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Guyana has moved from ‘partly free’ in its press freedom status to ‘free’, the latest report of the world press freedom watchdog body, Freedom House has said.

In its report, Freedom of the Press 2009: A Global Survey of Media Indepen-dence, Freedom House stated: “Several positive signs were noted in the Americas. Guyana regained its free status due to a decrease in attacks on journalists and the government’s decision to lift its boycott on advertising in the main independent newspaper.”

The report said that of the 195 countries and territories assessed in the latest survey, which covers calendar year 2008, 70 (36 percent) were rated ‘free’, 61 (31 percent) were rated ‘partly free’, and 64 (33 percent) were rated ‘not free’. This represented a modest decline from the last survey, which covered the year 2007: 72 ‘free’, 59 ‘partly free’, and 64 ‘not free’ countries and territories. The findings for the year 2008 also represent a negative shift from the survey results of seven years ago, which represented the last recent high point of press freedom.

Steady declines have taken place in countries such as Mexico, Argentina, and Peru in the Americas; Thailand, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka in Asia; and Senegal in sub-Saharan Africa, the report said. Mexico’s decline of almost 20 points over the past five years is particularly startling, as it has not been accompanied by a radical political change (as in Thailand, where the military took power in a coup) or a worsening civil war (as in Sri Lanka). Instead, rising violence fuelled by drug traffickers has led to a dramatic increase in attacks on media workers who try to cover corruption or gang activities, as well as self-censorship and impunity. Although some positive legal reforms have been enacted, Mexico’s broadcast media continue to be dominated by two large companies.

Meanwhile, in the Americas, 17 countries (48 percent) were rated ‘free’, 16 (46 percent) were rated ‘partly free’, and 2 (6 percent) were rated ‘not free’ in 2008. “These figures are significantly influenced by the open media environments of the Caribbean, which tend to offset the less rosy picture in Central and South America,” there report said. “There was one positive status change during the year, but overall numerical declines outweighed gains.”

The average regional score worsened marginally compared with 2007, with the legal and political category scores largely holding steady, while the economic category showed a small decline, the report said.

The only two countries in the region rated ‘not free’ “are Cuba, which has one of the most repressive media environments worldwide, and Venezuela, where the government of President Hugo Chavez continued its efforts to control the press,” the report said. Media conditions also remained worrying in Colombia and Guatemala, which had high levels of intimidation and self-censorship.

Freedom House has been at the forefront in monitoring threats to media independence since 1980, the report said, adding that after two decades of progress, press freedom is now in decline in almost every part of the world and only 17 percent of the world’s citizens live in countries that enjoy a free press.