“Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them.”
Ephesians 5: 11
Reporters Without Borders reported that more journalists have been executed in the Philippines than anywhere in the world (they started counting in the 1980s), except Iraq.
This is the list so far in 2007, just for the Philippines:
12 October 2007 - Iligan City radio journalist shot in the stomach;
26 June 2007 - Radio journalist gunned down, colleague wounded in Tawi-Tawi;
25 May 2007 - Photojournalist on critical newspaper murdered;
20 April 2007 - One journalist beaten and shot dead, another shot and wounded;
11 April 2007 - Radio journalist gets four and a half years in prison for defaming legislator;
23 February 2007 - President Arroyo urged to take energetic measures to end impunity;
19 February 2007 - Newspaper editor gunned down in Mindanao, first Filipino journalist killed this year.
But executing journalists is a phenomenon that is growing around the world; e.g., a Kyrgyz reporter, Alisher Saipov, killed recently. The allegation is that the Uzbekistan Government is crossing borders to silence its foes in any place where perceived enemies may expose the regime’s corruption.
In the Philippines, a proposal was explored to make it easier for journalists to get “away from home permits“. Apparently, mainstream Philippine journalists protested, arguing that such a move takes the onus off the government to protect people from violence (a quaint but understandable sentiment). The rationale that the government has a duty to protect journalists is probably a great academic question, nevertheless. From a legal standpoint, in the USA, the courts have stated unequivocally that the government has no such duty. Does this surprise you?
The reality is that corrupt factions within the best of governments are behind many such executions. In the Philippines, journalists have alleged that some corrupt members of the army are cooperating with rebels (and/or assassinating leftists). Rebel factions, Yakuza (Japanese gangsters) and other criminal enterprises have also reportedly gone after Philippine journalists. In many countries, distinctions between terrorist, bandit, soldier and politician are almost indistinguishable. Armed journalists that are trained to defend freedom of the press may be the best thing since Wyatt Earp when it comes to cleaning up Dodge Cities and Tombstones around the world.
Alisher Saipov’s courage in reporting the truth is being honored posthumously, however, and such journalists deserve international respect.
See http://firearmslawyer.net/blog/index.php/a
