MMD has lost credibility – CPJ
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Mon 22 Feb. 2010, 04:01 CAT
COMMITTEE to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Africa programme research associate Mohamed Keita has said the MMD government has lost much of the credibility that late president Levy Mwanawasa earned as a champion of press freedom.
Responding to a press query, Keita said the government’s inability to address freedom of the press had emboldened enemies of the press and this constituted a very serious challenge to the rule of law in Zambia.
“In Zambia’s case, the current government has lost much of the credibility that late president Levy Patrick Mwanawasa earned as a champion of press freedom.
We feel that changing the topic of the conversation to ‘regulating’ the media distracts from some very serious problems the government is either struggling to deal with or unwilling to deal with, namely its inability to address a disturbing culture of impunity for those who use violence, verbal intimidation or parts of the law to settle scores with their critics in the free media,” Keita said last week.
“We feel that the government’s inability to address this issue has emboldened enemies of the press and this constitutes a very serious challenge to the rule of law in Zambia.”
Keita said the government had some role to play in national media regulation, in terms of managing frequencies, enforcing widely-accepted standards for the dissemination of all information of public interest but this power came with responsibilities, including tolerating legitimate criticism and dissenting opinions, and meeting the criticism with the force of arguments and not the brutal force of intimidation.
The Committee to Protect Journalists is a non-partisan, non-profit organisation dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide.
Labels: CPJ, JOURNALISM, MMD, MOHAMED KEITA
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Stop intimidating The Post, CPJ asks govt
By Mwala Kalaluka, Speedwell Mupuchi and Maluba Jere
New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has asked the Zambian government to stop seeking ways to intimidate and censor the country’s leading independent daily, The Post.
And the International Press Institute (IPI) described the day Post news editor Chansa Kabwela was acquitted as a huge victory for press freedom.
In a statement issued shortly after the magistrate Charles Kafunda’s ruling, CPJ’s Africa programme coordinator Tom Rhodes described the ‘pornography’ charge against Kabwela as a spurious one.
“CPJ is pleased by the decision to acquit Chansa Kabwela on the spurious charge of disseminating obscene photographs,” Rhodes stated. “The Zambian government must stop seeking ways to intimidate and censor the country’s leading independent daily.”
Kabwela was charged for disseminating photos to several government officials of a woman giving birth in a hospital car park during a nurses’ strike in June.
And IPI deputy director Alison Bethel-McKenzie said they were encouraged by magistrate Kafunda’s decision to acquit Kabwela.
“Today is a huge victory for press freedom. IPI is encouraged by the court’s decision to throw out the case against Chansa Kabwela for the absurd charge of distributing obscene photographs,” said Bethel-McKenzie. “As an editor at the newspaper, Kabwela chose not to print the disturbing pictures, and instead decided to send them to the responsible officials and civil society members. As a Zambian citizen, Kabwela has the right to call officials’ attention to problems in the country without facing trumped-up charges merely because of her journalistic affiliation with The Post.”
CPJ is an independent, non-profit organisation that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide while IPI is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists which is dedicated to the furtherance and safeguarding of press freedom, the protection of freedom of opinion and expression, the promotion of the free flow of news and information, and the improvement of the practices of journalism.
And the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Steven Lungu said Kabwela’s acquittal was based on facts and law. Lungu said magistrate Kafunda’s ruling was delivered objectively. He noted that in his ruling, magistrate Kafunda upheld the rule of law saying Kabwela’s case was an example of that the judiciary was capable of acting objectively.
“The belief that the judiciary is compromised in some people is not true. The reason is people base their judgments on a few cases reported in the press,” he said. “But the truth is the judiciary renders a lot of judgments and should not be judged by just a few cases. That is why I say Chansa’s case is an example of what the judiciary is capable of doing.”
Lungu said there was no need for people to lose confidence in the judiciary because it was still committed to upholding the rule of law.
He said it was, therefore, disappointing to read statements from politicians discrediting the judiciary. Lungu said much as politicians had the right to express themselves on any issue, they needed to be mindful that it was an important organ.
“They politicians ought to exercise restraint but still express themselves. They should be mindful that the judiciary is an important organ,” said Lungu.
Labels: CPJ, JOURNALISM, THE POST
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CPJ calls for release of New York Times correspondent
By Kingsley Kaswende
Saturday April 05, 2008 [04:00]
THE Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the immediate release of a New York Times correspondent Barry Bearak who was arrested by Zimbabwean police on Thursday. Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed that police had arrested two foreign journalists believed to be unaccredited at a hotel in Harare.
Bearak, a New York Times correspondent based in Johannesburg, was arrested together with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) correspondent Adrienne Arsenault at 18:00 hours on Thursday evening but Arsenault was released after an hour of questioning and verification that she was accredited.
Zimbabwean authorities warned last week that they would deal severely with journalists who were caught operating illegally.
Journalists have to be licensed in order to operate in Zimbabwe.
Foreign journalists are required to pay US $3,000 about K11.5 million for an annual licence or US $1,500 per entry into the country.
"I can only confirm that we have arrested two foreign journalists at York Lodge," Bvudzijena said.
"They are being investigated for practising without accreditation. They were picked up early this evening and taken to police custody."
In a statement, CPJ executive director Joel Simon called on Zimbabwean authorities to stop intimidating journalists.
"It is imperative that all journalists, foreign and domestic, be allowed to freely cover the important political situation unfolding in Zimbabwe," he said.
Bearak is being held at Harare Central Police station pending court appearance.
Labels: CPJ, ELECTIONS, JOURNALISM, ZIMBABWE
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