Reporters Without Borders calls on Yasser Arafat to act after killing of journalist

Reporters Without Borders expressed its "distress" and "indignation" to the President of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat after the assassination of Khalil Al-Zebin, one of his key advisors and publisher of An-Nashra, in Gaza on 2 March. "Our organisation calls on you to immediately take clear, well-defined and effective steps to shed light on this case and that will bring an end to the impunity with which Palestinian journalists are being attacked. "This is the only way that freedom of the press can be restored to the territories under your control," said Reporters Without Borders. Since September 2003, the international press freedom organisation has voiced growing alarm over a rising toll of attacks, acts of vandalism and threats against journalists and the Palestinian media. "We received no reply to our demands," said the organisation. "Outside of official statements, the security forces have visibly not acted with sufficient firmness and determination, triggering a rapid deterioration in the situation." The organisation concluded by calling on the Palestinian leader "to ensure the safety of journalists, who are victims of a growing political instability, and to do everything in his power to remedy the negligence of the security forces, for which the Palestinian media are unfortunately paying the price." On 4 February 2004, the organisation wrote to interior minister, Hakam Balaawi, following the ransacking of the offices of the weekly Al-Dar in Gaza, calling on him to open investigations so that those responsible could be tracked down and brought to justice. Journalist Khalil Al-Zebin, 59, publisher of the bi-monthly An-Nashra and a key advisor to Yasser Arafat on the media, was assassinated by a group of armed men as he was leaving his office in the centre of Gaza city overnight on 1-2 March 2004. It is not yet known who was responsible for the killing. To read the newspaper An-Nashra go to: www.annashra.net.