by Qaiser Felix

More than 340 acts of violence, killing and discrimination against the press occurred during 2004 in South Asian countries. The largest number of incidents occurred in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan.

Lahore (AsiaNews) - South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) launched its annual 'Media Monitor 2004'at the Lahore Press Club on Friday 18 February. The report shows that no state in the region was ready to accept the role of the media as a watchdog of society nor had any state come up with an effective law to ensure the fundamental right of information. The 163 page report urged the South Asian community to collectively stand up for a free, independent and natural media.

Over 340 acts of violence and discrimination against the press occurred during 2004 in South Asian countries, including 21 casualties. The largest number of incidents occurred in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the least occurred in Maldives and Afghanistan.

Lately, after the coup, media were under attack in Nepal: many publications had been closed down by the government and military men were sitting in newsrooms. Many journalists, including the secretary general of their federation, had been arrested

Four journalists were murdered in India, four in Sri Lanka and one in Pakistan. The Maldives, however, continued to be a nightmare for journalists where Muhammad Zaki and Aminath Didi, editor and staff of the internet newsletter Sandhannu and their assistant Fathima Nasreen continued to suffer solitary confinement since January, 2002.
At the launching ceremony, Imtiaz Alam, secretary general SAFMA said that media in the region continued to be swayed by the political establishments in the name of national security, national interests and by adversarial nationalisms.

Most of the publications, television and media practitioners continued to be embedded to nationalist standpoints of civil-military establishments, regardless of the merit of one case or the other.

SAFMA's India secretary general Vinod Kumar Sharma said the establishments in South Asian countries favoured preservation of the existing mindset to promote stereotypes. Most of the media compromised with the state and portrayed a rosy picture instead of exposing the deprivation and misery and projecting the right perspective. Journalists not conforming to the official viewpoint were often given a bad name for character assassination and deprived of their position.

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