US is 36th in World for Freedom of Press

Where is your country?

According to the article, published at Reporters Without Borders (RWB), “Only peace protects freedoms in post-9/11 world“

Amongst the best countries, as you would imagine, were stable European countries like Iceland (1), Luxembourg (2), and Norway (3). (note that Iceland’s financial crisis hasn’t seemed to shake their press freedoms – perhaps it will in the future though).

Update – actually Iceland, Luxembourg and Norway are tied for 1st (thanks Tom, for the heads up).

And, at the bottom of the list are some of our communist dictatorship friends Cuba (169) and China (167).

Of very interesting note to us Buddhists who just adore “those Buddhist countries” in Asia is Sri Lanka, jewel of the Dhamma, ranked 165. For those who don’t know, this country has been embroiled in a fierce civil war between the majority Sinhala (an ethnic group that is almost entirely Buddhist) and the minority Tamils (another ethnic group that is almost entirely Hindu) for more than a decade. Describing the effects of warfare on press freedom, RWB states:

Countries that have become embroiled in very violent conflicts after failing to resolve serious political problems, such as Iraq (158th), Pakistan (152nd), Afghanistan (156th) and Somalia (153rd), continue to be highly dangerous “black zones” for the press, places where journalists are targets for murder, kidnapping, arbitrary arrest or death threats every day. They may come under fire from the parties at war. They may be accused of taking sides. Any excuse will do to get rid of “trouble-makers” and “spies.” Such is the case in the Palestinian Territories (163rd), especially the Gaza Strip, where the situation got much worse after Hamas seized power. At the same time, in Sri Lanka (165th), where there is an elected government, the press has to face violence that is only too often organised by the state.

Another “Buddhist” country, Burma, falls to a worse fate: that of military dictatorship:

In Burma (170th), run by a xenophobic and inflexible junta, journalists and intellectuals, even foreign ones, have for years been viewed as enemies by the regime, and they pay the price.

So, paradoxically to many of us, having a largely Buddhist population is no guarantee for basic civil liberties such as freedom of press.