Jabhad Posted December 13, 2005 8 December 2005 The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has won a prestigious international press freedom award, the first ever international prize for a journalists’ organization in the history of Somalia’s defense of press freedom. The Reporters Without Borders - Fondation de France International Press Freedom Defender Award is an exemplary recognition of the union’s tenacious fight to defend the international principle of press freedom in a country ravaged by internal warfare, which has gone almost 15 years without effective government or law enforcement bodies. Omar Faruk, NUSOJ Secretary General (Left) and Robert Menard, RSF Secretary General (Right) Press freedom is highly imperilled in Somalia by armed thugs and repressive regional authorities who are seeking to gain control of the country’s various territories. Murderous warlords, who are battling to rule the country, increasingly use confrontations with rival warlords as justification for infringing the freedom and rights of journalists. Accepting the award at a ceremony in Paris last night, NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman said “I would like to thank Reporters Without Borders and Fondation de France for honouring the National Union of Somali Journalists with this celebrated international Press Freedom Defender Award. I hope it will have a momentous impact on the current state of freedom of the press and expression in our war-wracked countryâ€. Omar Faruk Osman said in his acceptance speech that NUSOJ had in 2005 alone monitored, investigated and reported on more than 15 cases of murdered reporters, detained journalists, suspended media institutions, censored media houses and constant intimidation against media professionals. “Journalists are abused because of what they write, say or what they bring into the open – information that someone else wants to stay hiddenâ€, he added. http://www.nusoj.org/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
