February 21, 2003	Friday	Zul Hijjah 19, 1423

DHAKA, Feb 20: The media in many Commonwealth countries is severely restricted, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said Thursday.

“Freedom of expression may be recognized as a fundamental principle in theory, but in practice journalists continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation,” he told members of the Commonwealth Journalists Association, which is holding its silver jubilee conference in Dhaka.

“Press freedom is still severely restricted.”

McKinnon said Bangladesh had come a long way since democracy was restored in 1991, but that “much remains to be done”.

In January international media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders or RSF) said Bangladesh was among countries where violence against journalists worsened in 2002.

In Bangladesh, two journalists were shot dead and 380 others were attacked last year.—AFP