SURVEY CONDUCTED AMONG JOURNALISTS ON CENSORSHIP

Ulaanbaatar, /MONTSAME/ Nearly 20% of respondents received threat messages to kill, beat and attack their family members according to a nationwide survey among journalists on censorship.
Globe International, a Mongolian NGO has recently organized a seminar “Defamation and Censorship” at Puma Imperial Hotel. In total, 32 participants representing media, journalists, lawyers and NGOs attended the seminar.
At the event, the organizers presented two reports on the nation-wide surveys--Survey among 215 journalists, and Study on defamation cases heard by the Mongolian courts in 2008. Audio handbook for journalists “If You Face Legal Problems” produced by Globe International was also presented at the workshop. Seminar participants discussed issues of editorial and economic censorship and self-censorship. They raised journalism ethical issues and media self-regulation as well. The survey results show that editorial and self-censorship are very high among journalists. Participants stressed that protection of journalists' professional rights is of high importance.
G.Erdenebat, legal adviser to Mongolia's President, answered questions of journalists concerning a new draft law on Media Freedom which is supposed to provide more freedom to media and increase its responsibility. Journalists expressed their concerns that their rights would be restricted by intention making media more responsible. They agreed media self-regulation is important in to safeguarding independence, but it should not be legally compulsory.
The event was a part of the project “Defamation and Censorship” aimed to contribute to the dispensation of justice and democratization in Mongolia by protecting the rights of journalists to practice their profession, being implemented with financial support of the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar. The project objectives were to conduct analysis on the court cases of defamation against media and journalists, educate the journalists on avoiding the legal violations and defending them from the legal problems and reinforce discussions on how defamatory legislation and use of the defamation laws affect the journalists' rights'
The survey involved 215 journalists from Ulaanbaatar and provinces working in the news and covering politics, social and economic issues. Some 68 % of respondents are female, 32.5% are male journalists. It says that female journalists dominate in the critical and investigative journalism. Nearly 69 % of journalists work in Ulaanbaatar, the rest--in the provincial media. According to the survey, 60.4% of the total respondents or 130 journalists faced attacks and are affected by the defamation cases. The surveys, including Survey among 215 journalists and a Study on defamation cases heard by the Mongolian courts in 2008, were carried out by Globe International NGO in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar.
The survey disclosed that one of six journalists faced complains of people that media critical materials defamed their honor. Most of complaints threatened, attacked and pressured the journalists. Majority of the complaints frightened journalists by civil and criminal defamatory legislation. Nearly 20% of respondents received threat messages to kill, beat and attack their family members. The respondents reported on five cases of assaults. It evidences that the works of journalists are going to be harsh in Mongolia. 81% of complaints are authorities and people in power, so they use the civil and criminal defamation laws as censorship tool. One of three journalists were demanded to repeal their information sources and one of two journalists called by the police and intelligence service as witnesses. The survey results evidence that editorial censorship is very high in the Mongolian media. The survey results also show that journalists are prohibited to criticize the private companies which supply advertising, so it evidences economic censorship is high in Mongolian media. The survey results show that journalists are highly self-censored. They fear from attacks, insults, imprisoned and fired from their jobs. The survey results show that the public's right to access uncensored true information is violated. The critical and investigative journalism in Mongolia faces many difficulties and problems.
The survey research team recommends carrying out the following activities in elimination of censorship in Mongolia. It includes to repeal the criminal defamatory legislation, to provide the legal guarantee of the editorial independence, to enact the laws protecting the journalistic confidential sources and banning to call the journalists as witnesses, to strengthen the collaboration of media, journalists and NGOs to monitor the implementation of the Media Freedom Law that bans the censorship, to strengthen the works to protect the professional rights of journalists, to gain the public support by monitoring and disseminating information on the violations of professional rights of journalists.
Concerning civil defamation cases in the court, 64.1% of the total cases initiated against media which is decrease by 8 compare to 2007, but criminal defamation cases reached five in 2008 while in 2007 were no such ones.
The number of defamation cases initiated by public figures has increased in 2008. It evidences that in Mongolia, politicians, authorities and public officials use the criminal and civil defamation legislation to censor critics or resolve disputes. Awards to media and journalists are high that serious treat to sustainability of financially poor media outlets
S.Batbayar
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