UNESCO CHIEF VOICES ALARM AT ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS IN NORTH-WEST PAKISTAN

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today condemned the recent killing of a television journalist in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), and urged authorities to ensure the safety of media professionals in the South Asian nation.

Sadiq Bacha Khan, a correspondent of Aaj TV and former President of the Press Club of Mardan, was shot dead on his way to work on 14 August.

"This crime is a blow to freedom of expression and freedom of the press," said Koïchiro Matsuura, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

"I urge the authorities to do everything in their power to put a stop to the killing of journalists, which has become particularly alarming in North West Frontier Province," he added.

Mr. Matsuura also paid tribute to Mr. Khan's "courage and commitment" both to his profession and to helping the inhabitants of NWFP, which has been the scene of a major displacement crisis prompted by the Government's military offensive against militants in the region.

According to the International Press Institute, 11 journalists have been killed in Pakistan over the last two years, six of them in NWFP.
________________

UNESCO CHIEF URGES CULPRITS IN MURDER OF FILIPINO JOURNALIST BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom has condemned the latest murder of a journalist in the Philippines and called for the perpetrators of the crime to be brought to justice.

Radio journalist Godofredo Linao was shot on 27 July by two unidentified men near the offices of Radyo Natin, where he worked as a commentator, in Surigao del Sol province on southern Mindanao Island.

"Journalists in the Philippines have been made to pay an intolerably heavy price to exercise the basic human right of freedom of expression and to inform all Philippines citizens of events affecting their society," Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said in a news release.

"I trust that the authorities will spare no effort in bringing to justice the culprits of these crimes, which undermine the rights and freedoms of all the citizens of the Philippines," he added.

The manager of Radyo Natin reportedly said that Mr. Linao may have been targeted for his political broadcasts. He was involved in local politics and was due to run as a candidate in the 2010 elections.

The attack follows a similar incident in early June in which Crispin Perez, a journalist who hosted a morning programme on Radio DWDO in the central Philippine province of Western Mindoro, died near his home in San Jose after being stabbed by an unknown attacker.
________________