2007年VOA标准英语-Rights Groups Say Pakistani Press Freedom Under

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
27 April 2007

International rights groups are accusing the Pakistan government of muzzling¹ the country's free press. From Islamabad, VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports the government is under fire for a series of alleged² attacks on independent television stations and well-known journalists.

The controversy³ erupted earlier this week, when government regulators threatened a popular television news channel over its coverage⁴ of recent anti-government demonstrations⁵.

Pakistani lawyers take part in an anti-government rally in Lahore, Pakistan, 13 Apr 2007

The demonstrations are part of a national campaign against President Pervez Musharraf's March 9 suspension of the country's Supreme⁶ Court chief justice, Iftakhar Mohammad Chaudry.

On Monday, Pakistan's Electronic Media Regulatory Agency, known as PEMRA, said the station "Aaj TV" might be taken off the air if it failed to respond to concerns over its coverage of the controversial case.

Two days later, a second station, Royal TV, reported similar threats, and stopped broadcasting entirely⁷ for several hours.

Speaking by phone from London, Human Rights Watch's Brad Adams accused the government of waging a systematic⁸ campaign against press freedom in Pakistan.

He says that since taking power in a military coup⁹ in 1999, President Musharraf's government has been tied to the arbitrary arrest or disappearance¹⁰ of five Pakistani journalists.

 

"There have been many violent attacks on journalists, and to our knowledge, none of them has been properly investigated, and now you have threats against other TV stations and journalists are back to receiving phone calls in the middle of the night," he said.

He says Pakistan's English-language media, which are closely monitored by international rights groups and foreign governments, are still relatively¹¹ free and robust¹².

"But when you take a closer look at the Urdu-language media, you realize that it is very heavily censored¹³ and controlled," he said.

Human Rights Watch is not the only one protesting the government's record. On Wednesday, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists accused Islamabad of launching an assault on any news organization covering the dispute over the chief justice's dismissal.

The CPJ pointed¹⁴ to the government's efforts to cancel a popular political affairs show on GEO TV after its host criticized Mr. Musharraf's handling of the dispute.

Several days later, police stormed the station's Islamabad offices as it aired live shots of a violent anti-government protest occurring outside.

Pervez Musharraf (file photo)

President Musharraf delivered a rare public apology to the station several hours later.

Government authorities have downplayed the most recent criticism.

Officials insist President Musharraf has an unparalleled record of supporting media rights in Pakistan, including the introduction of the private television news channels.

1 muzzling   

给（狗等）戴口套( muzzle的现在分词 )； 使缄默，钳制…言论

参考例句：

• They accused the government of muzzling the press. 他们指责政府压制新闻自由。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

9 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

10 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

13 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。

14 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。