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Vienna (pte046/03.05.2005/15:35) - The year 2004 has been named the 'year of mourning' by Reporters sans Frontiers (RSF) http://www.rsf.org following the death of 53 journalists worldwide. The figure is the highest since 1955 when 50 journalists lost their lives during a spate of Islamic radical attacks in Algeria.
"It goes to show how we're in a period of violence that is beyond common measure," said group president of RSF, Robert Menard, "when more people are taking aim at journalists, and wars are more and more dangerous for the press."
Iraq continues to be the most hazardous place for journalists, with 19 dead and an additional 12 assistants losing their lives.
The five most dangerous places for journalists over the last five years have been Iraq, the Philippines, Colombia, Bangladesh and Russia. Of the 22 journalists killed in 2005, nine of them have died in Iraq, where over a dozen have been kidnapped.
On the occasion of World Press Freedom day, Mr Koichiro Matsuura, Director General of Unesco, said: "World Press Freedom Day is an opportunity to remind the world of the importance of protecting the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and freedom of the press as stated in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
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