By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, May 2 1997 (IPS)

The World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated Saturday against a background of persistent attacks on the freedom of expression, said UNESCO director general, Federico Mayor.

The commitment to freedom and pluralism, along with the concept of all restrictions on press freedoms affecting democracy itself, formed the basis of the United Nations Education Science and Culture Organisation (UNESCO) message.

Intimidation and harassment affected reporters, photographers, camera operators and other mass media professionals in 1996.

And a message issued by Mayor in preparation for the day’s celebrations noted that many countries violate the right to freedom of speech, imposing censorship, embargoes and dismissals.

Some 40 or 50 sector workers were murdered in their professional capacity in 1996, according to non governmental organisations fighting for press freedom worldwide.

The figure given by the UNESCO director was even higher than that cited by the Reporters Without Frontiers organisation, which counted 36 reporters murdered in the 15 months up to April 21 this year.

The outlook for press freedom in the world is overshadowed by the appearance of some new phenomena, like violence against reporters committed by groups of criminals or fanatics and the interference of some governments, said Mayor.

The most alarming element of this has been the violence launched against the press by drug traffickers, the mafia and other criminal associations, or by groups who profess intolerant political or religious ideas.

Similarly, “some governments” try “to put themselves in control over the media, to the detriment of pluralism of information,” he added.

However, Mayor said the reaction of “the immense crowds which spontaneously and peacefully protested against this State control,” was encouraging.

The international organisation will be awarding the UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to the 53-year old Chinese reporter Gao Yu on Saturday, as part of the celebration.

Gao was imprisoned on October 2, 1993 and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in November 1994 for “disseminating State secrets.”

French reporter, Claude Moisy, head of the award selection panel said Gao Yu was paying “for his commitment to the communications media defended by UNESCO with the loss of his liberty.”

This prize, awarded for the first time this year, was created im memory of the Colombian reporter Guillermo Cano Isaza, editor of the daily “El Espectador,” who was killed on Dec. 17, 1986.

The main celebration of the Free Press Day will be held this year in Bilbao, Spain, as part of an international conference organised by the International Journalists’ Federation under the motto “The time for tolerance – Journalism and the challenge of racism.”

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