Philippine journalists 'live in danger'

11/29/2009 12:37:00 AM

Another report on local corruption or the conduct of a war, another dead journalist in the Philippines.

Family members, friends and witnesses flee for safety; no one dares to testify about what they saw - perhaps a motorbike licence plate and a glimpse of the men who shot the journalist in the head.

Local prosecutors are too close to the warlords or army commanders and decline to pursue the case.

And so the toll rises: 63 dead journalists in the past eight years.

Read the rest on BBC News.

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    Democracy, according to the late Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, is "a question of human dignity, [a]nd human dignity is political freedom, the right to freely express opinion and the right to be allowed to criticise and form opinions."

    But exercising political freedom in the Philippines, which purports itself to be a democracy, can lead to death. Since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency of the country in 2001, more than 800 Filipinos murdered in politically-motivated, extra-judicial, targeted killings. Since the 4th quarter of July 2005, one person has been killed every two days. The victims of these brazen acts of violence were all unarmed citizens: lawyers, judges, journalists, medical practitioners, members of cause-oriented groups, priests, church-workers, human rights advocates, laborers and farmers.

    It is widely believed—and the United Nations support this belief—that state security forces are complicit in these crimes.