India ‘worst offender’ in media freedom in Asia-Pacific

Rank on Transparency International’s corruption index falls to 81 in 2017

India — along with Philippines and Maldives — has been found to be among the “worst offenders” on press freedom in the Asia-Pacific, according to Berlin-based Transparency International’s (TI’s) Corruption Perceptions Index.

“These countries score high on corruption and have fewer press freedoms, and a higher number of journalist deaths,” said the report. It provided a link to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which gives a list of scribes killed in various countries since 1992.

The new name on the list from India is Gauri Lankesh, shot dead at her Bengaluru home in 2017 (see chart).

In the Corruption Perception Index, India’s rank fell from 79 in 2016 to 81 in 2017. Its score was 40, the same as last year; in 2015, it scored 38.

According to TI, crackdowns on non-government organisations (NGOs) and the media are correlated to a higher level of corruption. Despite attempts to combat it, most nations seem to be moving too slowly. Fighting corruption takes time, but in the past six years, many have made little progress, said the report.

In countries performing badly on the corruption index — with a score of 45 or more — a journalist is killed almost every week, said the report, adding almost all journalists killed since 2012 were in such nations.

“No activist or reporter should have to fear for their lives when speaking out against corruption,” said Patricia Moreira, managing director, TI. “Given current crackdowns on both the civil society and the media worldwide, we need to do more to protect those who speak up.”

She added: “One in five journalists died covering a story about corruption. Sadly, in most cases, justice was never served.”