Press Freedom

The countries of northern Europe are always the ones who behave best. The exception is Netherlands (12th), which has fallen 12 places because it kept two Telegraaf journalists in custody for two days for refusing to reveal their sources to the judicial authorities.

The 2007 Reporters sans frontières – Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index is out. In 2006 the Netherlands, as it did in 2005, shared first place with several other (mostly scandinavian) Northern European countries. And we now dropped 12 places. Sjeesj, if we’re not careful we’ll end up in the 40’s range, with the US, who is doing better than last year, yet nowhere near back to its starting place in 2002 (17th place). 44th in 2005, because of the imprisonment of New York Times reporter Judith Miller and legal moves undermining the privacy of journalistic sources 53rd in 2006, because relations between the media and the Bush administration sharply deteriorated after the president used the pretext of “national security” to regard as suspicious any journalist who questioned his “war on terrorism.” The zeal of federal courts which, unlike those in 33 US states, refuse to recognise the media’s right not to reveal its sources, even threatens journalists whose investigations have no connection at all with terrorism. Furthermore, freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf was imprisoned when he refused to hand over his video archives. Sudanese cameraman Sami al-Haj, who works for the pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, has been held without trial since June 2002 at the US military base at Guantanamo, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was held by US authorities in Iraq. 48 in 2007, because there were slightly fewer press freedom violations in the United States and blogger Josh Wolf was freed after 224 days in prison. But the detention of Al-Jazeera’s Sudanese cameraman, Sami Al-Haj, since 13 June 2002 at the military base of Guantanamo and the murder of Chauncey Bailey in Oakland in August mean the United States is still unable to join the lead group. No matter how others do, that is no excuse for the Netherlands. This is not a competition, not really. The Netherlands needs to do better. That two journalists were kept in custody for not revealing their sources threatens Freethinking and hence crosses Children’s Fire. We cannot have that crossed. Not even by a mouse tiptoeing on soft slippers. Not even a flee skilled in magic creating the illusion it isn’t happening, may cross this Fire. I am deadly serious. This is a path we do not wish to take. We were warned only recently, a little over half a century ago. The impact of not staying alert on this one, and letting it slip, was undescribably huge.