Conflicts threaten journalists in south Asia
Published:Wednesday | May 4, 2011 | 12:00 AM
NEW DELHI (AP):
Intensifying conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan pose threats to the lives of journalists, while dangers have eased in Sri Lanka and Nepal with the end of fighting there, a media group said Tuesday.
A report by the International Federation of Journalists said threat levels to journalists also remain high in conflict-ridden areas of India's remote northeast, the Himalayan region of Kashmir and central India, where Maoist rebels have stepped up a decades-old insurgency.
Free Speech in Peril
The report titled 'Free Speech in Peril: press freedom in South Asia' also examines the threats and challenges faced by the media in Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives. It was released in New Delhi on Tuesday to mark World Press Freedom Day.
An upsurge in violence in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan has made the region among the most hazardous in the world for reporters, said Sukumar Murlidharan, the report's editor.