[governance] Reporters without borders released 2013 World Press Freedom Index

[Narine Khachatryan]

Dear all,

Reporters without borders released 2013 World Press Freedom Index: ‘Dashed
Hopes after Spring’.

(http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013,1054.html)

 Download the report
<http://fr.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/classement_2013_gb-bd.pdf> Download
the 2013 world press freedom
map<http://fr.rsf.org/IMG/jpg/2013-carte-liberte-presse_1900.jpg>


After the “Arab springs” and other protest movements that prompted many
rises and falls in last year’s index, the 2013 Reporters Without Borders
World Press Freedom Index marks a return to a more usual configuration. The
ranking of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political
developments. This year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and
intentions of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term.

The same three European countries that headed the index last year hold the
top three positions again this year. For the third year running, *Finland* has
distinguished itself as the country that most respects media freedom. It is
followed by the *Netherlands* and *Norway*. Although many criteria are
considered, ranging from legislation to violence against journalists,
democratic countries occupy the top of the index while dictatorial
countries occupy the last three positions. Again it is the same three as
last year – *Turkmenistan*, *North Korea* and *Eritrea*.

“The Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders does not
take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that
democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and
circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights
are flouted,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe
Deloire said. “In dictatorships, news providers and their families are
exposed to ruthless reprisals, while in democracies news providers have to
cope with the media’s economic crises and conflicts of interest. While
their situation is not always comparable, we should pay tribute to all
those who resist pressure whether it is aggressively focused or diffuse.”

Coinciding with the release of its 2013 Press Freedom Index, Reporters
Without Borders is for the first time publishing an annual global
“indicator” of worldwide media freedom. This new analytic tool measures the
overall level of freedom of information in the world and the performance of
the world’s governments in their entirety as regards this key freedom In
view of the emergence of new technologies and the interdependence of
governments and peoples, the freedom to produce and circulate news and
information needs to be evaluated at the planetary as well as national
level. Today, in 2013, the media freedom “indicator” stands at 3395, a
point of reference for the years to come.

The indicator can also be broken down by region and, by means of weighting
based on the population of each region, can be used to produce a score from
zero to 100 in which zero represents total respect for media freedom. This
produces a score of 17.5 for Europe, 30.0 for the Americas, 34.3 for
Africa, 42.2 for Asia-Pacific and 45.3 for the former Soviet republics.
Despite the Arab springs, the Middle East and North Africa region comes
last with 48.5.

The high number of journalists and netizens killed in the course of their
work in 2012 (the deadliest year ever registered by Reporters Without
Borders in its annual roundup), naturally had a significant impact on the
ranking of the countries where these murders took place, above all *Somalia*
 (175th, -11), *Syria*(176th, 0), *Mexico* (153rd, -4) and *Pakistan* (159th,
-8).

*From top to bottom*

The Nordic countries have again demonstrated their ability to maintain an
optimal environment for news providers. *Finland* (1er, 0), *Netherlands* (2nd,
+1) and *Norway* (3rd, -2) have held on to the first three places.
*Canada* (20th,
-10) only just avoided dropping out of the top 20. *Andorra* (5th) and*
Liechtenstein* (7th) have entered the index for the first time just behind
the three leaders.

At the other end of the index, the same three countries as ever –
Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea – occupy the last three places in the
index. Kim Jong-un’s arrival at the head of the Hermit Kingdom has not in
any way changed the regime’s absolute control of news and information. *
Eritrea*(179th, 0), which was recently shaken by a brief mutiny by soldiers
at the information
ministry<http://en.rsf.org/eritrea-what-really-happened-at-asmara-s-24-01-2013,43947.html>,
continues to be a vast open prison for its people and lets journalists die
in detention. Despite its reformist discourse, the Turkmen regime has not
yielded an inch of its totalitarian control of the media.

For the second year running, the bottom three countries are immediately
preceded by *Syria* (176th, 0), where a deadly information war is being
waged, and *Somalia* (175th, -11), which has had a deadly year for
journalists. *Iran* (174th, +1), *China* (173rd, +1), *Vietnam* (unchanged
at 172nd), *Cuba*(171st, -4), *Sudan* (170th, 0) and *Yemen* (169th, +2)
complete the list of the ten countries that respect media freedom least.
Not content with imprisoning journalists and netizens, Iran also harasses
the relatives of
journalists<http://en.rsf.org/iran-threats-against-media-workers-and-09-01-2013,43883.html>,
including the relatives of those who are abroad.

*Big rises...*

*Malawi* (75th, +71) registered the biggest leap in the index, almost
returning to the position it held before the excesses at the end of the
Mutharika administration. *Côte d’Ivoire* (96th, +63), which is emerging
from the post-electoral crisis between the supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and
Alassane Ouattara, has also soared, attaining its best position since 2003.
*Burma* (151st, +18) continued the ascent begun in last year’s index.
Previously, it had been in the bottom 15 every year since 2002 but now,
thanks to the Burmese spring’s unprecedented reforms, it has reached its
best-ever position. *Afghanistan* (128th, +22) also registered a
significant rise thanks to the fact that no journalists are in prison. It
is nonetheless facing many challenges, especially with the withdrawal of
foreign troops.

*...and big falls*

*Mali* (99th, -74) registered the biggest fall in the index as a result of
all the turmoil in 2012. The military coup in Bamako on 22 March and the
north’s takeover by armed Islamists and Tuareg separatists exposed the
media in the north to censorship and violence. *Tanzania* (70th, -36) sank
more than 30 places because, in the space of four months, a journalist was
killed while covering a demonstration and another was murdered.

Buffeted by social and economic protests, the *Sultanate of Oman* (141st)
sank 24 places, the biggest fall in the Middle East and North Africa in
2012. Some 50 netizens and bloggers were prosecuted on lèse majesté or
cyber-crime charges in 2012. No fewer than 28 were convicted in December
alone, in trials that trampled on defence rights.

Journalists in *Israel* (112th, -20) enjoy real freedom of expression
despite the existence of military censorship but the country fell in the
index because of the Israeli military’s targeting of journalists in the
Palestinian Territories.

In Asia, *Japan* (53rd, -31) has been affected by a lack of transparency and
 almost zero respect for access to
information<http://en.rsf.org/japon-journalists-barred-from-anti-06-11-2012,43640.html>
 on subjects directly or indirectly related to Fukushima. This sharp fall
should sound an alarm. *Malaysia* (145th, -23) has fallen to its
lowest-ever position because access to information is becoming more and
more limited<http://en.rsf.org/malaisie-media-freedom-in-malaysia-is-far-15-05-2012,42628.html>.
The same situation prevails in *Cambodia* (143rd, -26), where
authoritarianism and censorship are on the increase. *Macedonia* (116th,
-22) has also fallen more than 20 places following the arbitrary withdrawal
of media licences and deterioration in the environment for journalists.

*Varied impact of major protest movements*

Last year’s index was marked by the Arab spring’s major news developments
and the heavy price paid by those covering the protest movements. A range
of scenarios has been seen in 2012, including countries such as *Tunisia*, *
Egypt* and *Libya*, where regime change has taken place, countries such as
Syria and *Bahrain* where uprisings and the resulting repression are still
ongoing, and countries such as *Morocco*, *Algeria*, *Oman*, *Jordan*
and *Saudi
Arabia*, where the authorities have used promises and compromise to defuse
calls for political and/or social and economic change.

Some of the new governments spawned by these protests movements have turned
on the journalists and netizens who covered these movements’ demands and
aspirations for more freedom. With legal voids, arbitrary appointments of
state media chiefs, physical attacks, trials and a lack of transparency,*
Tunisia* (138th, -4) and *Egypt* (158th, +8) have remained at a deplorable
level in the index and have highlighted the stumbling blocks that
*Libya* (131st,
+23) should avoid in order to maintain its transition to a free press.

The deadliest country for journalists in 2012 was *Syria* (176th, 0), where
journalists and netizens are the victims of an information war waged by
both the Assad regime, which stops at nothing in order to crack down and
impose a news blackout, and by opposition factions that are increasingly
intolerant of dissent. In *Bahrain* (165th, +8) the repression let up
slightly, while in *Yemen* (169th, +2) the prospects continue to be
disturbing despite a change of government. *Oman* (141st, -24) fell sharply
because of a wave of arrests of netizens.

Other countries hit by protests saw changes for the better and worse. *
Vietnam* (172nd, 0) failed to recover the six places it lost in the
previous index. The world’s second biggest prison for netizens, it has
remained in the bottom ten. *Uganda* (104th, +35) has recovered a more
appropriate position although it has not gone back to where it was before
cracking down on protests in 2011. *Azerbaijan*(156th, +6) and
*Belarus* (157th,
+11) both fell last year after using violence to suppress opposition
demonstrations and this year they just moved back towards their appalling
former positions. *Chile*(60th, +20) is beginning to recover after
plummeting 33 places to 80th in last year’s index.

*Political instability puts journalists in the eye of the storm*

Political instability often has a divisive effect on the media and makes it
very difficult to produce independently-reported news and information. In
such situations, threats and physical attacks on journalists and staff
purges are common. *Maldives* (103rd, -30) fell sharply after the
president’s removal in an alleged coup, followed by threats and attacks on
journalists<http://en.rsf.org/maldives-international-community-s-13-02-2012,41858.html>
 regarded as his supporters. In *Paraguay* (91st, -11), the president’s
removal in a parliamentary “coup” on 22 June 2012 had a big impact on
state-owned broadcasting, with a wave of arbitrary dismissals against a
backdrop of unfair frequency allocation. *Guinea-Bissau* (92nd, -17) fell
sharply because the army overthrew the government between the first and
second rounds of a presidential election and imposed military censorship on
the media. In *Mali* (99th, -74), a military coup fuelled tension, many
journalists were physically attacked in the capital and the army now
controls the state-owned media. This index does not reflect the January
2013 turmoil in the *Central African Republic* (65th, -3) but its impact on
media freedom is already a source of extreme concern.

*“Regional models” found wanting*

In almost all parts of the world, influential countries that are regarded
as “regional models” have fallen in the index. *Brazil* (108th, -9), South
America’s economic engine, continued last year’s fall because five
journalists were killed in 2012 and because of persistent problems
affecting media pluralism. In Asia, *India* (140th, -9) is at its lowest
since 2002 because of increasing impunity for violence against journalists
and because Internet censorship continues to grow. *China* (173rd, +1)
shows no sign of improving. Its prisons still hold many journalists and
netizens, while increasingly unpopular Internet censorship continues to be
a major obstacle to access to information.

In Eastern Europe, *Russia* (148th, -6) has fallen again because, since
Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency, repression has been stepped
up<http://en.rsf.org/russia-internet-access-barred-as-wave-of-01-11-2012,43627.html>
 in response to an unprecedented wave of opposition protests. The country
also continues to be marked by the unacceptable failure to punish all those
who have murdered or attacked journalists. The political importance of *
Turkey* (154th, -6) has grown even more because of the armed conflict in
neighbouring Syria but it has again fallen in the index. It is currently the
world’s biggest prison for
journalists<http://en.rsf.org/turkey-turkey-world-s-biggest-prison-for-19-12-2012,43816.html>,
especially those who express views critical of the authorities on the
Kurdish issue. There is no comparison with *South Africa* (52nd, -10),
where freedom of information is a reality. It still has a respectable
ranking but it has been slipping steadily in the index and, for the first
time, is no longer in the top 50. Investigative journalism is threatened by
the Protection of State Information Bill.

*Democracies that stall or go into reverse*

The situation is unchanged for much of the European Union. Sixteen of its
members are still in the top 30. But the European model is unravelling. The
bad legislation seen in 2011 continued, especially in*Italy* (57th, +4),
where defamation has yet to be
decriminalized<http://en.rsf.org/italy-senate-wants-to-keep-threat-of-25-11-2012,43725.html>
 and state agencies make dangerous use of gag laws. *Hungary* (56th, -16)
is still paying the price of its repressive legislative
reforms<http://en.rsf.org/hongrie-hungary-s-media-law-is-08-03-2011,39721.html>,
which had a major impact on the way journalists work. But
*Greece<http://en.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rwb_greece_2011_bd2.pdf>
*’s dramatic fall (84th, -14) is even more disturbing. The social and
professional environment for its journalists, who are exposed to public
condemnation and violence from both extremist groups and the police, is
disastrous.

*Japan* (53rd, -31) plummeted because of censorship of nuclear industry
coverage<https://www.wefightcensorship.org/censored/japan-freelance-journalist-sued-over-nuclear-industry-articlehtml.html>
 and its failure to reform the “kisha club” system. This is an alarming
fall for a country that usually has a good ranking.*Argentina* (54th, -7)
fell amid growing tension between the government and certain
privately-owned media about a new law regulating the broadcast media.


Kind regards,
Narine Khachatryan
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