N. Korea, Cuba worst for press

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North Korea, Cuba, Burma and China are ranked among the countries with the worst press-freedom records in an index released by a media watchdog group this week.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, which defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, said East Asia and the Middle East have the "worst press-freedom records," while northern Europe is "a haven for journalists."

North Korea, at 167, stands at the bottom of the list for the third year running, preceded by Cuba at 166 and Burma at 165. China is ranked 162, Vietnam 161, and Laos, 153. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is ranked 159, Iran 158 and Syria 155.

The United States, at 22, is ranked below Bosnia-Herzegovina and Trinidad and Tobago because of "violations of source confidentiality, persistent problems in granting press visas and the arrest of several journalists during anti-Bush demonstrations," the group said Tuesday.

Reporters Without Borders said the continuing war has made Iraq "the most deadly place on Earth for journalists," with 44 killed there since fighting began in March 2003.

It also ranked U.S. behavior toward the press in Iraq separately (at 108) from the overall situation in the country (at 148).

It said six journalists and media assistants were killed by U.S. Army gunfire and that the military failed to conduct proper inquiries into the deaths.

The group said the new Iraqi government has not yet established a framework guaranteeing press freedom and "reacted in an authoritarian manner toward the pan-Arab satellite TV news stations whose coverage they view as pro-terrorist."

The American democracy advocacy group Freedom House, which releases its ranking of press freedom around the world in May every year, placed the United States at 15 and Iraq at 142 out of 193 countries studied during 2003.

Senior researcher Karin Deutsch Karlekar at Freedom House, who also helped in the survey for Reporters Without Borders, said this week's index was fairly similar to the Freedom House ranking, especially at the top and bottom of the list. The reason for the difference in the ranking of some countries, including the United States, was that Reporters Without Borders considered attacks and imprisonment of journalists, while Freedom House looked at the legal and economic aspects of journalism.

"The press in the United States has a very strong legal structure," Mrs. Karlekar said.

She expressed surprise, however, at the ranking of India, "which has very vibrant media," at 120, below Afghanistan and Swaziland. Freedom House placed India at 93.

Reporters Without Borders said China, with 27 journalists in jail, and Cuba, with 26 behind bars, are the world's "biggest prisons for journalists."

Countries where the greatest press freedom is enjoyed are located in Europe: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway are all ranked 1, along with Slovakia and Switzerland. Of the top 20 countries, only three are outside Europe: New Zealand (9), Trinidad and Tobago (11) and Canada (18).

The index shows that rich countries do not have a monopoly on press freedom. Jamaica (24), El Salvador (28), Costa Rica (35), Cape Verde (38) and Namibia (42) rank fairly high on the index.

• Desikan Thirunarayanapuram contributed to this article.