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150 journos killed on duty
23/01/2006 15:20 - (SA)
Sydney - A total of 150 journalists were killed last year in wars, assassinations, natural disasters and accidents while on duty, said the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Monday.
The IFJ said the year was the worst on record for an increasingly dangerous profession.
Of the total - 89 were killed "in the line of duty" - many singled out for assassination by killers working for political extremists, paramilitary forces or criminals.
The other 61 died after disaster struck while on assignment - 48 of them in a military plane crash in Iran, and three in the massive earthquake that struck South Asia.
Most dangerous country
War-torn Iraq accounted for the deaths of 35 journalists.
The Philippines was the second most dangerous country in the world for media workers, accounting for 10 of the total of 36 deaths in the Asia-Pacific region.
IFJ president Christopher Warren said: "2005 was a year of tragedy and the targeting of journalists in the Asia-Pacific region."
The IFJ said less than 10% of the cases of deliberate killings of journalists resulted in serious investigations by the authorities.
Political indifference
The reports said a combination of police corruption, judicial incompetence and political indifference created a culture of neglect over media deaths.
IFJ general secretary Aidan White said: "Impunity in the killing of journalists remains the intolerable scandal of our times that can no longer be ignored by the international community."
The IFJ had called for action by the United Nations security council and had pressed secretary-general Kofi Annan to mobilise governments to act against the targeting and killing of journalists.
The Brussels-based IFJ represented some 500 000 journalists in 110 countries worldwide.
- AFP
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