WHETHER it actually happened or not is probably up for debate but there is a very old story about a messenger arriving in Rome with information that greatly displeased the emperor. The emperor's response, the story goes, was to kill the messenger. This story is often referred to in various versions by the press around the world when it finds itself chastised or, worse, seriously punished by governments unhappy with the information the press has made public. Hate the message, not the messenger, is usually the moral behind it. In Sri Lanka, the island's government is facing allegations that it was behind the execution-style murder of Lasantah Wickrematunga, editor of Sunday Leader, a newspaper which has been virulently anti-establishment and regularly savaged the government for waging a costly and bloody war against the Tamil Tigers Although Israel has yet to target expressly journalists in its siege of Gaza, it has barred journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, allowing it to carry out whatever form of warfare it sees fit, no matter how cruel and inhuman it may be. Also, a female reporter from a local radio station in a troubled region of southeast Nepal was stabbed to death by a group of unidentified assailants. The stabbing took place amid a backdrop of growing intimidation of and attacks on the press in that area. There are two reasons to interfere with the work of the press. One, which is justified, occurs when the press is engaged in printing or broadcasting outright lies, whether those lies pertain to individuals, corporations or governments. The other is when the truth would have a devastating effect on the powers that be and that is completely unjustified. When it is detrimental for the truth to be told, then those in charge should be more concerned about that truth and how it came to be rather than those who are intent on telling it. The murders of journalists should be counted as double murder. First is the journalist; second is the truth. __
