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Communiqué Vol 18, No 17 World Press Freedom Day edition

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International / World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day 2009: Focus on media, dialogue and mutual understanding

Today in Sri Lanka, the government claims the 25-year-old war against the Tamil Tigers is finally winding down - an event any journalist would be eager to cover. But the government has refused to allow reporters access to the war zones, or to those areas where thousands have been stranded amid the shelling.

Africa / World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day 2009 events in Africa

For the 15th year in a row, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is unveiling its hefty report, "So this is Democracy", which looks at the state of the media in Southern Africa. MISA recorded 163 alerts in the year 2008, the most serious violations taking place in Tanzania - most notably the acid attack on journalist Saed Kubenea of the "Mwanahalisi". The government later banned the weekly, allegedly for publishing seditious material. A similar distrust of private media has been the basis for media closures in Lesotho and Zimbabwe, says MISA. On 3 May, find out about other noteworthy violations by reading MISA's World Press Freedom Day statement and downloading the report here: http://www.misa.org

Americas / World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day 2009 events in the Americas

On 24 April, radio reporter José Everardo Aguilar, who often talked about corruption on his radio programme, was gunned down in his home in El Bordo, in southwestern Colombia. To mark 3 May this year, the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN has released the "Declaration in Defence of the Freedom to Write in the Americas".

Asia and Pacific / World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day 2009 events in Asia-Pacific

The Federation of Nepali Journalists with UNESCO Kathmandu is gearing up to host its South Asian neighbours to discuss their shared experiences at a regional conference in Kathmandu on 3-4 May. Three themes are on the table: media freedom, including security and impunity, how the media contributes to dialogue, and the role of the media in countries in transition. Participants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are coming to the celebration, which will also honour three prominent Nepali journalists with the "Press Freedom Fighter" award. See: http://www.fnjnepal.org/

Europe and Central Asia / World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day 2009 events in Europe and Central Asia

It looks like a bullet-proof vest, but it's made of newspaper so doesn't offer any protection at all. That's the image in an ad aimed at raising awareness of the dangers journalists face in many countries as they go about uncovering corruption, organised crime, government incompetence, financial wrongdoing and more. The ad, along with a package of other materials like interviews, articles and essays, is being offered by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) on the theme "Journalists in the Firing Line", and is yours for publishing on 3 May. The free materials can be downloaded in five languages - English, French, Spanish, German and Russian, at: http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org

Middle East and North Africa

World Press Freedom Day 2009 events in the Middle East and North Africa

More than 250 media professionals, including a host of IFEX members, converged in Doha, Qatar for UNESCO's official 3 May events. They adopted a declaration emphasising the importance of media in communication across cultural differences: http://tinyurl.com/ch8yj6