AMARC Condemns Attack On Journalists

AMARC, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters has expressed concern about the increasing attacks on journalists and media workers across the Asia Pacific region. The Asia Pacific regional board of AMARC, which met last week in Colombo strongly condemned the attack on the offices of the Tamil newspaper Uthayan on May 2, 2006 that resulted in the death of two journalists and left two others injured on the eve of World Press Freedom Day.

AMARC Asia Pacific has also expressed concern about the repression of media by the Philippine government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. When she declared her Presidential Proclamation 1017 placing the Philippines under a state of emergency on February 24, 2006, radio programs were cancelled and media outfits were raided and persecuted.

One of the first "media casualties" was the award-winning radio program "Ngayon Na, Bayan!" produced by AMARC member Kodao Productions, Inc. The government's National Telecommunications Commission threatened radio stations nationwide against airing news about the ongoing rallies; the Philippine National Police declared that it will take over media outfits found to have done so; and the Department of Justice charged many media organizations as seditious or rebellious. Despite the lifting of Proclamation 1017 and its recent declaration as unconstitutional by the Philippine Supreme Court, the cancelled radio programs are still off the air and media organisations are still fighting criminal charges in the courts.

As a follow up to World Freedom Day, AMARC Asia Pacific organized a roundtable on "Community Radio's Social Impact: Removing Barriers & Increasing Effectiveness" in Colombo on May 5, 2006. More than 30 representatives from community based organizations, multi lateral and donor agencies and government agencies participated in the deliberations. The discussions focused on a review of the state of community radio in the region, impact assessment, and AMARC's effectiveness in relation to its mission and goals.

Emphasizing that supremacy of people's voice is a critical component in the process of poverty eradication, participants of the Round Table noted that legislation, threats to journalists and geographical isolation posed serious challenges to the community radio movement.

Participants also articulated that evaluation and measurement were issues that pertained both to the community and the donor/development agencies.

The Colombo Roundtable was part of a worldwide ongoing evaluation of the Community Radio Movement being implemented by AMARC in all its regions that will culminate in the AMARC9 World Conference to be held in Amman, Jordan , from 11 to 17 November, 2006.

AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement in over 110 countries, and advocating for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighborhood levels.

AMARC has an International Secretariat in Montreal. It has regional sections in Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific and offices in Johannesburg, Buenos Aires and Kathmandu.

For more information, please go to www.asiapacific.amarc.org

For further information, please contact:

Suman Basnet
Regional Coordinator
AMARC Asia Pacific
Kathmandu, Nepal