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An ABS-CBN reporter was assaulted by a former basketball star after she tried to interview a taxi driver who was allegedly beaten up by the basketball player.
In a video footage shown by TV-Patrol World, reporter Gretchen Malalad was shown being elbowed in the face by Paul “Bong” Alvarez. According to Malalad, Alvarez first declined to be interviewed regarding his alleged mauling of the taxi driver.
“Take that videocamera away from me. I will smash it and beat your cameraman (if you don’t take it away),” Alvarez allegedly told Malalad in Filipino.
Malalad did not insist, but when she attempted to interview taxi driver Wilfredo Cabanli, Alvarez blocked the reporter’s way, and elbowed her in the jaw. Malalad afterwards claimed that Alvarez pulled her hair and punched her in the forehead.
Malalad retaliated by punching Alvarez.
The reporter, a three-time karate gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games, said she was caught off-guard and deplored Alvarez’s behavior.
Alvarez, a prominent player for the Philippine Basketball Association, now faces charges of physical injuries from both Mala-lad and Cabanli and resisting arrest from the authorities.
Cabanli was allegedly mauled by Alvarez in an argument over his fare. Alvarez was later released from police custody after posting a P4,500 bail. The incident has provoked questions on how far journalists can go in legitimately defending themselves.
A Filipino boxer has filed a P30-million libel suit against four journalists of the Manila Bulletin for publishing an article which allegedly attacked his “virtue and reputation,” Inquirer.net reported. Libel is a criminal offense in the Philippines.
The case, which was filed on July 30 on Manny Pacquiao’s behalf by his lawyer at the city prosecutor’s office in General Santos city, named as respondents the Bulletin’s sports writer Nick Giongco, publisher Hermogenes P. Pobre, editor-in-chief Crispulo J. Icban Jr., and sports editor Ding Marcelo.
Pacquiao filed the complaint because of Giongco’s article, “Trouble in Paradise—Again?” The fourth paragraph of the article said, “Pacquiao, who spent millions in (an) unsuccessful bid to win a congressional seat in his hometown in General Santos City, is reported to be a com-pulsive gambler and is known to bet hundreds of thousands in casinos, cockfighting, and billiards.”
Pacquiao argued that the article was not true.
Sunstar.com.ph, an online news publication, meanwhile, reported that the libel suit was prompted by Pacquiao’s endorse-ment deal with athletic gear maker Nike which required the boxer to maintain a good image.
A radio commentator survived an ambush by a lone assailant on Aug. 20 in Surigao del Norte.
Manuel Kong, a block-time commentator for the radio station dxSN-AM 1017 khz., was shot by a lone gunman while walking at Magallanes Street, Surigao City at 12:30 pm. Block-timing is a common practice in the Philippines where indivi-duals buy “blocks” of radio air time using revenue generated by advertisements in their programs.
It was the second attempt on Kong’s life. He survived an ambush by two unknown assailants in 2003.
Kong, according to a report by Inquirer.net, was getting into his vehicle outside the radio station when the gunman appeared and shot him several times. Although wounded, Kong managed to draw his gun and fire at the assailant.
George Salabao, chair of the Kapisanan ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP-Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines) in Surigao del Norte, told the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility that after the attack, Kong flagged down a tricycle to take him to a hospital. After shooting Kong, the assailant reportedly walked back to his motorcycle parked a few steps away from the broadcaster’s vehicle.
Kong is the media bureau chief and spokesman of Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Matugas and has been critical of former Surigao del Norte governor Robert Lyndon Barbers and his brother, now incumbent Gov. Robert Ace Barbers.
“I believe politics has something to do with it. But I can’t tell you the name (of the politician),” Matugas said.
Kong was accredited by the Kapisanan ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas. KBP records indicate that his accreditation expired on May 27, 2007
The KBP’s Salabao told the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility that he had once ordered Kong’s radio program, as well as those of his rival from Barbers’ camp in another station, to be suspended for a week after their on-air tirades against each other went overboard. Salabao, however, expressed outrage over the attack on Kong.
“I feel saddened by the incident. I wish people would not resort to such savage acts … but would course their grievances through the proper channels,” Salabao said.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced that it is “seriously considering” filing charges of libel and electoral sabotage against “two known media personalities.”
Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said that the Comelec en banc is planning to sue two media personalities spreading false information that “diminish the credibility” of the poll body, the Daily Tribune newspaper reported on Aug. 9.
Libel is a criminal offense, punishable with two to four years in prison or a fine ranging from P200 to P6,000, while electoral sabotage is a non-bailable offense punishable with a life sentence.
“[If our reputation is being destroyed], we will have to defend ourselves,” Ferrer said.
Jose Torres, chair of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said that the planned charges against media are a threat to press freedom because the issue involves government policies.
Protest against soaring fuel prices held in Burma’s capital Rangoon last week—including the largest rally in a decade—have led to the arrest of at least 70 activists and a crackdown on the media and lines of communication.
In late-night raids on Aug. 21, Burma’s military leaders ordered the arrest of 13 prominent pro-democracy activists who had spearheaded a protest two days earlier against a sharp rise in fuel prices, which has more than doubled public transport costs and drastically affected commodity prices. The 500-strong rally is believed to be the largest in more than 10 years.
In a rare announcement in all state-run newspapers, the junta said the 13 had been arrested for “agitation to cause civil unrest” and “undermining peace and security of the state,” charges that could put them in jail for up to 20 years.
The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) meanwhile reported that on Aug. 22, thugs allegedly deployed by the government confiscated and destroyed the camera of a local journalist. The following day, DVB added, a Reuters correspondent was bodily threatened and pushed away by a similar mob as he tried to cover one of the sporadic protests. Other local journalists were reportedly ordered to stay away from the demonstrators.
Sources from the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) inside Rangoon meanwhile reported a sharp drop in Internet and phone access in the country. The government, through the state-owned Myanmar Infotech Corp. Ltd., holds a monopoly over Internet providers in the country. SEAPA contacts said whole pockets of Rangoon are suffering from intermittent and rolling interruptions in their access to both the Internet and phone services.
Web-based email and telephony services such as Gmail and GTalk – already de facto banned in past years, but until two weeks ago still reliably accessible via proxy servers (and apparently tolerated by Burmese officials) – have seen more disruptions and become less reliable, individuals have also told SEAPA.
The difficulties and harassment experienced by journalists is leading to further self-censorship in Rangoon’s local journals. There is virtually no coverage of the protests inside the country, save for the official propaganda placed in state-owned and controlled newspapers such as the New Light of Myanmar.
More than 150 people have been arrested in Burma in the past week, all owing to the Rangoon junta’s crackdown on fuel price protests.—SEAPA/IFEX
Despite the recent passage of the Right to Information Act and steps taken to protect journalists, attacks on the media continue unabated in Nepal, an international monitoring coalition has concluded.
The International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to Nepal, which have been monitoring the developments in Nepal since the April 2006 revolution, reported more than 116 incidents of attempts to prevent journalists from doing their jobs between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2007 alone.
These incidents include arrests, attacks on media companies, abduction of journalists, threats and harassment, and obstructions to the free flow of information, including disruptions in the production processes. Just last August, a Maoist labor union again prevented two privately-owned dailies, the Himalayan Times and Annapurna Post, from being printed and distributed, the Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES) and the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) reported. Both papers had carried a story on Aug. 11 against the union for blocking their distribution for six days in July. The union’s leaders said they would “kill anyone daring to distribute” the two papers, and some union members blocked access to the papers’ editorial offices.
When the Nepalese Press Union held a peaceful demonstration in Kathmandu on Aug. 9, 49 journalists were beaten up and seriously injured by members of the Communist Youth League, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
In July, 49 journalists working for the government-owned Gorkhapatra Corporation were fired. FNJ says their axing - and the promotion of employees within the media group who were active against the democratic movement of April 2006 - was politically motivated. And when journalists attempted to demonstrate for the reinstatement of the 49 reporters earlier this month, they were arrested.
“It is disturbing that the same media which played a leading role in the restoration of democracy a year ago have now become the target of attacks from various groups,” said the International Mission in a statement.
These threats to press freedom come just months before a constituent assembly is to be elected in November, which will adopt a new constitution for Nepal. “A free and fairly elected constituent assembly remains the next vital step in Nepal’s peace process,” says the International Mission. “But the lack of an unobstructed media environment throughout the country, and specifically in those areas affected by conflict, could jeopardize a free and fair outcome to the elections.”—IFEX
A Yemeni editor was abducted and beaten up by a group of gunmen on Aug. 27, as well as threatened that his family would be killed if he writes again another article that will harm the government.
A silver Toyota SUV carrying six gunmen in civilian clothing descended upon Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani, former editor of the online newspaper Al-Shoura, while he was waiting for a taxi outside the offices of the weekly newspaper Al-Nedaa in central Sana’a at around 2 p.m., eyewitnesses told CPJ. The perpetrators forcibly bundled him into the vehicle and sped away, the witnesses said. The witnesses said the license plates of the vehicle were covered with black material.
The gunmen blindfolded al-Khaiwani, tied his hands, and took him to the remote village of Mahalein in the Khawlan district, southeast of Sana’a, said Basheer al-Sayed, editorial secretary of Al-Nedaa, who spoke with al-Khawaini after the attack. According to al-Sayed, al-Khaiwani was badly beaten, with several blows to the face and chest. The men threatened him with a pair of shears. They asked him which hand he used for writing and when he told them the left one, they attempted to break his fingers, al-Sayed told CPJ. The gunmen confiscated al-Khaiwani’s passport, identi-fication card, and cell phone, al-Sayed said.
The gunmen threatened to kill al-Khaiwani and his family if he writes another word that harms Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh or the country’s national unity, CPJ sources said. They specifically mentioned an article he wrote published by Al-Nedaa on Aug. 16 titled “What’s Before the State: A Homeland Behind Bars,” al-Sayed told CPJ. In the article, al-Khaiwani discussed the status of prisoners, their treatment, the conditions in the country’s jails, and the injustice they face.
CPJ sources suspected the gunmen belonged to the Yemeni security forces. Al-Sayed told CPJ that al-Khaiwani recognized one of his abductors today as one of the Yemeni security officers who raided his home in June. Interior Ministry investigative police officers took al-Khaiwani’s statement at the hospital, al-Sayed said.
Since 2005, CPJ has identified at least six Yemeni journalists who have been the targets of assaults that were believed to be politically motivated. In all but one of the cases, the perpetrators have not been identified by the authorities.—CPJ/IFEX
A reporter's house was burned down again by unknown persons on Aug. 17, just a week after the first incident occurred.
On Aug. 10, a blaze had partly destroyed the house of Phon Phat, a reporter for the Chbas Ka (Accurate) newspaper in the western Pursat province in Cambodia.
A day before the fire, an anonymous person called Phon Phat on his telephone, saying, “A ‘gift’ will be offered for your report on illegal logging activities in Pursat”.
Fortunately, Phon Phat and his family escaped unhurt on both occasions.
The Cambodian media has been threatened from reporting on illegal logging since the June 5 government ban on the United Kingdom-based Global Witness report that accused top civil servants of plundering the country’s forests.—SEAPA
The Indonesian Supreme Court ordered Time Asia’s magazine to pay $106 million in damages last Sept. 10 to former Indonesian dictator Suharto for a 1999 cover story alleging that he and his family amassed $15 billion during his brutal 32-year rule.
The Supreme Court verdict overturned decisions by lower courts in 2000 and 2001 favoring Time Asia. The publication’s Indonesian lawyer, Todung Mulya Lubis, said he would try to get the ruling overturned. Indonesia’s highest court also ordered six Time Asia employees to issue apologies for publication in Indonesian magazines and Time’s international editions.
Time’s management told Reporters Without Borders on Sept. 11 that it could not for the time being make any comment since it had not yet received any legal notification of the ruling. Suharto’s lawyer hailed the “surprise verdict.”
Suharto brought his libel suit against the magazine in 1999, demanding the equivalent of $27 billion in damages (at the 1999 exchange rate) because of an article published after the fall of his regime claiming that he and has family had embezzled some $73 billion during his 32 years in power. The allegations included the claim that part of the embezzled funds had recently been moved from Switzerland to Austria.
The Supreme Court’s judges include a retired general who was in active service under Suharto. The former dictator has never been convicted of embezzlement although the attorney general began an investigation into the disappearance of $1.5 billion.—IFEX
Somali Ali Iman Sharmarke, managing director of HornAfrik Radio, was killed last Aug. 11 when a remote-controlled device blew up his car in the capital of Mogadishu. He was driving from the funeral of Mahad Ahmed Elmi, director of Radio Capital Voice, who had been shot by two gunmen on his way to work earlier that day.
Witnesses said the bomb appeared to target Sharmarke’s vehicle in the middle of a convoy. Two other journalists—Sahal Abdulle of Reuters and a Voice of America reporter—were in Sharmarke’s car and suffered slight injuries, the Associated Press said.
Six journalists have been killed in Somalia so far this year, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). —IFEX |
