IFJ Asia-Pacific Monthly E-Bulletin – July and August 2013

IFJ Asia-Pacific Monthly E-Bulletin – July and August 2013

To IFJ Asia-Pacific affiliates and friends,

Welcome to the IFJ Asia-Pacific’s monthly e-bulletin. The next bulletin will be issued on October 1, and contributions from affiliates are most welcome. To contribute, email ifj@ifj-asia.org Please distribute this bulletin widely among colleagues in the media.

In this bulletin:

1.      In Cambodia, ban on foreign radio broadcasts lifted
2.      New leadership teams at IFJ affiliates in Vanautu, Sri Lanka and India
3.      Journalists locked out in Korea; laid off in India
4.      Sri Lankan journalists demand accountability as threats and violence continue
5.      Sexual assault on Indian journalist; journalists assaulted by supporters of cult leader
6.      Journalists in China face harassment and arrest, as websites are shut down

1.      In Cambodia, ban on foreign radio broadcasts lifted

On July 1 the IFJ and its partners in Cambodia welcomed the lifting of the briefly imposed ban on local radio stations beaming foreign broadcasts. The ban was imposed by the Cambodian government in what it described as an effort to neutralise alleged possible interference by foreign powers in the July 28 national general elections. Further details here.

2.      New leadership teams at IFJ affiliates in Vanautu, Sri Lanka and India

The IFJ has extended its greetings to the new new leadership teams affiliates of IFJ the Media Asosiesen blong Vanuatu, the Free Media Movement in Sri Lanka and the National Union of Journalists (India). Further details here, here and here.

3.      Journalists locked out in Korea; laid off in India

The IFJ and its partners have strongly protested the lock-out of more than 180 journalists by the management of the Korean daily newspaper HankookIIbo. In India, a major news broadcaster Network 18  laid off 350 workers as part of a corporate plan to integrate the newsrooms of print, digital and broadcast operations. Also, Outlook Publishing (India) Ltd, announced it would terminate the employment of several journalists after shutting down publication of four lifestyle magazines.

4.      Journalists in Sri Lanka demand accountability as threats and violence continue

IFJ partners in Sri Lanka have sent a petition to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights who recently visited the country for to assess the human rights and national reconciliation situation. Days earlier, the country’s leading journalist groups wrote to the National Human Rights Commission demanding it establish accountability for incidents of media freedom violations that have taken place during and after the civil war. In Colombo, the home of a journalist couple was raided by masked assailants and media workers have targeted during peaceful protests.

5.      Sexual assault on Indian journalist; journalists assaulted by supporters of a cult leader

The IFJ’s partners have condemned the criminal sexual assault of a journalist on assignment in Mumbai. Meanwhile, journalists reporting on the aftermath of a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault by the leader of a spiritual cult were attacked by followers of the cult.

6.      Journalists in China face harassment and arrest, as websites are shut down

Journalists in China continue to confront harassment in reporting on the misdeeds of some Government officials, and are being pressured to leave their jobs. Meanwhile, on August 4 photographers were verbally harangued, blocked and pushed to the ground while recording a scuffle in Hong Kong. China’s internet regulatory authority has ordered the shutdown of 107 websites.

ENDS

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