No need to muzzle media – Bouterse

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – “We have absolutely no need to muzzle the media as some claim”, President Desi Bouterse reacts to the controversy caused by Suriname’s rather high ranking on the press freedom index recently published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The President claims that in talks with him, international organizations are often complimentary about press freedom in the country. The US think tank Freedom House also qualified Suriname as a country with a free press shortly before RSF issued its ranking. Freedom House gives Suriname a ranking of 2.0 on a scale of 1.0 to 2.5 under the category free media. This makes RSF the second international organization that considers Suriname a country in which media are free to do their job. Earlier this week, RSF’s high ranking caused some controversy. Suriname shares 22^nd place among 197, or an increase of 13 points compared to 2010’s ranking. The Surinamese Association of Journalists (SVJ) said it was surprised by this progress, as it believes that press was still under pressure last year, although no physical harm came to journalists. Meanwhile, SVJ chairman Wilfred Leeuwin has contacted RSF and received a letter. “I must confess that my personal data on Suriname are clearly incomplete”, RSF’s Benoît Hervieu writes in his letter to Leeuwin. He adds that the lack of contacts explains the incomplete picture, and he would like to add Leeuwin to his contacts.