A newspaper asking for censorship. It sounds like madness. But Mexico’s drugs cartels have become so dangerous that the daily paper, El Diario, has decided to take no risks. It is asking the criminals to say what it may and may not publish.

“Sure, sure. It’s unbelievable, the amount of criminal violence targetting the press in Mexico,” explains Lorenzo Cremonesi. The Italian journalist finds it easy to understand why El Diario has asked the criminals for publishing guidelines.

The paper made the move after one of its photographers was murdered by a drugs gang last week, the second El Diario journalist to die in the space of two years. An editorial addressed the drugs cartels directly: “This is why we are asking you to tell us what you want. What can we publish and what not?”

Every journalist wants the freedom to produce independent work, but in practice it’s not easy. Mr Cremonesi has 30 years’ experience as a war correspondent in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip. He worked in Jerusalem for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera for 20 years. His car was shot at a number of times and he was kidnapped in Gaza. He spoke to Radio Netherlands Worldwide from Italy.

"Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists. Lots of them get threatened, injured and even killed. It looks like they can’t deal with the situation any more. They’ve got to find some way of surviving."

Self-censorship
Mr Cremonesi points out that there are many other parts of the world where the press is under pressure, from either criminals or the authorities.

"We, journalists in Europe, are really very lucky. In Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, it happened every day. And it’s normal today in Pakistan, Syria and Egypt. The situation in Russia is getting worse. Journalists often indulge in self-censorship. In Iraq, they knew exactly what they could and couldn’t write."

Elsewhere, that’s not the case, he says. “And then, you end up not writing about things you could have covered. And, if you don’t know where you have to draw the line, you’re ruled by fear. Journalists are the first to suffer.”

Don Quixote
Mr Cremonesi describes the difficulties of trying to be a journalist under pressure from the government or from criminals.

"It depends where you are. In some countries, the state can protect you even if it means limits to your private life. If your family is threatened – common Mafia practice – you can’t protect yourself. You’re not a soldier, you’re not armed. You can play Don Quixote and get yourself killed. But three days later, you will have been forgotten and only your family will be mourning."

He knows that journalists in countries such as Mexico or working under dictatorships cannot publish their stories freely. They can, of course, have them published abroad even if people at home will then be denied access to them. “What Mexico can teach us is that we should help and defend each other. The globalisation of the media means journalists all over the world can work for Mexico. I’d hope that other people would help me if I was in trouble. That’s really important.”

It’s unusual that El Diario has publicly asked the drugs gangs for guidelines, according to Mr Cremonesi. “Nobody knows anything and nothing is said about it in 90 percent of the places where this sort of thing goes on. In the end, there’s still enough freedom in Mexico to ensure we’ve heard about the story."

• Reporters Without Borders - Mexico