UNITE OUR PENS AND ADVANCE THE STRUGGLE FOR GENUINE PRESS FREEDOM
Stop the Attacks against Al Jazeera! Stand for the People’s Media!
Independent media faced another serious attack as the Israeli government raided the offices of Al Jazeera in occupied Jerusalem and ordered its closure on May 6.
Al Jazeera has been reporting at the frontlines since Israel’s war on Gaza intensified in October 2023, documenting a clear and blow-by-blow exposition of the genocidal attacks amid media blackouts and news blockades. Shireen Abu Akleh, one of its seasoned reporters, was fatally shot by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) May 12 last year as she covered tensions in the Jenin refugee camp.
In upholding the truth, 97 journalists have been killed, as of May 8, 2024, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The Israeli Communications Ministry tagged its reportage as “inciting harm against the state of Israel…or of the IDF” and banned its further operation in the country. It also confiscated the newsroom’s equipment and other assets.
The College Editors Guild of the Philippines strongly condemns this brazen silencing of independent journalists reporting war atrocities and liberation movements. This sets a dangerous precedent for other independent community journalists and media groups critical of repressive state policies and human rights violations.
In the Philippines, journalists face similar attacks with state agents as primary perpetrators. From 1997 to 2023, 148 Filipino journalists were killed, making the Philippines among the most dangerous countries for the press. In 2022, the National Security Council (NSC), through the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), ordered the blockage of 27 alternative media and development organizations’ websites.
Fifteen cases of surveillance, harassment, and threats against campus journalists, perpetrated by state security forces, were also recorded by the Guild from April 2023 to February 2024. Previously, 1,000 cases of censorship, administrative intervention, and financial restraint were recorded across higher education institutions in the Philippines from 2010 to 2021.
This only proves that attacks and oppression of the free press know no borders. As imperialist countries and their pawns cling to global hegemony and control, they will sweep whatever they deem a hindrance to their political agenda.
Henceforth, the Guild stands in solidarity with Al Jazeera, its leadership, and personnel, for their courage amid relentless state-led attacks. No media institution must be subjected to censorship and restraint in the delivery of its crucial service to the people.
We enjoin all Filipino student journalists to join the growing calls for accountability against the Israeli state and its cohorts. This threat endangers the future of the media we envision — critical, empowering, and pro-people. Now more than ever, we must strengthen our fundamental alliance with the media community, press freedom advocates, and anti-imperialist groups as we fight against the oppression of the marginalized and their allies worldwide.
The fight for press freedom transcends borders and generations, and it is our prime duty to uphold and struggle for it.
Stop the Attacks against Al Jazeera! Stand for the People’s Media!
#StopTheKillings #FreePalestine #DefendPressFreedom
REFERENCES
AJ+. (2024, May 8). Israel shuts down and raids Al Jazeera offices: Israel raided Al Jazeera’s offices after banning it from broadcasting and operating in the country. Israel’s actions have been condemned by multiple…: By aj+facebook. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=980021360250061&ref=sharing
Committee to Protect Journalists. (2024, May 12). Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war. https://cpj.org/2024/05/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/
Committee to Protect Journalists. (2024a, February 28). Israel-Gaza war brings 2023 journalist killings to devastating high — Committee to Protect Journalists. https://cpj.org/reports/2024/02/israel-gaza-war-brings-2023-journalist-killings-to-devastating-high
Al Jazeera. “Video: Al Jazeera Vows to Continue Coverage of Gaza War despite Israeli Ban | Al Jazeera Condemned Israel’s Decision to Shut down Its Network and Raid Its Offices, Stating That the Channel ‘Affirms Its Right to Continue to Provide… | by al Jazeera EnglishFacebook.” Www.facebook.com, Al Jazeera English, 6 May 2024, www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1116291062823609&ref=sharing. Accessed 13 May 2024.
SIGNATORIES
I. Chapters and Systemwide Alliances
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — National Capital Region
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — Negros
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — Davao
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — Bicol
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — Camarines Sur
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — Albay
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — Southern Tagalog
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — Ilocos
College Editors Guild of the Philippines — Cagayan Valley
Plaridel Guild — Bulacan State University
University of the Philippines Systemwide Alliance of Student Publications and Writer’s Organizations (UP SOLIDARIDAD)
Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag ng PUP (AKM PUP)
II. Publications and Media Organizations
UPMin Himati
Philippine Collegian
The Manila Collegian
Vox Nova PUP Quezon City
Ang Sihay Caloocan City Science HS
The Torch Publications PNU
Fiat Lux NTC
The Philippine Artisan TUP
ThePILLARS Publication ADNU
The Cursor UPOU
The Journal JRU
Union of Journalists of the Philippines — UP
The Warden Publication PLMun
The Adamson Chronicle
Pacesetter BulSU
Sublime Torch Publication Mabini Colleges
AsinBolo Pangasinan
Atenews ADDU
Kolektibo UP CSWCD
Tinig ng Plaridel UP CMC
Malinta SHS Journalism Club
The Communicator PUP COC
Baliktanaw PUP
Sinag UPD CSSP
The Catalyst PUP
UP Vista
UP Journalism Club
The Flare — Cvsu Imus
UPLB Perspective
The Spark
Tanglaw
UP Baguio Outcrop
UP Cebu Tug-ani
UP Cebu Lanog
III. Individuals
1. Julian Harish Bhojwani (Editor-in-Chief of The LANCE, Official Student Publication of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Manila)
2. Shane Mapesos (Secretary-General of Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag ng PUP Systemwide)
3. Champ Lui Ricablanca (Vice President of Malinta SHS Journalism Club)
4. John Lugh Mago
5. AJ Divinagracia
