Bangladesh is the third most-dangerous South Asian country for journalists when it comes to loss of life on job.
The South Asia Media Monitor Report for 2012 placed Bangladesh in the third position with three journalists dying there during the year.
25 journalists died in the South Asian countries in 2012.
Pakistan topped the list with 13 journalists killed during the year, followed by five in India and two each in Afghanistan and Nepal.
According to the report, a total of 137 journalists were also injured in 69 incidents of attacks in Bangladesh.
The killing of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi in their residence in February was cited in the report.
“…failure to investigate and prosecute threats and acts of violence, including murders of journalists, not only constitutes a violation of the right to life but also of the right to freedom of expression and information,” read the report published on the media watchdog's official website on last day of 2012.
The report also referred to the May 2012 attack at the office of the bdnews24.com office in which at least nine journalists sustained injuries after a group wielding machetes attacked its newsrooms.
The government's proposed 'Guidelines for the Regulation of Online Media, 2012' has been dubbed a 'repressive proposal' by the media watchdog which says it poses “a serious threat to the right to freedom of expression and information online.'
The report was released simultaneously in all the South Asian countries.
“In Bangladesh, political polarization refused to die down showing up .. in media reporting and harsh reprisal by political authorities.”
“The customary acrimony between the country's main political parties, which is likely to build up as the country approaches elections in 2013, has had a severe impact on journalism, fuelling bitter partisanship within the media and putting journalists in danger,” the report said.
The report finds threats on journalism are growing in Pakistan.
“Insurgency-hit Balochistan and the northern parts of Pakistan were the most dangerous areas with the range of threats and trauma growing.”
Journalists in India are threatened from the pressure of commercialisation and conflicts persisting in its different regions, especially in Kashmir, the report said.
“In the northeastern states, hazards for journalists seeking to balance their stories have increased ….. Also, journalists there have almost no professional security.”
The end of ethnic violence could not improve the condition of journalism in Sri Lanka too as the state and security personnel turned out to be the perpetrators this time, the report said.
“Security personnel still hinder media reporting on the process of resettlement and rehabilitation in the country's Northern Province. Violence and intolerance and arbitrary rules of registration against media still persist there. The Press Council of Sri Lanka's revival is seen to represent the government's coercive intent.”
Absence of decent wages has made the situation more difficult for journalists in the South Asian countries. The tendency of media houses to employ journalists on contract has affected professional commitment.
The two smallest countries-Bhutan and the Maldives-are considered to be the best place to work, despite the countries facing difficulties 'of sustaining plural media in a context of modestly developed business infrastructures.'
The report said that physical security of journalists remained a major issue and one of the biggest threats to freedom of expression in most of South Asia.
Source: Bd News24
