As the world marks Press Freedom Day

With the recent incident at a competition venue in the United States organised with an intention to produce the most provocative depictions of the Holy Prophet Mohammed, there’s an ongoing debate whether freedom of speech and expression has not crossed a threshold into the hate-speech territory. Is journalism, at least as practised in the West […]

With the recent incident at a competition venue in the United States organised with an intention to produce the most provocative depictions of the Holy Prophet Mohammed, there’s an ongoing debate whether freedom of speech and expression has not crossed a threshold into the hate-speech territory. Is journalism, at least as practised in the West now an avenue to abuse important religious personalities and symbols? On this year’s World Press Freedom Day, journalists all over the world come together for their annual meeting. But to my surprise, as well as many were, the gathering neglected the issue of the prophet cartoons and other depiction. Is it because of the money and controversy that can be made of the issue, to the consternation of the world’s Muslim population?
I came across a journalist making this statement: Newspapers and publishers and the World Editors Forum appeal for improved physical protections for journalists, forgetting to ask the simple question: Why are journalists endangered? World Press Freedom Day marks yet another tragic year for the profession and reveals growing threats to freedoms from new challenges worldwide. Nineteen journalists have been killed so far in 2015 in direct relation to their work; including eight in connection to the 7th January attack on the newsroom of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Those numbers follow at least 61 journalist deaths in 2014.
“WAN-IFRA uses the occasion of 3 May, World Press Freedom Day to repeat the call that ‘enough is enough’ when it comes to the killing of journalists and demands that more is done to better protect the profession,” said
WAN-IFRA Secretary General, Larry Kilman. But Mr Kilman must be so biased, particular against Islam in the world to omit and condemn the offensive profiling that mainstream media revel in.
“The Charlie Hebdo attack was a wake-up call to many that critical views even in democratic societies are under severe threat – already a fact, sadly, on a daily basis in many other parts of the world,” said Kilman, but yet a lesson was not learned from the past.
Recently it was Texas; who knows where will be next?  Because, surely as long as these provocative and insensitive action continue, so would there be people angry enough to seek redress, one way or another.

Abdulwahab Bawa, Abuja<[email protected] <http://webmail.dailytrust.com/cpsess892629872/3rdparty/squirrelmail/src/compose.php?send_to=wahabb2003%40gmail.com>>