ISLAMABAD- Paying tributes to the services of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the threat of terrorism to the freedom of press can be both direct and indirect.

“The cruel fate of Daniel Pearl, to cite just one tragic case, illustrations how dangerous the profession of journalism can be,” Annan said in his message on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

He lauded the journalists who put themselves at serious risks and sometimes pay the highest penalty, by exercising their profession.

“This year, World Press Freedom Day is devoted to the question of terrorism and media freedom. Above all, it is dedicated to those courageous journalists who put themselves at serious risks, and sometimes pay the highest penalty, by exercising their profession,” he maintained.

“Increasingly, such deaths are not the result of war’s accidents but the outcome of a deliberate targeting of journalists by those seeking to prevent media exposure of their criminal corrupt or terrorist activities.”
Source: Business Recorder
Date:5/4/2002