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The U.S. is silent as the Philippines arrests a leading journalist
LBN thread: Maria Ressa: Head of Philippines news site Rappler arrested
______________________________________________________________________
Source: Washington Post
The U.S. is silent as the Philippines arrests a leading journalist
By Frida Ghitis
Contributing columnist
February 13 at 4:45 PM
You may have seen Maria Ressa in Times Square this past New Year’s Eve, when she was honored for her defense of a free press. Today, she turned up in footage of a very different kind, when journalists from her news site, Rappler, livestreamed videos of her arrest. Plainclothes government security officers entered the newsroom today and served her with an arrest warrant on trumped-up defamation charges from a government determined to silence her.
Ressa — who was my colleague back when we both worked at CNN a few years ago — has become one of the most visible defenders of press freedom anywhere. And though the government of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is going to great lengths to stop her, it’s also inadvertently making sure the entire world keeps a close eye on her fate.
As well we should. Ressa, one of Rappler’s co-founders, is fighting for the right to give citizens access to fact-based journalism unfettered by government intimidation. But you don’t have to be from the Philippines to understand that we all have a stake in the outcome.
Duterte, who has unleashed an extrajudicial war on drugs that has left thousands of people dead, cannot stand the scrutiny of journalists. “Just because you’re a journalist,” he snapped during a news conference, “you’re not exempted from assassination.” Filipino journalists fear the president wants his supporters to start killing journalists.
Normally the United States would be at the forefront of global condemnation of Duterte’s persecution of Ressa and other Filipino journalists. But President Trump is apparently an admirer of Duterte, with whom he claims to have “a great relationship.” He may, in fact, find it pleasing to know that his Philippines counterpart has referred to Rappler as a “fake news outlet," while Duterte’s supporters set up real false news sites that Facebook blocked. In a recent interview in the Oval Office, Trump was asked if he knew the impact his attacks on the media are having on press freedom around the world. He seemed to exult in the use of the label: “’I do notice that people are declaring more and more fake news, where they go, ‘Fake news!’”
-snip-
By Frida Ghitis
Contributing columnist
February 13 at 4:45 PM
You may have seen Maria Ressa in Times Square this past New Year’s Eve, when she was honored for her defense of a free press. Today, she turned up in footage of a very different kind, when journalists from her news site, Rappler, livestreamed videos of her arrest. Plainclothes government security officers entered the newsroom today and served her with an arrest warrant on trumped-up defamation charges from a government determined to silence her.
Ressa — who was my colleague back when we both worked at CNN a few years ago — has become one of the most visible defenders of press freedom anywhere. And though the government of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is going to great lengths to stop her, it’s also inadvertently making sure the entire world keeps a close eye on her fate.
As well we should. Ressa, one of Rappler’s co-founders, is fighting for the right to give citizens access to fact-based journalism unfettered by government intimidation. But you don’t have to be from the Philippines to understand that we all have a stake in the outcome.
Duterte, who has unleashed an extrajudicial war on drugs that has left thousands of people dead, cannot stand the scrutiny of journalists. “Just because you’re a journalist,” he snapped during a news conference, “you’re not exempted from assassination.” Filipino journalists fear the president wants his supporters to start killing journalists.
Normally the United States would be at the forefront of global condemnation of Duterte’s persecution of Ressa and other Filipino journalists. But President Trump is apparently an admirer of Duterte, with whom he claims to have “a great relationship.” He may, in fact, find it pleasing to know that his Philippines counterpart has referred to Rappler as a “fake news outlet," while Duterte’s supporters set up real false news sites that Facebook blocked. In a recent interview in the Oval Office, Trump was asked if he knew the impact his attacks on the media are having on press freedom around the world. He seemed to exult in the use of the label: “’I do notice that people are declaring more and more fake news, where they go, ‘Fake news!’”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/13/us-is-silent-philippines-arrests-leading-journalist/
