Media Watch
By Nava Thakuria*
35 journalists killed worldwide in 2021, India lost 2 scribes to violence;
Guwahati: In the first six months of 2021, at least 35 journalists were killed in 21 countries around the world, where India lost 2 scribes to violence within this period. On the other hand, more than 1586 journalists died from Covid-19 in 78 countries since March 2020, where India tops the list with 259 corona-victims among media persons.
As Covid-19 pandemic continues to claim many journalists across the globe, the number of victims slowed during the month of June (especially in India) with around 60 scribes dead, compared to more than 200 in May around the world. Latin America witnessed the highest casualties, with more than half of the victims. During June, the highest number of journalists died of Covid-19 was recorded in Brazil (one every 2 days).
India, meanwhile, slightly improved the record of journalists’ casualties because of intentional killings in the last six month. It although lost Ashu Yadav (a Kanpur based scribe) and Sulabh Srivastava (a Lucknow based television journalist) to assailants.
It may be recalled that India had lost highest number of journalists (15) followed by Mexico (12), Pakistan (8), Afghanistan (7), Bangladesh (1), Indonesia (1) etc last year in intentional killings.
Afghanistan emerges as the most dangerous country with five journalists killed since 1 January 2021, stated the Switzerland based
media rights and safety body Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) adding that casualty figures remain stable compared to the previous year when 2020 also witnessed the murder of 35 media workers during the same period.
The troubled South Asian country is followed by Mexico and Pakistan with three casualties followed by India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Azerbaijan and Ethiopia with two victims of targeted violence.
One casualty has been reported from United States of America, Colombia, Greece, Turkey, Yemen, Haiti, Lebanon, Nigeria, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador and Gaza.
“The PEC strongly condemns these killings and urges the local authorities to shed light on the causes of these crimes in order to arrest and prosecute those responsible,” said Blaise Lempen, general secretary of PEC. For the remainder of the year, the PEC team is particularly concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, particularly the women journalists working there, due to the withdrawal of NATO troops, he added.
*Senior journalist and PEC’s India representative
