South Asian govts urged to address violence issue

The South Asia Media Commission has urged governments in the region to address the issue of violence against journalists by bringing the culprits to justice.
SAMC, India, in a statement, said media owners as well as journalists will have to fight this impunity for the guilty as a fight of the people.
South Asia was not a safe place for journalists in 2012 as violence against media personnel with impunity continued to remain a major threat to media freedom, SAMC (India) President K K Katyal said.
India after Pakistan tops the list of countries where the largest numbers of journalists were killed in connection with their work during the year approaching its end.

As many as 10 and eight journalists died in Pakistan and India followed by three in Afghanistan and one in Bangladesh with a total of 22 media personnel losing their lives in the line of their duty.
"The report stresses the urgency for the governments of the region to seriously address the cases of violence and to bring the perpetrators to justice," it said.
A major section of media in South Asia, more so in India than in Pakistan, indulged in conflict-insensitive journalism and, in doing do, put pressure on the government of the two countries to go for war rather than peace.