Maravi

Stop the violence, threats against our reporters

Stop the violence, threats against our reporters
Written by Editor

The continued physical harassment of Post reporters will not go unchallenged. We have complained to the police and to President Rupiah Banda about the physical violence by ruling MMD cadres against our reporters. But the impunity continues.

And on Friday, Lusaka Province MMD youth chairman Chris Chalwe openly declared, in the presence of information minister and chief government spokesman Lt Gen Ronnie Shikapwasha, that physical discipline will continue to be meted on Post journalists as long as the newspaper continues insulting President Banda.

Our reporters have been physically attacked by MMD cadres in the presence of the police. And nothing has been done to these lawbreakers, these thugs.

If there is any offence that this newspaper and its reporters have committed against anyone, the courts of law are there. It’s lawlessness for the police to surrender its powers to MMD cadres and allow innocent citizens to be assaulted and harassed by these thugs with impunity. The right to equal protection of the law is fundamental to any just and democratic society. Whether political ally of those in government or opponent – all are entitled to equal protection before the law.

And under no circumstances should those in power impose additional inequalities; they should be required to deal evenly and equally with all the people of this country. No one is above the law. If our reporters have committed any crimes or offences against Rupiah, let them be arrested and be accordingly prosecuted. It’s a promotion of anarchy for Rupiah and his friends to allow these senseless thugs to be a law unto themselves; to harass innocent citizens with impunity.

They are setting a precedent that will tomorrow be used against them. It’s just a matter of time, their hour will be over and another group’s hour will come. But this is not the Zambia we should create because it will be a very dangerous one for all of us.

No democratic society, no sensible and decent politicians can tolerate or promote such indiscipline and lawlessness in the country. What is happening only goes to show the type, quality and character of politicians we have in power.

Everyone in government, in the police and indeed in the whole nation is aware of what has been happening to our reporters. It seems we have exhausted the possibilities that are there for the protection of our journalists and we may now have to turn to the outside world.

We will not sit and watch our reporters being battered every now and then with impunity. If Rupiah and his friends do not move quickly to stop this nonsense, we will turn to SADC, the AU and the UN for protection. We will launch an international campaign to protect our reporters. And if this happens, they should take responsibility and not blame us for the consequences of such a campaign.

This is not an empty threat, we are part of a strong global media. We are members of the World Association of Newspapers and the International Press Institute. And the editor of this newspaper is honoured by these institutions as a world press freedom hero. It will not be difficult to launch such a campaign in a defence of our reporters.

If we have wronged them, we have no right to do so with impunity and the courts of law are there to deal with our alleged transgressions. We are not above the law.

It is said that every man or woman should have an undoubted right to lay what sentiments he or she pleases before the public; to forbid this, is to destroy the freedom of the press; but if he or she publishes what is improper, mischievous or illegal, he or she must take the consequences of his or her own temerity.

Clearly, the freedom we are campaigning for is one that should protect unpopular and inaccurate speech. Press freedom is a farce if it means merely the freedom to report pleasant things. Inaccuracies can be overcome or minimised through training and retraining of our staff.

The free and pluralistic press we are campaigning for is primarily designed for the protection of the public by making the widest possible flow of information a cornerstone of their governance system.

We are not in this profession, in this business to protect Rupiah from his critics. The press freedom we are campaigning for is not meant to protect the government from critics. It is meant to protect people from government, from possible abuses by Rupiah, not government or Rupiah from people.

A free press which is capable of checking the arrogance, the abuses of those in government is a essential to our democratisation process. Since informed public opinion is the most potent of all restraints upon misgovernment, continued harassment of our reporters by thugs close to Rupiah cannot be regarded otherwise than with grave concern.

Our people have a divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, we mean the characters and conduct of their rulers, of Rupiah and his ministers.

To some people, reporting on the characters and conduct of political leaders is irresponsible journalism that should be punished by flogging. This being the case, then we think the best newspaper, the best reporter is probably the most irresponsible newspaper, reporter. In such a situation, we feel as soon as our press begins to try to be ‘responsible’, it suffocates itself under the blankets of its worst pretentions.

Imagine if all the printers were determined not to print anything until they are sure it would offend nobody – there would be very little printed. The whole point of a free press in our country is not to make the policies and actions of those in government, of Rupiah exempt from criticism but to expose them to it. Actually, there should be a provision in our Constitution guaranteeing the right of the people to criticise truthfully the conduct of their public servants, and that this right should not be taken away by any thug, by any law.

We have never understood the reasoning of those people who seem to be saying that the press will enjoy full rights when it is worth of them; when it is more “responsible”. Constitutional rights do not have to be earned. We hold that the greatest right in the world is the right to be wrong, that in the exercise thereof people have an inviolable right to express their unbridled thoughts on all topics and personalities, being only legally liable for the abuse of that right.

We know that freedom of the press in this country has only worked well in speech and has not done as well in practice. But for better or worse, as long as this country continues to aspire to be an open society, a democracy governed by the rule of law, a just, fair and humane society, a free people, a free government and a free press – are going to be stuck with each other.

A strong, free country and a strong free press are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other. No nation ever has, and none will. We believe an independent and plural press will help promote full and free discussion in our country. Full and free discussion keeps a society from becoming stagnant and unprepared for the stresses and strains that work to tear all its achievements to pieces.

However, for full and free discussion, one needs a vigorous, flourishing, pluralistic press and for this, there is need to regard the press not merely as an extension of the government’s public relations machinery with a mission to educate the “uninformed masses” about development programmes and what their government claims to be doing to help them, but as an independent and legitimate part of our system of government.

Clearly, those thugs attacking our reporters are attacking the very basic fundamental of a free society, the right of citizens to have free and open access to information. If journalists are attacked, are beaten, society as a whole is a victim. Without a free press, you cannot have the type of democracy you are trying to build in this country. An independent media brings transparency and accountability to government – indispensable elements for a healthy economy as well as democracy.

If journalists are being harassed with impunity, then nothing we do to improve their professionalism will be enough to ensure a free press. The danger for the free press in Zambia is today greater under Rupiah than ever. It is a difficult time with a lot of harassment from a government fighting what it sees as threats from an independent media.

Journalists and their organisations are on the frontlines of freedom of information. When they are harmed or intimidated, the victim is not only them but democracy. Where there is no freedom of the press, there is no freedom. Our reporters should not have to work in fear of Rupiah’s thugs harming them simply for doing their job.

Today in Zambia, being a journalist in an independent media like The Post is carrying the most hardship and burden that is imposed from an intolerant regime of Rupiah. Whatever their claims, Rupiah and his friends are not promoting democracy and advancing liberties in this country. They are nothing but a bunch of intolerant, ruthless, corrupt despots. They will not leave this country better than they found it; they will leave it worse than they found it. They will actually ruin it if Zambians don’t collectively stand up to them and stop the rot.

There is need for Rupiah and his friends to recognise the importance of journalists and that the need for them to work free from the threats of violence is essential. They have a duty to protect all journalists in this country from harassment. And such protection measures must, of course, apply to all media personnel regardless of their professional or political affiliations. The safety and protection of journalists remain two of the key priorities for the full implementation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The harassment of journalists is a direct threat on media freedom itself. By hindering the work of journalists, they are inadvertently infringing upon the people’s right to know and be informed.

We are not in any way saying the media always carries out its functions responsibly. They can sometimes be sensational, superficial, intrusive, inaccurate and inflammatory. The solution is not to beat them up, harass or intimidate them or devise laws that set some arbitrary definition of responsibility or to licence journalists as our friends in the Media Council of Zambia wish to do, but to broaden the level of public discourse so that citizens can better sift through the chaff of misinformation and rhetoric to find the kernels of truth.

Labels: CADRES, CHRIS CHALWE, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 4:25 PM