, with one more to come soon.

The launches mean the number of language sites from the College of Journalism now totals at 30.We have launched external language sites for our last group: Spanish, Portuguese for Brazil, Albanian, Macedonian and Serbian, which will be shortly followed by Turkish. Today's launches will bring up the number of the language sites created for America and Europe to seven. The language sites for Ukraninan were launched last month.

Sixteen months ago it seemed an almost impossible task to create an external language micro-site for all the language services in the World Service, but today it is a reality.

This has been a unique opportunity presented to the language services by the College of Journalism, enabling every service to concentrate on its own language for the first time.
Language experts, senior colleagues and specialists from outside BBC were asked to find consensus for terminologies, style, wording, translation techniques, writing styles for a multimedia platform and much more.

The aim was to create bespoke, unique sites for every language which will serve the need of that particular language. The use of impartial language was the main point for some languages; others concentrated on grammar, spelling, style, pronunciation, translation and original writing.

The College of Journalism site in Portugese for Brazil mainly concentrates on the use of impartial language, accuracy and storytelling. Rogerio Simoes, head of Brazilian Service, believes that: "The College of Journalism site can be a very important tool in our relationship with our audience, as it shows to the user of our site what are the main concerns and principles behind the journalism produced by the BBC. We hope to gradually make it a larger and even more effective reference for members of our audience who want to understand more about BBC's aims and what BBC journalism stands for."
Spanish, For many languages this has been an opportunity to share the BBC editorial values with the audience, the College of Journalism site in Spanish carries the BBC editorial guideline highlighted by an interview with expert. Hernando Alvarez, current affairs editor, says: "Through the Spanish College of Journalism site we have an opportunity to show everyone how and why we are taking the editorial decisions."

Albanian, Language is a living organism which is constantly changing and developing. The language expert on the Albanian site explains the dilemma of foreign words in the media, where is it necessary and when it is destroying the language. The head of Albanian Service, Diana Kola, believes that the unique selling point the BBC output has is its ability to analyze and go under the skin of the story, while at the same time use simple, unpolluted language that is understood by all.

Macedonian, The BBC is delighted to be able to develop this knowledge and share it with journalists across the world.

The head of the BBC Macedonain Service, Zaneta Skerlev, says: "School of Journalism in Macedonian will enrich our online offer with something completely different - how we do what we do best - writing for radio. It is good that we are not selfishly keeping the knowledge, experience and talent - we are sharing that with our listeners and colleagues."

Serbian, The College of Journalism language sites also carry some expert advice from the main College of Journalism English site. We have been able to translate a film by the BBC correspondent Allan Little on how to write for radio in many languages.Creating College of Journalism language micro-sites is a first step and a firm recognition of the fact that journalists broadcasting in languages other than English need a mechanism of support which can also be a reference point for the BBC and non-BBC journalists across the world.

Aleksej Zoric, head Of Serbian Service, believes that the BBC School of Journalism presentation on the BBC Serbian internet pages have the potential of becoming a very useful and instructive tool for the users. For those working in journalism it will clarify the usage of language in radio.

This is the beginning of a very important task: to gather and develop the great knowledge and experience that exist in the language services, an important part of our broadcast life, the knowledge which is linked to the language in which we broadcast.To unify and share the information that we can call the BBC style in Arabic, our way of writing in Farsi, or the in-house style of BBC in Chinese.

Please contact Najiba.Kasraee@bbc.co.uk for further information.