World press freedom day

World Press Freedom Day was marked on May 03. In many countries in
Africa journalists continue to be intimidated and jailed for the work
that they do. If Africa's many problems are to be overcome, there must
be a recognition that active participation of citizens in shaping
policy and decision making is essential to healthy societies.

World Press Freedom Day is usually an occasion where speakers promote
the ideas of press freedom, freedom of expression and association. But
at his fraud and corruption trial, Durban businessman Shabir Shaik, who
is accused of bankrolling South African deputy president Jacob Zuma for
his own financial benefit, broke the good tradition and expressed his
own particular views on press freedom.

Shaik, angered by weekend newspaper reports that splashed his closing
argument on the front pages before his legal team had presented it in
court, said he had always wondered why Zimbabwean president Robert
Mugabe was so negative towards the press. Shaik concluded that after 10
to 15 years of being presented as a demon in the press, Mugabe probably
woke up one morning and said "enough is enough". Referring to Mugabe's
draconian media laws, Shaik said: "As long as you continue with your
rubbish all the time I'll be the first to vote for that law."

Shaik's statements on press freedom could be easily dismissed as those
of a man prone to showboating and with an apparent insatiable hunger to
see his name in print. It might be easy to dismiss them if it weren't
for the fact that Shaik is close to the corridors of power and an
influential member of his community, even if this influence turns out
to be for all the wrong reasons. People with public platforms should
know better than to undermine hard won freedoms, especially on a
continent where press freedom is in such a shoddy state.

So what exactly is the state of press freedom in Africa on the
occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2005? As usual, a host of reports
lamenting the poor state of press freedom globally were released by
media rights organizations on May 03. The International Federation of
Journalists, the world's largest journalists' group, released a report
detailing how the four-year old "war on terrorism" is having a
devastating impact on civil liberties.

The report said media and independent journalism were not immune from
a "pervasive atmosphere of paranoia", leading to dangerous levels of
self censorship, while at the same time dissent inside and outside the
media were being restricted. The report says governments are
increasingly working together through international fora such as the G8
to circumvent national resistance to attacks on civil liberties.
Increased police powers and data collection and surveillance "on an
unprecedented and global scale have granted extensive new powers to the
state."

The authors claim these powers undermine democratic standards,
"because they are introduced in covert processes which are largely
secret and outside the orbit of parliamentary accountability. At the
same time they are leading to the creation of a surveillance society in
which the citizen is increasingly accountable to the authorities and
the state." The report dubs this process "policy laundering."

These observations make clear that journalists globally now have to
cope with new and more insidious threats to their independence. They
point to an enormous transfer of power to the 'security state' in order
to combat a largely fictitious threat under the name of terrorism.
Combined with a sycophantic press in many countries, driven by the
dictates of commercial interests and mostly reflecting unashamedly a
particular type of free market ideology, the danger is that in the face
of these new forces, the press will become increasingly more
ineffectual and irrelevant.

In Africa, the Committee to Protect Journalists spells out the often
desperate situation in which journalists operate on the continent. The
overall context is described as being one where there is weak rule of
law in many countries, with journalists regularly battling threats and
harassment. Journalists who write about corruption or mismanagement are
silenced through repressive legislation. "If fewer journalists were
killed or imprisoned in Africa than in some other regions in 2004 - two
were killed and 19 were behind bars for their work at year's end - the
problems they face are insidious and ongoing," said the CPJ. War and
violence remain a major threat to journalists in countries such as
Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, Burundi,
Central African Republic (CAR), and even Nigeria. Some of the cases of
abuse that took place on the continent in 2004 include:

- In the Gambia, veteran journalist and press freedom activist Deyda
Hydara was killed in a drive-by shooting in December, just days after
the country adopted repressive media legislation that he had opposed.
- In Ivory Coast, reporter Antoine Masse was fatally shot while
covering violent clashes between French peacekeeping troops and
demonstrators in the western town of Duekoue in November.
- French and Canadian investigative reporter Guy-Andre Kieffer was
feared dead after he disappeared from the Ivoirian commercial capital,
Abidjan, in April.
- Eritrea remained Africa's worst jailer of journalists, with 17 held
in secret prisons.
- One journalist was jailed in Cameroon and another in Sierra Leone at
year's end

Africa is currently facing a multitude of problems. An HIV/AIDS
epidemic is having a devastating impact on the lives of millions of
Africans. While it is recovering in parts, the continent suffers from
the effects of violent conflict. Hunger and famine are widespread.
Maternal and child mortality rates are amongst the highest in the
world. The list can go on, but on nearly every social and economic
indicator it is Africa that is capable of producing the horrifying
statistics which reflect a deep human suffering.

In this context, it is also important to realize that bringing an end
to Africa's problems involves a multi-faceted recognition of the rights
of citizens, not least to freedom of expression and freedom of
association. These rights are not something that should be instituted
once a utopian country or continent is created. They are tied up in
solving the problems facing the continent and creating an egalitarian
society where the rights of citizens are respected.

As a 2003 petition to African Union Heads of States by a variety of
media groups stated: "Active participation of citizens in shaping
policy and decision making of their countries is impossible if their
own governments continue to deny them the rights necessary to ensure
such participation. These include the rights to freedom of expression,
assembly, association and political participation, as well as media
freedom to facilitate a free exchange of information, ideas and
opinion."