ASIA-MEDIA: Reporters Pay a Deadly Price For Doing Their Jobs

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

IPS Correspondents

MANILA/BANGKOK, May 8 1996 (IPS) - The headline captions speak for themselves: ‘Lawyer Journalist Slayed’, ‘Journalist Seeks Gov’t Protection’, ‘Three Tagged in Ambush of Newsmen’, ‘A Greater Evil Behind the Murder of MCOT (Mass Communications) Chief’.

The story these particular captions tell is of the daily threat faced by Filipino and Thai journalists who report on or are in charge of media organisations covering politically and economically sensitive issues.

The wider picture would show that across the Asia-Pacific, journalists are subjected to censorship and jailings, while publishers houses face outright bans for critical reporting on politically sensitive issues.

Last Friday, the Paris-based Rapporteurs Sans Frontieres (RSF) reported that as of Jan 1, this year, 36 journalists in Asia were imprisoned — at least 20 in China alone — for carrying out their jobs.

Besides China, it reported on restricted press freedoms in Burma (also known as Myanmar) Indonesia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and war-torn Sri Lanka.

Worldwide, the RSF counted 49 journalists who had been killed in the line of duty in 1995. Add to that number at least two more in Asia in 1996.

Since March, two journalists have been killed and two others ambushed and shot in the Philippines; while in Bangkok last month, the head of the state-run Mass Communications Organisation of Thailand (MCOT) was gunned down while in his car.

Up to now, some arrests have been made in connection with the killings but no one has been charged although police authorities say they are closing in on the killers, and on the masterminds behind what they suspect were in some cases, revenge crimes.

Ferdinand Reyes, a human rights lawyer and editor of the weekly ‘Press Freedom’ was killed by a lone gunman in Dipolog City, southern Philippines, on Feb 12.

Police and relatives of the victim suspect that his slayer was a soldier contracted by members of the military hierarchy because of the critical nature of his articles against alleged abuses of power among army ranks.

“In the case of Reyes, the problem appears difficult to solve because of the reported involvement of uniformed men,” wrote media commentator Julius F. Fortuna in a column published in the ‘Manila Chronicle’ at the weekend.

He added that the media was particularly concerned about the killer or killers being brought to justice in this case since it represented a “bad omen for Press freedom”.

The other provincial Filipino journalist to have met his death recently, Jose Tiongson, was killed by the driver of a passenger jeep that had nearly side-swiped him. The incident also took place in southern Philippines. The killer is on the run and it is unclear what were his motives.

The National Bureau of Investigation in the Philippines is also under media and public pressure to bring to justice three men who ambushed and attempted to kill two journalists in the southern province of Mindanao on Mar. 20.

In this case, the police have arrested one suspect who is alleged to have admitted to the crime, saying that he was hired for 50,000 pesos (about 1,900 dollars) by a political figure to kill Ali Macabalang of the ‘Manila Bulletin’ and ‘Inquirer’ correspondent Nash Maulana.

Both journalists suffered gunshot wounds. Macabalang is seeking police protection, saying his wife has since received several threatening phone calls to her home.

Police are investigating Macabalang’s claims that the mastermind of the failed attempt on his life is a “big politician” that had recently received bad Press.

Meanwhile, investigators in Thailand cite “business conflicts” may be behind the killing of MCOT chief Sangchai Sunthornvut who was shot on Apr 11 by a gunman riding on the pillion of a motorbike.

The state-owned MCOT is a media empire dominant in Thai television and radio. Before he took over as director general in 1993, the organisation was reported to have suffered millions of dollars in loss revenue because of corruption and programming interference in high political and business circles.

In 19 years of operation, the MCOT posted its highest net profits in 1995 to the tune of 1.6 billion bahts (42.2 million dollars. This was credited to the efforts of Sangchai who was quoted in an in-house publication as saying he wanted to turn the MCOT into a “billion baht profit organisation”.

However, his efforts to reshape programming to make the television station more profitable ran into strong opposition from some businessmen accustomed to free access to advertising slots.

As the daily ‘Bangkok Post’ commented after his death “Mr. Sangchai had moved against the middlemen, or brokerage system, which had won concessions in the past”.

The paper was referring to a previous system whereby some sectors of the business community with close links to government were given concessionary advertisement slots during prime-time tv programmes.

“This systematic added value due to vested interests had been in effect ever since anyone could remember,” the Bangkok Post commented, adding: “The fact that MCOT profits rose so much in the few years Mr. Sangchai was director, indicates how much was being lost to corruption and poor management.”

Another Thai English language daily, the ‘Nation’ under a banner editorial ‘A Greater Evil Behind Murder of MCOT Chief’, speculated that the “maverick” Sangchai may have uncovered deeper corruption which led to a price tag being put on his head.

“Either the MCOT chief had crossed some influential figures in the lucrative TV industry, or he stumbled upon secrets involving a corruption scandal dating back many years,” the Nation commented.

Meanwhile, the Thai police reported this week that they had questions 40 people in connection with the case and were close to making an arrest.

Deputy police chief Pol. Gen. Pornsak Durongkhawiboon told reporters that the police are still following the lead of a “conflict of interest” within the MCOT being the reason for the slaying, “but have not ruled out other motives”.

“On our honour, this case will not end up arresting scapegoats,” the Nation quoted the deputy police chief as saying.