Index on Censorship weekly round-up
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Friday, 27 October 2023
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Juan Jumalon, who was murdered live on air in the Philippines this week. Photo: 94.7 Gold FM
It is a very challenging time for journalists, especially for those operating in Gaza. According to CPJ data ([link removed]'s,and%201%2C400%20deaths%20in%20Israel.) going back to 1992 no other war has seen the death of so many journalists in such a short period of time. Of the many outcries against these deaths, one of the most moving images ([link removed]) I've seen came from journalists in the West Bank, who carried mock coffins during a procession towards a United Nations building. But it’s not Gaza where I wish to linger. Instead it's the Philippines.
Last Sunday a journalist in the country was murdered live on air. On 5 November two men entered the home of radio journalist Juan Jumalon, 57, while he was broadcasting ([link removed]) his Sunday morning show on 94.7 Gold FM. News reports ([link removed]) said one of the men forced his way into Jumalon's studio and fatally shot the journalist. It was all live-streamed on Facebook. The platform removed the video only after a series of screenshots had been taken.
Jumalon's widow believes the motive of her husband's killing was likely a personal grudge (the broadcaster focused only on entertainment on his radio programme). Still, in a nation that ranks as one of the world's most deadly for journalists, the very public nature of the murder will do nothing to reassure media there that they are safe at work.
And why should they feel safe? The murder of Jumalon was the fourth killing of a journalist since President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr took office in June 2022. Of course this is nothing on figures from the Duterte administration. Under the foul-mouthed former president, barely a month went by when we didn’t report on the grave situation in the country. Duterte was rabid in his hatred of the media ([link removed]) , wolf-whistling at female reporters, declaring journalists fair game for assassination and referring to journalists, whether alive or murdered, as "sons of a bitch". His administration was defined by scores of journalist murders, largely carried out with impunity (read about Rex Cornelio here ([link removed]) , for example).
When his successor came to power, Marcos Jr didn't exactly fill us with confidence, being the son of a former dictator, and having Duterte's daughter Sara as his vice president. Aware of his tainted name, after his election win he told the public: “Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions.”
So on that - his rhetoric towards the media has been less overtly hostile than Duterte. The Philippines’ position in the World Press Freedom Index has improved (it's now ranked 132 out of 180 countries ([link removed]) compared with 147th last year). And he was quick to condemn the killing of Jumalon and to order the police to conduct a full investigation. Tick, tick, tick.
But the human rights crisis left by Duterte has yet to be fully addressed. Journalists are still being murdered. Authorities still often resort to “red-tagging” – a historic practice of branding journalists who do not toe the government line as “subversive elements” or “reds”, which exposes them as targets for arbitrary arrest or execution.
Legal threats still remain. In September of this year Nobel laureate and former Index Awards judge Maria Ressa and her news outlet Rappler were acquitted on the final criminal tax charge leveled against them by Duterte - a win - except the government has yet to abandon the remaining cases against them.
Throughout all of this the Philippines has maintained a vibrant media landscape. Index isn't in the market of patting people on the back though. We're in the market of highlighting times when standards fall short. So yes the country has come some way since the dark days of Duterte, but it still has much further to go.
Rest in peace Juan Jumalon. We hope your murder is the last.
Jemimah Steinfeld, editor-in-chief
** Silent Palestinians in Gaza and Israel
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Voices of dissent in Gaza have been getting louder since 2007, especially after Hamas’ various disastrous military engagements with Israel. But since 7 October, and given the scale of the ongoing catastrophe that has resulted from that day, many people in Gaza have completely lost patience. But Hamas has never tolerated critical views of its leadership and polices. In Israel itself, Palestinians are also choosing to remain silent, with many believing that their every word and action is being monitored. Samir El-Youssef writes ([link removed]) that it’s not just anti-war voices that are being gagged in a conflict that threatens to spiral out of control
** Tanzania and the Magufuli hangover
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When Tanzania’s President John Magufuli died in 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, many hoped for an end to his six years of autocratic rule which saw the country’s civic space all but disappear. After Samia Hassan succeeded him, she assured the country that his authoritarian practices had died with him. Yet a crackdown on opposition to a lucrative new deal to run Dar es Salaam’s port in perpetuity and restrictions on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) suggests otherwise, writes Emily Boyle ([link removed]) .
** Curtailing creativity today will lead to greater censorship tomorrow
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86-year-old Al Enriquez in his home of the “Golden Gays” in Manila, a housing project for the older LGBTQI community.
Photo: Hannah Reyes Morales (The New York Times)
Hungary's banning of photos that promote LGBTQI+ lifestyles and the sacking of the head of the country's National Museum are chilling reminders that Europe is not immune from criticism. Our CEO Ruth Anderson says ([link removed]) all who value our freedoms have a duty to promote and protect creativity and ensure that everyone can tell their stories – however challenging they may be – in whatever medium they choose.
** From the Index archives
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** Germany’s surveillance fears
by Cathrin Schaer
Autumn 2019
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Germany has been at the forefront of both national and European-wide attempts to regulate data-harvesting digital giants such as Facebook and Google, writes Cathrin Schaer ([link removed]) in an article reflecting on some of the ramifications of life under the Stasi and the fall of the Berlin Wall decades later.
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