Post reporter wins two awards in human rights press competition

A staff reporter from the South China Morning Post won two award plaques at the 13th Annual Human Rights Press Awards for stories written from Myanmar in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, beating competition from international newspapers and news agencies.

The two articles, 'Where paranoia costs lives' and 'The survivors' struggle', documented how the junta blocked aid to Myanmar, the aid that got through was channelled to the military, and the victims were forced from their homes.

'We had many entries on Myanmar,' said Fred Armentrout, president of the Hong Kong English-speaking branch of International PEN. 'But it was the quality of the articles that were in the South China Morning Post', he said, that secured the two awards. The reporter cannot be named for safety reasons.

In a ceremony that lauded the courage of reporters who highlighted human rights issues around the region, but bemoaned self-censorship and the low number of media organisations entering the competition, the Post secured the general news win for the English-language press and a merit certificate, and won a plaque for the cartoon section.

There were two winning plaques for general news in the awards organised by Amnesty International, the Foreign Correspondents' Club and Hong Kong Journalists Association, because both pieces merited the award, the judges said.

Post graphic artist Wilson Tsang won a certificate of merit for a cartoon 'Triumph and Adversity'; while the Post's regular cartoonist contributor, Harry Harrison, won the plaque for a body of work.

Sinopix photojournalist and Post contributor Richard Jones won two awards in the magazine section for articles published in the Sunday Morning Post's magazine.