Press Freedom Index 2010
Reporters Sans Frontieres has recently released its list of the safest and most dangerous countries for journalists.
Out of 178 countries, the most dangerous for journalists are:
- Rwanda
- Yemen
- China
- Sudan
- Syria
- Burma
- Iran
- Turkmenistan
- North Korea
- Eritrea
While the top ten safest countries for journalists are:
- Finland
- Iceland
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Austria
- New Zealand
- Estonia
- Ireland
Immediately after the Emerald Isle is Denmark, followed by Japan and Lithuania. Germany is 17th on the list, while the United Kingdom is at 19th, followed by the United States and Canada. Spain is at the 39th, while France is at the 44th. Russia is at the 140th spot.
Iraq is at the 130th, while Afghanistan is at the 147th.
Closer to home, Hong Kong is at 34th, while Taiwan is at the 48th. Indonesia is at 117, while Cambodia is at 128th. Singapore is at the 137th, while Malaysia is at the 141st.
According to the report, “the Philippines, Ukraine, Greece and Kyrgyzstan all fell sharply in this year’s index. In the Philippines this was due to the massacre of around 30 journalists by a local baron, in Ukraine to the slow and steady deterioration in press freedom since Viktor Yanukovych’s election as president in February, in Greece to political unrest and physical attacks on several journalists, and in Kyrgyzstan to the ethnic hatred campaign that accompanied the political turmoil.”
The Philippines is at the 156th spot. And yet the public and several media practitioners delude themselves into thinking that the press in the country exercise too much freedom. Think again!
I have said this before and I will say it again, there is no genuine democracy where there is no free press.
